Dr. H is the best. She loves birds, and as a bird owner I love to see it. We took our tiny 6-month-old bird in for her first check-up, and Dr. H was so kind and sweet to our scared little one. She had a feisty little doggo in the exam room next to us, and she had the little canine moved to another room because our bird was terrified of the barking. She assessed our bird, Mango, and gave us such valuable tips and info. Her assistant was lovely as well. We had some follow-up questions about our birdie's care days later, and she responded promptly as soon as we emailed (9 pm, btw). Who is this angel?! We feel so lucky to have found her! read more

I visited and toured the cat rooms prior to an upcoming stay. The building needs maintenance. Bad odors--cat urine, feces--start outside the front entrance. Strong animal odors--urine, feces, wet dog--were present in lobby, back rooms and cat rooms. Many dogs were barking loudly. Barking was audible in Kitty City cat room. Cat apartments in Kitty City are large, double level and passably clean. Cats seemed calm. read more

My elderly dog was neglected and ignored. He was not eating and lost several pounds during his stay. I was never contacted or notified. When I picked him up, the "report card" said he was active and ate all of his food. Complete BS! He was no longer eating or drinking and something was going on in his mouth - very bad. I had to put my dog down a few days later after getting him. read more

Best friends takes excellent care of Labrador. They are kind, courteous, prompt and compassionate.

I spoke with Raul Barrera after his email response to my review. I am pleased to say that he resolved my payment issues in record time. We discussed my experience. He understood my frustration and assured me that he would help implement the changes necessary to ensure others don't have a similar experience. My rating here reflects his response and customer service. Thank you Raul. read more

The guy who checked in our pups said their camera was broken so they wouldn't be able to send pictures or give us access to the playtime video. When we questioned both being broken, he had an attitude like we were morons for asking a follow-up question. If we pay for pictures and video, and you advertise having it on your website, don't tell us as we drop off that that service is no longer available and be snide to boot. read more

Always have the best experience at Best Friends. We've been going here for a few years. Wouldn't take our fur baby anywhere else to be groomed. The folks are friendly and our baby loves Lori! read more

Best Friends Pet Hotel - Dog - Pet Training Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

I took three of my small dogs 4 1/2 lbs, 6 pounds, 12 pounds. When I went to pick them up they were with about 30 dogs just barking . I was told our dogs would be put in small groups with small dogs. This group of dogs had large dogs over 50 lbs.Also when the girl brought them out she had two of my dogs in her hand and handed one of them to my husband and shouted I have poop on my finger and set my puppy down in the waiting area where there were people waiting to pick up there dogs the puppy ran over to this very large dog and thankfully he was a nice dog and he didn't bite my puppy. So we leave after all that and go to put our dogs in there seats and realized the poop the girl was yelling about came off of Sophie the tiniest one of my dogs we get her in the car and she's throwing up none stop . She looked sick so I took her to the vet she was completely dehydrated and had diarrhea. They had to put fluid under her skin and the vet told me that by the looks of the yellow bile she hadn't eaten in a couple of days and apparently had not been drinking water. So a vet bill of $460.00 plus the boarding fee was outrageous. Now I know dogs can get stressed but it was apparent no one was paying attention because I also think they have people working there that are young minded with zero dog training never again will I put my dogs at risk taking them there. My poor dog had poop stuck all over her rear end this is just outrageous. When you have a 4 1/2 lb pomeranian it's dangerous when they are not eating or drinking and so stressed. Never again. read more

We take our Golden Doodle to Best Friends regularly for grooming. Lori does a great job and Monty loves seeing her. read more

Best Friends Pet Hotel - Monty's Christmas cut - just like he ( and we) wanted!! - Pet Training Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

Thank you all for the attention and care with my new pup as I had to go out of town . Enjoyed watching pet cams and hope she can visits again soon. read more

We have been taking our hound to day camp for a while now. Hes been going since he was about 3 months. He absolutely loves spending his days there hanging out with his friends. I can't say enough nice things about the staff that works at the front desk. The team is so incredibly helpful, kind and empathetic! As a Fur momma I definitely have my concerns from time to time and can tend to be over protective and they never make me feel like I'm crazy or have outlandish requests. When he was 1st moved from small dog to big dog Room we were very nervous but they made us feel so comfortable and secure in the decision that was made and hes been thriving in the big dog Room ever since! We are so happy we found this place and recommend it to anyone looking to give their pup opportunities for more socialization with other dogs or just need a break from time to time! It also helps to have a very tired pup at the end of the day from all of the running around and playing. read more

Best Friends Pet Hotel - Pet Training Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

