If I could give it a zero I would. Took my dog here for a 10 day board and train session as Paws in Paradise was highly recommended to me. It was not only a beyond frustrating experience and I do not believe my dog was treated very well. The lack of communication from before my dog was even dropped off should have been enough to tip the scales, but with such high reviews for Monika Stuehler (the owner), I simply brushed it off. When I dropped my dog off, I wasn't able to meet Monika to discuss the issues about my dog, and I wasn't able to show the commands / hand signals that my dog did know. Half way through my dogs stay we were supposed to go in for a training session and then another session upon pickup. Monika called that morning to cancel on us and said she would be in contact to set up an appointment. Well 9 days into a 10 stay, we still hadn't heard anything. Finally at about 8pm she tells us it's a go for tomorrow. We show up the next day and Monika is not there, just someone else to give us her excuse and give our dog back. Once home with my dog I notice she has sores on her face from where a muzzle or halti would be so either they had something too tight or they were pulling on her aggressively. These wounds were wet with pus so they were fresh and easy to see. No one mentioned any of this to me, I was always told she was doing well. I have no idea what my dog was taught, if anything. I have no idea why my dog has sores on her face. I have no idea why my dog wouldn't let me pet her for two days. I have no idea why I didn't get to meet the person my dog was staying with. And when I try to reach out for someone to contact me on Facebook, my post gets deleted and who is the only admin? You guessed it, Monika. I wouldn't doubt if this post gets deleted. Do not go here. They are very unprofessional and I do not believe they treat all the dogs with respect. If I could attach pictures of how sad my dog looked on her stay, and the small area she was in with 10+ dogs next to a janitor pail and mop, I would, but I can't. read more

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There is a new owner and a new name for this place. I have seen how the dogs are treated and they are loved like family. The owner Greg is amazing with dogs and really puts his all into the business. I wish them all the best. read more

Friendly staff, fair prices for daycare and boarding. My dog loves it here! Hours are great. Sometimes they even trim his nails. I wish they would post more photos on their Facebook page throughout the day. read more

So disappointed with how our two dogs were treated during their boarding. We had contacted them 5 days in to see if the dogs needed anything and how they were doing. We were told they were doing great, didn't need anything and they were quiet and clean animals. My mother picked up the dogs today. She was told our male dog had developed pancreatitis (which he developed before due to stress.) We were never told or contacted about this. The owner proceed to tell my mom that she self medicated the dog. She had absolutely NO RIGHT to treat my animals without contacting a vet or our emergency contacts first. Not to mention the fact that we had asked how they were doing and got nothing but a great response leaving us worry free. My other dog (black and white bichon shih tzu) came back so filthy she literally had a layer of dirt on her fur. Her white patches are grey. We will not be bringing Koda and Rio back to this facility and I will discourage anyone from bringing their dogs there. read more

By far the best place I have taken my dog. Have done daycare, boarding and training and couldn't be happier with the level of expertise from all of the staff. They take their education very seriously and are always learning new things. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone. read more

I was unhappy with this location as well. Not only are they cramped in a small space to poop on the floor. I heard them yelling at the dogs . And my dog smelled like cleaning chemicals pretty bad and was not happy. I prefers positive training as well and they use "corrective " training with sticks. Do not recommend. read more

Bad place only gotten worse with staff and management changes. Used to be decent last year. Bought a 5 day package.. 2 1/2 days in. Giving the package to another client who doesn't know any better. Dogs not logged into system when dropped off. Wrong leashes brought back out. Not sure if they got fed or not. And last 2 visits. Puppy came home with an eye infection. And next visit a week later. A respiratory infection we are going to the vet today for. Would rather leave pups at home and deal with the potential mess at home than leave in their 'care' again. Lots of other places in town. I highly recommend checking them out. Sick to my stomach with them. My last puppy used to go there and needed serious medicines daily. Truly hope they were on the ball with her....... read more

