PET RESORT AT WILLOW WOOD

Great in every way except price. Very expensive, but dogs get great care.

Terrible! One now has kennel cough and one may have canine influenza and is being hospitalized. We only received an email notifying us that they had a verified case of influenza. We called and and they said everything was fine and our girls were doing good. We decided to pick them up soonest. When we got there the next morning, both of our pups were coughing and one had been throwing up. We knew nothing of this prior to arriving. As we were leaving with our dogs, Willow Wood was taking in more pets for "day stay"!!! Are you kidding me? They told us they were going to close for two days and clean. That was a lie. They also informed us that they don't cover kennel cough or influenza since it's airborne. Well, then STOP TAKING IN PETS until you can ensure that the ones you do take in are free and clear and have the flu vaccine that's available. We went straight to the vet and got antibiotics and meds for kennel cough with strict instructions to watch them carefully for flu symptoms. Our vet informed us that they had another client who's dog had been infected with influenza while at Willow Wood recently! We will never use Willow Wood again and recommend that if you love your pets like we do,, please please please, stay away from this horrible place!

,This kennel always treats our dog well.  He loves going there, and they offer play time and TLC multiple times per day.  They also do a nice job grooming our dog before we pick him up.  Recently our dog had ACL surgery, and they even continued his physical therapy while we were away for 10 days.  Highly recommended.

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I take these long-haired dogs to Meghan every 3-4 weeks and they look amazing when I pick them up. The dogs go there willingly and are happy when I pick them up.  I've watched other dogs getting shorter clips and they look great as well.

The first problem I encountered was their misleading pricing. On the form it states that doggie day care is $22 a day and that a mandatory $1 a day insurance fee is included in the price. It also states that there are packages available. I inquired about the packages and was told I could buy a 20 day package for $18 a day. However, when I went to pay for the package they told me that it there was a $1 a day insurance charge so it would actually be $19 a day. I told the lady I thought that she was mistaken becuase the paper said that the insurance charge was included in the price. She told me that it was included in the daily price of $22 but not included in the package pricing. 
The next problem I encounter was that they were not able to keep up with my active puppy. He went to an evaluation day and they said he passed and was fine to go to day care. They then put him in with the other doggie daycare dogs and he played for the rest of the day. The next day I bring him back and half way through the day I get a call and they tell me my puppy can not come back to doggie daycare. I was very surprised at this because he goes to the dog park almost every day and plays great with everyone. And because he went to a doggie daycare in Maryland almost every work day for the past 3 months. I heard nothing but good things about him. The staff at the Maryland doggie daycare told me he was their favorite camper. He is a very, very happy and playful puppy.
When I asked why he would not be welcome back they proceed to tell me it "is probably the puppy in him but he was mouthing other dogs". No duh, he is a puppy that is how they play! No dog at the dog park has every had a problem with him, they just play back! The staff told me that my puppy would probably do fine at a different doggie day care.
I come to find out, they cram 20 to 30 big dogs in a fenced in space the size of an average child's bedroom and leave them there all day until their owners come to pick them up. They couldn't handle my puppy because he was too active for this situation. Ask to take a tour, I was shocked. I found a new doggie daycare with more room for him to run around and everything is going much better. He scored a perfect 10 on his report card from the new place! In the comments section they said he "is such a happy puppy and did fantastic with the other dogs in daycamp! He loves to run around and wrestle with others. Duke is super friendly with a great personality and fits in great here. We hope to keep seeing him!"

Our 10-lb dog attends doggie daycare 2-4 times a month.   He loves going and he loves the staff (he starts wagging his tail the minute we pull in the parking lot).   They have a number of small dogs that attend doggie daycare so it is very well suited to his needs.

Our dog is a small 10 lb Yorkshire Terrier mix and Willow Wood is just perfect for him.  They tend to have a larger group of smaller dogs who come to daycare so he always has someone to play with  (the smaller dogs are separated from the larger dogs).  In the summers they have a nice outside area with astro turf and a baby pool for the dogs to wade in.  Our dog also likes to be held, and my sense it that the daycare workers oblige him!  Our dog loves going, he tail starts wagging as we pull in the parking lot. 