Worst dog grooming of my 7yr old goldendoodle's life. I even gave them a photo to follow and instructions. Fortunately dog hair grows back. read more

Best Friends Pet Hotel - Precut photo to folllow - Pet Training Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

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The appointment system is flawed. I follow the system to request grooming and no one calls to schedule. I had been previously been okay with their lack of follow up because the return call would at least be in the same week and the grooming itself was good. However, I cannot even get them to return a call on my requests anymore to schedule. If you are busy or experiencing staffing issues, please at least return a call and say so. Sad business practice. read more

I am EXTREMELY disappointed and upset with what they did with my maltipoo puppy. NEVER take your dog to the grooming salon there. we asked them to NOT shave, and didn't even tell us when they LITERALLY SHAVED her ears. in addition they even shaved her body when we asked them not to, when we asked for just a trim. not to mention, we brushed her at least three times a week. now she looks like a new breed mix of a rat and a lion. edit: we found a little cut under her arm/leg that the groomer never mentioned happened. update: they refunded the money paid read more

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Lori and the manager at Best Friends are always friendly, helpful and accommodating for me and my dog for his grooming needs. I feel confident they take good care of my Senior dog while he is with them. read more

My poor pup is exhausted after nearly spending 8 hours at the facility for a full groom. He is a medium sized dog and I've been to several other groomers in the area to know that it should have not taken this long to get him groomed. He is a pretty easy going dog, as told by many other groomers in other facilities. I understand they want to take their time and give plenty of breaks so the dogs would not be so stressed, but after seeing how the groomer was still working on my dog when I got there and seeing certain areas of my dog is choppy and uneven, I am not sure what they were or were not doing in those 8 hours. He frantically ran outside to pee and was so thirsty when we got home, even though they supposedly gave him water breaks throughout the grooming process. This is our first time here and after the experience we had today and seeing other reviews, unfortunately I do not plan on revisiting them any time soon. read more

We have been taking our dog Camden here for about 2 years. It is so close to my work and where we live, it's so convenient. Everyone there is so nice. They LOVE Camden and she gets quite the greeting every morning when she walks in. She waits for me by the front door every morning before I'm even ready to go. She loves going to see her friends. We board her there as well whenever it's needed. Never had any problem. I would definitely recommend them for daycare as well as boarding. read more

LOL, acutely wretched service. I've taken my poor dog Huey here over ten times, and the staff has been rude, unfriendly, and completely unhelpful. He enjoys his time here, but in general, the rude and unprofessional behavior means I will never take him here again. Last attempt, my wife scheduled an appointment for grooming and she asked me to drop him off. We were given no drop of time and I had meetings until one. When I guy there set 115, they rudely rejected my dog and you' told me they tried calling and left a message. No message. They would not accommodate at all and just told me they had a wait list and that I could get on for the next several days. Good luck with your wait list! If you keep resting long time clients like this, it will go away in no time! read more

I recently boarded my dog here, regretfully. We are aware he is sometimes difficult to work with, however we were very disappointed with the condition he was in when we picked him up. Upon arriving to get him, he was stained yellow and soaked in urine like he had been in his room all day, laying in it-clearly, that meant his room had not been cleaned and he had likely not been walked very much. He was also returned to us with poo on his back that nobody had even bothered to wipe off. They did not return his collar and stated that he never had one when he got there, which he did as that was what his leash had been attached to. He was left with an entire box of dog treats that were never returned. I had to find his leash on the front desk as I just HAPPENED to see it, it was not given back with him. Not to mention I called multiple times to check on him, with no response at all-the phones appeared to be down, but it would have been great to be able to see how our dog was doing. I would not recommend this business and would not bring my dog back here. read more

First time dropping off our fur baby for our Thanksgiving trip; so happy we chose Best Friends Pet hotel! Received updates about our pet & pictures which was so nice. The staff is friendly, caring, and attentive. Definitely using them again! read more

We have been using Best friends for about 4 years for our beagle. We bring her for day camp 1-3 days a week, boarding over weekends and longer and for baths. We have had a great experience throughout. Our dog loves going to camp. She has friends and the staff take good care of her. When we walk in the building she runs for the back door tail wagging to see her friends. I trust them when she boards. I have friends who board pets in peoples homes and sometimes their pets have escaped. I never have to worry about that. She is tired when we pick her up which is a good sign. I trust them. read more

First time bringing my baby for grooming, Tina did an outstanding job, and she got him beautifully groomed within my time frame constriction due to work. So glad I gave this place a shot and the whole staff was friendly and amazing. A + experience and this is the only place we will go from now on. Thank you and keep up the great work!! read more

