I am new to leaving reviews and I am usually more soft spoken but after doing a lot of what I thought was careful research for a dog day care for my little one, I find that I did not do enough of a careful review. Although there are a lot of great reviews on this site for Polka Dot Dogs, I should have gone with my first visit that this was not the place for us. My dog had been going to Polka Dot Dogs for a few weeks when she came down sick with a bad stomach parasite. At first I did not think anything of it as she is a dog and these things happen but my vet told me that what she had was from an unclean environment and since we do not go to dog parks that we needed to look into the daycare. Our vet also told us that if not treated right, she could have died! When I approached the subject with Polka Dots the person was uncaring, rude. It turns out that I spoke to the owner and even when my husband called, she was again, rude and uncaring. I would be very curious as to know how many others that attend this daycare have dogs that have stool issues over and over without a root cause. I would never recommend this place of business to anyone that cares about the health of their dog. read more

My dog absolutely LOVES coming here! She will be six months on March 8th and has been coming since she was four months. The staff is amazing and I know that they truly care for animals here. Its convenient, clean and everyone is friendly. My dog comes for daycare sporadically due to my work schedule but she is beating me to the door to get in! read more

They are always great about remembering my dogs medicine, and while she is a true diva she loves coming for doggie daycare!

My pups have been going to Daycare on Tuesdays for their Tuesday Daycare special and they seem to really be enjoying it. I know it gets really crowded, but the staff is always nice, even when it gets busy and my pups come home tired! read more

Great warm staff, incredible clean facility! Great structure of the puppies' day with play time and rest time inside and out! I feel completely confident leaving my baby (4 legged) there over night when my husband and I have to leave town! read more

The dogs only have access to water part of the day as they rotate around to different yards and rooms. My dogs were sooooo thirsty every time they came home, so I went and did the whole tour and discovered the lack of water in most of the play areas. read more

I took my 2 large dogs here while we went on vacation and they loved it! They really care about your dog's happiness and comfort. It's so much nicer than boarding dogs, where they have to stay in a kennel all day. At Polka Dot Dogs, my pups got lots of attention and love. Plus, they got to run around and have fun out in the huge play yard everyday!! They met me out at my car, and took the dogs in for me, which was so nice. The staff is very attentive to all of the dogs there. It's a great boarding facility! I'm going to sign them up for some day care soon too. I highly recomment PDD! read more

Polka Dot Dogs is run by the most genuine animal lover I have ever met - Susan is compassionate and kind, a quality she instills in her staff as well. When needing assistance for another four-legged friend, an adorable foster cat needing a home, Susan went above and beyond to reach out to the community through her network. Your dogs couldn't be in better hands here! read more

Our dog, Fred, has been going to Polka Dot Dogs for almost a year, now, and he loves it! He sits on the doormat on Fridays (his regular day for "camp", as we call it) and waits for the leash so he can go! The staff is friendly and courteous, and they know their "regulars" by name. When we take our dog in, he's greeted with a, "Hi, Fred!" which makes him comfortable, as well as us! Fred comes home happy, clean, and worn out from playing (which is nice, at the end of the week). The facility is clean, and the times we've had Fred groomed, he's come back clean and with well-trimmed nails. read more

Polka Dot Dogs is my most favorite and only boarding place. My dog, Simba, who is now 4 years old hates being boarded in typical kennels. This place was made for him! He loves playing in doggie daycare. Despite being a very active dog he always comes home from his boarding trips totally exhausted. Even when I go to pick him up after a long stay, he always pulls me back towards their play area. I typically leave him with Polka Dot Dogs for 2 weeks or longer. They always keep me up to date on him and how he is doing. They have always been very friendly. I am currently leaving him at Polka Dot Dogs for a few months over summer and everything has been great as expected. Much love and respect for the team at Polka Dot Dogs. read more

Our three and half year old Yorkshire Terrier, "Bean", was MAULED TO DEATH while being boarded at PolkaDotDogs sometime during the night of February 14, 2016.  This was the very first time we had ever boarded Bean at PolkaDotDogs.  We decided to board him there because my mother was staying at our home while receiving cancer treatment at MD Anderson and was recovering from surgery.  Bean was the most kind hearted dog and we were afraid that he would try to jump in my mother's lap to comfort her while she was connected to drains and tubes.  When we received a call at 6:15 a.m. on that Monday morning, we were told that Bean had been found dead.  My husband, father and I immediately went to PolkaDotDogs and upon our arrival we were shown Bean dead lying on a table, covered in blood with ghastly wounds.  We were then told that someone at PolkaDotDogs neglected to properly secure the dogs that night and Bean was left in a holding pen with several other dogs (including ones that were much larger in size) without any supervision for an unknown amount of time.  Sometime during that night, one or more of the other dogs had mauled Bean to death. The pen where the incident occurred had been completely cleaned and ready to receive more dogs that morning as if nothing happened.  We do not know if PolkaDotDogs ever informed the owners of the other dogs what had occurred that night.  The loss we are suffering is unbearable as Bean was our first and only dog as well as our best friend.  We have no children and we treated him like our own. We hold PolkaDotDogs completely responsible for his death as he was under their care and supervision.  The death of one dog is one too many and had I known that he would ever be left in a pen unsupervised at night with other dogs, I would never, ever left him there under their care. read more