I also appreciate how well the staff takes care of the pets.  They know all the owners are will usually call for the dog to get ready to go home as the see you walking up to the front door.  One time as I was waiting for my dog, the receptionist didn't recognize the person walking to the door and ask a couple of the day care workers if they knew who she was.  When she came in, they started to ask several questions.  It turns out she was a family friend that was there to pick up the dog.  It's nice to know that they just won't turn over your dog to anyone.

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Love Willow Wood Pet Boarding. We always rent out one of the suites for our dogs. We've used them for over 10 years now and would not even consider taking the dogs anywhere else. The dogs are loved here and are always excited when we enter the building to drop them off. You can bring their pillows, toys, DVD's (I don't do dvd's, but you can). Food is included in the price. The dogs are let out 3-4 times per day. Medications are given to the dogs. You can schedule added play time for a price. We always have the dogs bathed on their last day so they come home fresh and clean. I would recommend Willow Wood to everyone. It's a well maintained pet resort, and the quality has never dropped from the first day we used them. They have been excellent for us since 2002. I believe it is $50 per day for the first dog and a little less for additional dogs in the same suite.

They were really good. They took really good care of them. They had special needs growing up and so we just had some extra care for him and they were able to meet all the needs. Everything was an A. They did dog training too.

I have taken my dogs to Willow Wood for boarding previously. I took them in again for a weekend recently. I called the next day to see how they were doing and I was told by the kennel manager that my one dog had a touch of diarrhea (she was fine the day before) but that she would keep an eye on it and call me later in the day if it was still an issue. I never received a call so i assumed everything was fine. When I picked them up, my one dog was puffing so hard she could hardly catch her breath and it continued for 3 hours after I got her home. The other dog (the one who they told me had diarrhea the day before) had horrible runny diarrhea. However, one of my major concerns is when I opened up their duffel bag that I had dropped off with there individual food packets in it. I always use a zip lock bag and put their food in it, with their name on the bag and even indicate the day and time (Friday night) it's to be given to them so there is NO mistake as to which dogs food it is and when to give it to them. When I opened up the duffel bag, my one dog who was puffing so hard when I picked her up hadn't been given her food for Saturday night. Then there was another bag of food for my other dog who had diarrhea and she hadn't been given her food for Saturday morning - nor had she been given her medication which was inside the food bag in a separate baggy marked and quot;Give medication - dog MUST haveand quot; and I told them at the front desk when I checked them in but they already had a record on it from her previous visits. She MUST be given this medication to LIVE. I called the next morning and asked to speak to a manager. I told her what had happened and she said she would check into it. She called me back later that day and said she was told that the dogs hadn't eaten the meals before and that's why they weren't given the next meal. I told her that my one dog NEVER turns away food (the one who wasn't given her medication) and I said if they had even bothered to look they would have seen her pill inside the food bag - along with the fact that it was in their records. I also told her that I've ALWAYS told them, give them the food - whether they eat it or not - because once they settle in, they WILL eat. It's hard kibble so it wouldn't matter if it sat with them for a few hours. She never apologized to me for not feeding OR medicating my dog and actually said that I should have communicated to them better!! I ALWAYS tell them at the front desk EACH and EVERY time plus I call to check on the dogs DAILY and I tell them at that time to leave their food if they tell me they aren't eating. She said she would mark it in their files for the next time so there wouldn't be a problem. Never did she offer me a refund on any of the services - even though I paid extra for them to give them medication which they didn't.
For the amount of money that you pay them - which is twice as much as any other kennel - I expect MUCH better care and service. That's why I put each of my dogs in one of their and quot;suitesand quot; and pay extra for walks, etc. They NEVER give you any sort of itemization on your bill - it's just one grand total - so you never know how much your going to pay at the end and they ALWAYS try to get you to buyup for your animals on their visit.
I will NOT be taking them there ever again. I went out that next day and started interviewing other kennels and visiting them and chose a different place to take my dogs in the future. I had scheduled for a week long stay at Willow Wood when I had originally checked them in. I sent them an email after I found a new kennel and cancelled the reservation and never heard anything from them.
If you are like me and truly love your pets and only want the best care for them, do NOT take them to Willow Wood - it's obviously all about the money and certainly not about the animals and customer service.

We were taking Allie our one-year old shepherd/lab mix dog to be socialized with other dogs.  We talked to Joyce Ferguson at Willow Wood about their training program. We decided to enroll Allie in the training class.  It also included two training sessions for us to be trained also.  We were very impressed with the improvement in our dogs behavior.  She is still learning but coming along very nicely thanks to the training she and we were given. 