Please don't take your pet here. I picked my dog up from boarding and he smelled very bad, had multiple accidents in the house b/c of the diarrhea he got the night after we picked him up. Best Friends claimed he was totally fine in their care but he smelled like literal feces when we got him so I assume he sat in his own feces. A few days later he began having a honking cough along with retching, and now he is having raspy breathing. He's going to the vet ASAP. Classic signs of kennel cough but that needs to be verified-an illness passed from dog to dog even though we paid for our dog to have individual play as he gets aggressive w/ other dogs. Their facility is either insanely unsanitary or he was around other dogs which endangers both other peoples' pets and my own. Used to love this place but will never go back and do not recommend it at all. Find a better place that won't neglect your pet. read more

If you are looking for reliable appointments look elsewhere. I have no problem with how they have groomed my dog. However they constantly cancel scheduled appointments. It is incredibly irritating when you arrange your schedule to fit their schedule only to have them cancel 14 hours before your grooming appointment. It's just bad business. read more

We took our 8 month old puppy here as a last resort while out of town for a few days and we are very disappointed with the services provided. This is his first and last time at best friends. First, on the live puppy cams we watched him mercilessly bark during group play time and no one paid any attention to him, forcing my husband to call for someone to take him outside. Which by the way is an extra fee. Then, when picking him up, we get to the car and see his horrible nail job after the "grooming" he got-- which btw was something we were forced to do if we wanted to pick him up on a Sunday after 12 noon and not get charged for a full night (they don't close until 5 on Sunday so this policy is a total scam). The pictures of his nails truly speak for themselves. My husband calls and the manager repeatedly says "I'm not trying to give excuses but..." and finally admits how poor if a job her staff did. They claim we will get a refund but that's not even what we are after. It's the principle that our dog was treated poorly for a grooming service we never even wanted in the first place. We really tried to give best friends a chance- even AFTER my parents French bull dog previously was attacked here-- clearly a testament to their lack of supervision and overall poor service and staffing. Stupid us. Never again. read more

DO NOT BRING YOUR DOG TO BOARD OR ANY OTHER ACTIVITY. My dog was a first time boarder from July 22 to July 27th and he got very very bad kennel cough. I had him groomed and he was butchered. When I called and spoke to manager about the infection she said that the day before they had found out of two dogs that had it. They didn't bother to let me know. I am sure he was coughing while there and paid for extra one on one time so the care taker should have seen it. I have other dogs at home and my older one can be at risk and not quarantined and my pets are all separated from me. Thank goodness for Germantown Vet for taking care of them. I will never board or even come close to them. I am sending over a serious inspection and they are paying for my vet bill. If my other dogs are ill I will sue. They deserve 0 STAR RATING. PLEASE HAVE YOUR PETS CEHCKED BY THE VET IF BOARDING THERE. read more

I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves. This is how our dog's nails looked after grooming. I spoke with the manager and was offered a refund. Not the point. Do the job right or don't do it at all. Will never be back. read more

Best Friends Pet Hotel - Nails after being "groomed" - Pet Training Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

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I have been going to this place for about a year for grooming and each time my dog comes out he runs out in need to pee very badly. He than comes home drinks a lot of water. I am not sure if they take them out and or even provides them with water. I keep going back only because it's convenient for me and also I haven't had the time to look for another groomer. After my last visit with them my dog did the same thing ran out to pee and than came home and drank his whole bowl of water. As for his hair I just haven't found somoene that will groom him the correct way. I once asked the groomer to do a trim he came out all shaved. I was upset. Even though she said he needed it I think she was just too lazy and found it easier to shave all his hair off. I did not want my dogs hair all shaved off.. No more Best Friends for us! read more

I have used this site 5 times. Most stays were 10 days. First 4 were fine. The last one was a not good. 1) Front desk was not welcoming at all. 2) Charged $100.00 + more than normal. ( When I questioned this- it was corrected) 3) Most upsetting - my dog bed was returned - terrible urine smell. Question- was my dog sleeping in this for 10 days? read more

It's Ok. My dogs have stayed there a few times, but I think it is outrageously priced. Each time, they come home with diarrhea, and if you don't get them bathed on the day they come home, they will smell awful. The staff is very nice. But, their prices make them pretty awful. read more

Awful! Treated like trash and my friend that I referred, her dog almost died while in their care.