If I could give 0 (zero) stars I would!!! This place is deplorable! We left our 8 yr old American Fox Hound at this farce of a facility after it was recommended by a friend. The owner had adopted our friend's dog since her son became allergic to pet dander, and thus had become friendly with the owner, Monika. Monika had advised us that she has "doggy daycare" and "Home Boarding" for an extra fee and we would have to take our beloved Fox Hound in for a trial session to make sure she was compatible. We did this and all went well. Our Hound came home absolutely exhausted! Wonderful. "Home Boarding" is where a staff member takes your dog home with them so they are never left alone in the kennel. Since our Fox Hound doesn't do well by herself, this was an excellent option and after much discussion we decided to go this route, feeling that our Hound would benefit from being with other dogs during the day and other people during the evening. The day we were to pick up our Fox Hound "Halo", Monika message my wife and told her that Halo had "bed sores almost" on her hind legs. Monika continued to tell my wife that Halo was being taken to Monika's veterinary clinic, in Wetaskiwin (30 minutes from Leduc), to be treated. My wife then became distraught and replied that we would be there shortly [within 30 minutes] and that our Halo better be there. Monika said she would do her best to contact her kennel manager to have him turn around and meet us at the kennel in Leduc. There are 2 veterinary clinics within 5 minutes of the kennel facility in Leduc. When we arrived at the Paws in Paradise facility, staff told my wife that Steve (Monika's roommate) wasn't finished with Halo yet but based on Monika's text messages, he wasn't even supposed to be back from Wetaskiwin for another hour!!! It turns out he never even got to Wetaskiwin as he had received a text from Monika telling him to turn around and head back to Leduc because we wanted our dog "Halo". Halo came out of the facility absolutely filthy and had her tail between her legs. Halo has sores on her hind legs and is missing hair from one of her forward "elbows", consistent with sitting in a kennel for several days. She is currently on antibiotics including penicillin along with Polysporin and a diluted iodine solution. We provided our own container of food for Halo which looked like it had not been used. She was there for 10 days!!! Halo has lost what appears to be at least 5 pounds (she was overweight), and it's quite easy to tell she has dropped a few pounds. Monika has sent limited messages to my wife as she's apparently in Ontario. She tried to tell us that her staff didn't take Halo home for her weekend "home boarding" leading us to believe that Halo had only been in the kennel for 2 days due to some sort of mis-communication with the staff as Monika was away. The sores on Halo's hind legs are more than 2 days old and very little if any of Halo's food has been used from the container we provided. We are currently waiting for Monika to contact us to find out what the final bill is since we only paid a deposit when we dropped Halo off. Steve told us that Monika would be in touch to settle the bill. When we picked up Halo, another lady had dropped off her small breed dog for the weekend and when this lady picked her dog up it was covered in feces. The lady was appalled and the staff said they would bathe the dog. When the dog was taken into the back to be bathed, a staff member could be heard saying "Can someone give him a bath, he's covered in sh!t.". We are currently reviewing our options including possible legal action against this boarding service. Use at your own risk!!! read more

If I could give them zero, I would. I took my dog there once for daycare. I got there around 7:00 a.m., and the owner was quite rude to me for asking what happens at daycare, what leash I should leave with them, etc. It was as if she was annoyed that I didn't know these answers, even though I had never been there before.. But what really bothered me was the fact that I passed my friendly, cooperative labrador to her with his collar and leash on, and she immediately put a choke collar on him. He wasn't comfortable with this, and started pulling. She then tried to make him sit by pulling up on the collar, which effectively choked my dog and made him gag, cough and panic. My dog is 3 years old, and knows the word "sit". I tried to tell her to use the commands WE have taught him, but she refused to listen to me, told me that dogs learn quickly with this method, and continued to choke my dog. I asked her not to choke him, and obviously pushed a button with her, and made her angry at me. (I've seen online fights between her and other people with the word "choke" being brought up before, but didn't think too much about it because she is so popular and well known in Leduc). She then rudely pointed to a framed photo of her and Cesar Millan on the wall, as if I should immediately trust her because she has a photo with him.... I had to ask her repeatedly to stop what she was doing, and eventually raise my voice to stop it. She got annoyed, and just took my dog into the back with no other word to me. I found it very disrespectful that this woman refused to listen to me when I told her I was uncomfortable with how she was handling my dog, and that she had no respect for other training methods. I realize she's a professional, but we prefer more positive reinforcement training methods than she uses, and my dog was only going for daycare, not training, and she should be more respectful of peoples' comfort levels with how she treats our dogs. We will not be back. read more