My husband and I have had knee problems.  Allie would pull so much when we took her for a walk on leash.  After the training and the special collar that was provided, it is a pleasure to go for a walk now.  Also, we are using the e-collar that was given to us as part of the program to teach her the boundaries of her yard.

Joyce would send us e-mails letting us know the progress being made during her days away from us.  We missed her so much while she was gone that we enjoyed hearing about the progress.

We have e-mailed Joyce for advice since for how to handle introducing other dogs that come into our home with their owners for visits.  She has encouraged us to call for help whenever needed.

Just today we took Allie over to Willow Wood for daycare while we attended a funeral.  She is always happy with tail wagging when we drop her off.

You feel comfortable leaving your pets there.

This is the only place I can take my dog to and they treat him very well. They treat him like I treat him at home and he never comes home sick or with any behavioral problems like I have had with other kennels.

My dog has some special needs and they handle him very well.

See above

Excellent

Pet Resort at Willow Wood is nearby and reliable. The dog seems to like them and they have reasonable prices.

Great--called at the last minute, they were terrific, place was incredibly clean, staff was great and dog seemed to be happy!

Our dog is in there probably five or six weeks out of the year and they are wonderful. They are professional and good with my dog. I would recommend them and continue to use them.

When we dropped our dogs off the front receptionist was very friendly. However, when I called on the second day of their visit the receptionist was not familiar with my dogs and seemed annoyed with me and told me to hold until someone who takes care of the dogs could speak with me. After a very short wait, a worker told me in a rude tone that my dogs were "fine" and "eating good." She then paused as if to say, "What else do you need to know?" I noticed that the staff had no particular interest in any of the animals being dropped off or picked up and they were not especially busy when I was there. A younger receptionist woman said, "I don't want to be here today" and that attitude was obvious to me as a customer. We board our dogs frequently at Pet Palace, and the staff there is affectionate with our dogs and regardless of who answers the phone they know who my dogs are and are able to tell me a story of what happened with them that day or weekend. It is fair to mention that this facility was very clean and did not smell of dog at all. And when we checked the dogs in they were weighed, staff member looked in their ears, made a note of their belongings, and gave them flea medication because they were due. I didn't like that no one offered to show us their kennel as they do at Pet Palace and quite frankly no one seemed the least bit interested in my dogs and I don't think that they got the same attention that they do at Pet Palace. The staff did not seem to like animals and that turned me off.

Fortunately, I called a week ahead to reserve a suite for our dog. They were busier than I expected and the suites fill up first. We took a tour before dropping our dog off and the place is impressive with different levels of boarding options available from basic cage style to private room with windows, bed, and tv. The prices weren't unreasonable either, so we decided to indulge our dog a little. They tell you the vaccinations your pet needs and what to leave with him /her during the stay. We would use them again.

They are nice people with whom to do business. The nice thing about this facility is that they have actual rooms that dogs can share. That way all three of my dogs can be in an 8x11 room together. They also have the kennels available as well, but they do offer the rooms for the dogs who are used to being together. They have furniture for the dogs to use and TV's if you would like your dog to have entertainment, they have play time and they also take them out numerous times during the day. We call it doggy camp! They are actually going back at the beginning of March for several days.

We have boarded our 4 dogs and 3 cats several times at the pet resort. They have happily stayed in either the suites with a TV and beds (2 dogs per room) or in the large runs. They always come home happy, clean and well cared for. We especially love how they let them outside several times per day and have playtime 2 times per day with their puppy friends. It's a great place to be and would not want to go anywhere else if I was a dog. The cats have their own suites too. They also come home clean, happy and well cared for.

Dropping them off went okay. The person who took my dogs from me was less than professional and only spoke to me twice. However I saw someone else come take another person's dogs and they were more friendly. The person at the desk was very patient and professional. She listened to all my concerns and was writing them down! When we went to pick them up all was good. Our dogs were happy to see us and to be home, but they looked well cared for and they even smelled good. The only issue we saw is that both of our dogs have a nervous condition where they lick their mouth too often when we leave. Only 1 of our dogs did this this time. However, I do want to note that they do this when we leave them at home over weekends with people coming in as well.