I have been a client of Best Friends for over 2 years and have used their facility regularly for grooming and three times so far for boarding. I find the staff friendly and my dog Prema is happy to be left at Best Friends. She looks happy and healthy when we receive her and we have received emails keeping us updated on how Prema is doing while we are gone. I would highly recommend this place for your loved pet. Dr.Sreeni read more

I use Best Friends for their day care. My Cockapoo loves going there and jumps at the door to leave for "camp." He is always excited to see the staff and I know they care for him as well. You can check video monitors to see how your pet is doing. I do this at least once per day. Can't help it! read more

I always take my cat for grooming, two or three times a year. Nothing to complain about, they treat him lovingly and ends looking very cute. Is hard to find a cat groomer, they are friendly and flexible read more

Best Friends Pet Hotel - Pet Training Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

Over the past 14(+/-) years I have bordered both a doberman, and a poodle at Best Friends, and a few other places, including those run by vet's office. Both my dogs loved this place. Cookie the dobie, enjoyed the group play time, and Dorothy prefers the human one on one time. they were always clean and in good spirits when we picked them up, even after extended periods up to 10+ days. As for a dog getting kennel cough, my dogs always have their shots up to date, and never had the problem. The staff is wonderful. They are polite, responsive, and appear like they love dealing with the animals. I know my dogs are treated well, because they are happy even getting dropped off. read more

My big Dog is 12 years now. I have used this place at least 2-3 times a year for the past 11 years.. some stay was stretched to 2 weeks due to oversea trip I have no problem with this facility. they did a good job to take care my dog. Staff were friendly and reliable. I highly recommend this place. read more

My dogs love it here! I bring my two dogs to daycamp and they always come home happy and tired. I like that they have webcams that are available to watch online so I can see how they are doing during the day. Some counselors are better than others but they all give attention to the dogs and make sure no fights break out. The staff is very friendly and welcoming, the place seems clean, and everything is much nicer than other dog daycares/kennels I have seen. The staff was also very open about letting me see where my dogs are staying. I plan on leaving my dogs there for my next vacation. The report cards and awards are also a nice touch! It is probably not ideal for people who have dogs that don't like to play in a group setting, but online it said they had individual play, too. However, the biggest draw for me is that my dogs get to play with their friends all day! I like how they have play equipment and kongs available for the dogs. I also don't know if this has changed since other reviewers mentioned being worried that their dogs didn't get water but when I look at the webcams recently I see multiple water bowls for the dogs. I haven't done grooming here so I am not sure how that is, but the prices for nail trimmings/grinding seemed reasonable. The only thing that bothers me is that during camp they DO have to go to the bathroom in the play room, but they clean it up promptly and it hasn't caused my dogs to aquire any housetraining problems. I asked about it and the woman mentioned that if they noticed that your dog isn't going to the bathroom, they take them outside for a potty break. Also she mentioned that during boarding they get 3 bathroom walks a day. Maybe that has changed now because of the previous reviews about it! Overall I am very happy with Best Friends, I have tried other places and this place was definitely the best! read more

Good experience. Check-in was easy and accommodating even though I had made a mistake on the reservation location. I had visited prior, so I was already satisfied with the cleanliness and at least seeming care and attentiveness of the staff. The email update and photo was appreciated. Checkout had no issues and their invoice of expenses was clear and accurate. Happy with the grooming/bath we added to the stay as well. Prices are fair for the level of safety, cleanliness, care & optional add-ons. Also one of the few that lets you pick "individual stay" options for dogs that are unneutered (for breeding) or do not play well with other pups. Would use again! Younger staff behind the desk need some customer service training in a more pleasant and helpful manner, but the main thing is our furry friend was taken care of! read more

Been taking my dog here since 2007. Basically okay, but like others I feel they are way overpriced. I also notice my dog comes out and pees straight away, and for a long period, then sucks down the water at home like he's been deprived all day. They used to have a web camera in the groomers area, but it no longer broadcasts for some reason. I've often come in to find 5 young womn at the desk, and not one grets me or even looks up from their iscussions. If I had a closer, less expensive place, my dog would be going there instead. For some reason, I'm not getting 'report cards' on my dog when he is here either. Others get them but seems random to me. I recommedn you tour the place before boarding or grooming your dog here, decide for yourself. read more

Do NOT board your dog at Best Friends Pet Hotel. Not only does the facility stink as soon as you enter it, but our dog developed a severe staph infection immediately after boarding that required intensive treatment for the last three months. We notified BFPH of the wounds on her paws 1 hour after leaving and even sent them photos but, despite the prompt notification, they are claiming that the staph infection wasn't acquired at their facility and that they aren't responsible for our dog's almost 3 months of vet visits and medications. We purchased the insurance they offer to cover any issues but, even with that, they won't accept responsibility for our almost $5,000 worth of expenses. Their reason: our dog has allergies and we didn't go to the vet until four days after boarding (we didn't realize how severe the infection was unfortunately until her paws started bleeding). Their facility is not clean and not worth the risk to your pet. read more