Giving them a Big ZERO!! Oh where to start.. I was told about this amazing trainer Monika Stuehler. My dog was having issues with other dogs. The first time I went in her first comment was " is that the collar you have for him???" I said yes. She said "no wonder he dominates you.." and gave me a very dirty look.. She just about made me cry. There was no need for that disrespect. Not to mention THAT WAS WHY I WAS THERE!! To teach us both some good things. He spent the day there and said he showed no aggression at all. That I must be doing something wrong and it was most likely just Me.. Uh, ok.. Forward to a year or so later. I needed to board my 2 dogs. I figured I would give her another chance and maybe I caught her on a bad day my first time. Usually I have friends or family watch them but we were all doing a big trip. I called PIP and asked for home boarding. Monika said she would do it. Well, days into my trip, I get a call from her saying my dog was very ill. I said ok, does he need Vet care? (I had left my vet info with them). She said he had the shits and was shitting EVERYWHERE... but that he seemed to be getting better.. I called everyday to make sure it wasn't super serious & she said he was getting better. When I picked up my dogs, they were still covered in feces. (For a place that grooms dogs, they were not bathed very well at all).. And it made me wonder.. If both my dogs were at her home, how did my little dog manage to get feces all over him too? I am guessing when the one got sick, she took them back to the kennel and left them both in there (so her house wouldn't get affected).. I can't think of how my other dog would have been covered in poop if they weren't locked in a kennel together?? I paid for home boarding when really they were left in a kennel at the daycare. Not to mention..a family member actually called and paid for the service over the phone to surprise me. When I called Monika to pay she "conveniently forgot" that it had already been paid by my family member.. She would have let me pay twice for shitty boarding. That is really unprofessional. When I called her out on it, she sent me a text apologizing and that she really did forget it had already been paid for. There are so many supporters of this place and good for you.. You just haven't had a bad experience yet, or been on the wrong side of Monika. Hopefully the new co-owners can give this place a better reputation. I actually recommended this place to friends and they also had a bad experience with Monika.. She's not a people person and should not deal with people if she wants to keep this business.. Disappointed and will never return and will NOT recommended to anyone! read more

Always a great experience. We have done training, day care, boarding and grooming with the Paws team. They always provide great advise and treat my boys like their own. read more

Boarded our two 8 year old dogs for the first time at Paws In Paradise for 9 days. Had a funny feeling right from the onset due to the terrible odour on entry and on pickup. Both dogs had had a Vet wellness check up the day before and their boosters. Both were fine. The day of pick up we noticed Major was continuously licking and worrying at her back haunch. On examination she had (what I thought was a burn at first), we asked for a bath and groom prior to pick up for both. Called the owner, she was brusque, impatient, curt then arrogant with me on the phone. She stated there was nothing that appeared "on their records" indicating this. She then asked that I bring the dog into her (not take her to the vet) so she could shave the area and have a look. She referred me to a page on the internet depicting hot spots that very near made my hair stand on end. She said it was probably a "hot spot." This advice did not sit well with me; I went to the vet. Turned out it was a hot spot, caused by bacteria, I believe wholeheartedly that she has so many dogs in there all the time that the sanitary and hygienic aspects of this place are conducive to bacteria and infections. Two sets of antibiotics for 10 days, $110 later. Our other lab came home with a piece of her nose missing (probably from being caged for 10 days) and developed a sore on her leg the following day as well. The boarding was $50 a day for 10 days, bath and grooms were $45 each. They took a deposit on my Visa of $105, did not apply the deposit to the final invoice. The dogs were so anxious to get out the door I never noticed that the deposit hadn't been taken off the final invoice. Again a call to Monika, never have I been given such a run around or a huge crock of poop dished out by a business owner. When I relayed my concerns to her regarding the state of cleanliness she became defensive, even went so far as to state "she has seen other boarding kennels in the area and "hers is by far the best." She may very well parade around with an attitude with some; has pictures of Cesar and Brad on the wall which might give one a sense of security and participate in the community to benefit dogs. There's a lot of Yadda yadda yadda, very little professionalism, common courtesy or concern from where we sit. It's all bark and bluster. I really should have clued in when I asked for a copy of "the waiver" one is asked to sign at the last minute. Full page of "not responsible, not responsible, not responsible" the list goes on. She has this waiver for a reason, dimes to dollars I'd wager there have been plenty of incidents, infections etc. Learned today from a woman her dog contracted pink eye twice (cannot believe she took the dog back a second time), however I'm sure Monika convinced her that the pink eye came from somewhere else. Would never recommend this place to anyone, in fact would love to know the governing body that keeps tabs on this day care and boarding mill. An unannounced visit might just open other's eyes. Not saying her talents don't exist and are of benefit to those that patronize the place and often. Relaying exactly what transpired with us and her handling of the matter. Clueless. read more

I first emailed my training questionnaire to Monika on January 25th. It took her until February 1st to get back to me. From there we agreed to take our dog in on February 3rd for the day for an evaluation day Monika said that she would observe him and then tell us what she thought he needed to work on at the time of pick up and what kind of classes he should be in. When we went to pick him up all she said is I think we can help him and tried pushing her two week board and train as the bees knees of training programs. then hurried us out the door because she apparently had clients. Nothing about problem areas she noted or anything like that. she told us she would call us on Sunday February 5th at 5 PM to discuss her findings and see about booking him in for some training. She didn't get around to calling us until Tuesday February 14th claiming that she had a family emergency that prevented her from calling us earlier and by then she scarcely remembered anything about our dog and had to keep referring back to the original questionnaire that we had filled out. We decided not to go with the board and train and to instead try the foundation classes. we booked them and paid for them on that day. She also advised us to sign up for some daycare so that our dog could work on socialization we reminded her that he is not yet neutered and she said it was no problem so we bought 5 days of daycare. She told us that she would put us with one of her other trainers since her workload was so large and would have her call us the next day. again we did not receive a call. I finally called them on Tuesday February 21st and was able to speak with Monika she made the excuse that the other trainer was in a course on the weekend that prevented her from calling us which in my opinion had nothing to do with the call we were supposed to receive on the previous Wednesday. She again promised to have the other trainer call us the next day. The next day Wednesday February 22nd we took our dog in for the daycare that he had scheduled and were almost turned away by the girl at the counter because our dog wasn't neutered which Monika had earlier assured us was no problem. They did agree to take him but informed me that he would be kept separated from the other dogs which completely defeats the purpose of us bringing him in for socialization. The other trainer Cassidy finally did call us on that same day but by that time we decided that I wasn't worth the hassle of having to start fresh every time we managed to get a hold of the people and having to wait almost a month to try to book training for one dog. There seems to be zero communication within this company. Cassidy was super apologetic and informed me that she had only received our information from Monika the previous day. Further driving home the lack of communication. We told her that we would be in later that day to seek a refund for the training. When we arrived to pick up our dog from daycare and seek our refund for the training and remaining daycare days nobody was able to provide a refund except Monika who was again too busy to see us. We left and were again told to expect a call from Monika in order to clear things up which we are still waiting on. We will continue to contact them daily until we receive our refund. All in all the communication at this facility is appalling. Monika may be great with dogs but she needs to work on her people skills. read more

Love Monica and Vicki they are great trainers and have helped me and my dogs greatly. Daycare is fun for my girl and loves going.

I don't feel comfortable taking my dogs there. I tried telling them repeatedly that my one dog has special needs and can't get too excited. Well they must not pay much attention because on more than one occasion he had to be pulled away from playing because he couldn't breathe and once had to get doggy CPR. They weren't supposed to let it get to that point. My dogs would often end up sick for weeks after attending their establishment. My one dog would shake with so much fear when I took her there so I'd hate to think of what happened to her to cause that. The staff while often pleasant could sometimes be stand off-ish to me and aggressive towards my dogs. I felt like there was just a huge bad vibe there. They don't seem to practice what they preach. And the whole public group on FB is dramatic and not a way I feel comfortable booking my in. It's like advertising to the world that you're not going to be home and this is where your dogs will be. Not smart. Definitely not the socialization situation I wanted for my dogs and I am grateful I found somewhere else with a nice calm energy and people I can trust. read more

I was in desperate need of help with my aggressive dog. I called back in November and talked to a receptionist or whatever she was and was promised I would get a call back from the trainer. No one called. I gave it some time and still no call. So I called again, same story, promised to get a call back. Nothing. I called 3 more times with the same story so I forgot about it. About a month ago I decided to try again, as I am still in desperate need of help with my dog. So I called again. This time I was told the first step is to fill out a questionnaire. I got my hopes up thinking finally I'm getting somewhere with these people. So that night I spent the whole evening filling out this questionnaire with great detail(as they request) basically begging for help. I sent it and patiently waited to hear back. Nothing. So I waited a bit more until I called. The girl said "oh someone will get back to you but send it again to a different email" STILL NO CALL BACK. I'm not impressed with the way these people do business and they've lost me as a potential customer. Thanks for nothing. read more

I have used Paws in Paradise for my dogs for the past 3 yrs, Never had an issue till now. DO NOT BOARD YOUR DOGS HERE, They recently expanded to a second acreage location used for boarding. My dogs went there instead of the Leduc location. I was assured by Monika that it was the exact same. At the acreage, they had 1 caretaker in charge of the dogs. How many dogs, they will not tell me. They left my 4.5 pound dog UNSUPERVISED with a BullMastiff 120 plus pounds.... The Bullmastiff viciously attacked my dog. The worker re-entered the room to find my pup on the ground not breathing. I only found this out from the vet - they still have not told me the truth. I have been patient and given them the opportunity. They have not paid the vet bills even though they said they would. None of the "caring staff" have called to see how he is doing. My DOG HAS HAD 3 SURGERIES, CANNOT WALK due to a SHATTERED SHOULDER , MULTIPLE BITES. $15,000 in vet bills so far. read more