Our dog is very sensitive so this review may not apply to all dogs but we dropped our miniature poodle twice for daycare and she came back very sick both times. I had to take her to the ER the first time with non stop vomiting. When I picked her up she was very dehydrated. I thought maybe she was just nervous and shy and would get better so I took her a week later (this past Tuesday) and let the lady at the front know that she is shy and needs attention so she will be ok and drink water, etc. the lady just shrugged her shoulders and said whatever. This place isn't cheap and I think most of their staff are very young/ teens. They need to give each dog more attention, or at least the very shy delicate ones. For my dog, this place did not work. I feel horrible for having my dog go through this. read more

Tried to board my dogs here over the holidays for 14 days, which would have been approx. 1000 dollars for the business. Was told that even though they have availability for my dates, that they are not accepting new pups, giving preference to current customers, and that they could put me on a waiting list. Seriously??? Avoid. Hope their current customer needs their dog boarded for 2 days only. read more

Unfortunately this is the 2nd time, but last time, our dog has been injured at Polka Dot Dogs and without anyone knowing how the injury occurred. Our dog was boarded for 4 days and when we picked him up, he was howling in pain. He wasn't able to jump or use his rear leg without crying in pain. According to Polka Dot Dogs, they didn't know anything was wrong with him. It is completely incomprehensible that no one would know he was in pain. The other injury, an ear nip/tear a few months back, also happened with no one seeing anything and didn't know what happened. Four days our dog was boarded this time and no one can tell me if he was injured the first day or last day or how long he was in this condition. This place is an absolute joke and doesn't take caring for animals seriously. How is it possible no one is ever around when a dog is injured?!?! Don't bother asking the owner, from my last conversation with her its clear she doesn't care. This time around, she hasn't even contacted us. After a vet visit, our dog will now be under care for the next 10 days and then will determine if more serious treatment is necessary. It is frustrating that a place that is meant to care for animals would allow a dog to remain in pain and not do anything. I caution anyone who takes their dog to Polka Dot Dogs that their concern for animal welfare is well below what I believe is any acceptable level. I question how the dogs are being cared for if no one knows how dogs are being injured. As a side note, watch our for dog records. Polka Dot Dogs has never requested an updated shot record for our dog. I'm sure the same goes for several others. ******* Susan W., I appreciate your response to my review but respectfully disagree with some of what you write. I'd be very interested in knowing how "nothing happened during his stay" considering several customers and employees saw him crying in pain as he left Polka Dot Dogs. I'm glad you were able to speak with my vet. I don't understand why you never placed a call directly to us to ask how Winston is. However, just to let you know, its been work carrying him up and down stairs to avoid aggravating the injury. I'm not sure if you also discussed this with our vet. If his condition doesn't improve, I'm confident you'll be following up with our vet. You may also want to check with your Managers because I specifically told them I wanted to speak with you; however, if the message didn't get through, I do need to speak with you. Also, I appreciate that you place such a strong reliance on waivers. It's an interesting point. Perhaps a similar level of attention should be placed on the care of dogs. For my part, I'd much rather know when and how my dog was injured so that we can appropriately treat his injury. read more

This is a wonderful facility and the only place I would entrust to care for my dog. In September we went on a week long trip to the Dominican Republic and I needed to kennel my precious dog. Susan at Polka Dot Dogs opened up her doors to my sweet dog. Duchess can be timid around people but warmed up immediately to the wonderful, caring staff. When I picked her up, she was so happy and bright eyed and pretty tired from playing all day, every day for a week. They kept detailed logs of her eating and play habit, and even gave her a report card. They all loved her to pieces and it showed with how much she warmed up to them. What I loved was that each dog is not individually crated or put in cold, hard cages, but placed in rooms according to their temperament, size and age. This was a huge selling point!! Recently on social media there has been a smear campaign against this wonderful place because of a tragedy that befell a little dog who was killed by a larger dog at the facility. I believe that PDD must be devastated and surely this was a tragic accident. I hope that enough people see my review and realize that this place is a wonderful, loving establishment. Mistakes can happen but their track record really highlights that they are compassionate and loving. I recommend them and will continue to bring my doggy there as long as they keep on loving her as much as they do now! I go by gut feeling, and my gut tells me this place is top notch and the folks there are good people. read more

I just brought my dogs here for the first time. I boarded them Fri, Sat and Sun. The people at Polka Dot were SO nice and everything was very hassle-free. It is also a great value considering that my dogs got to play in daycare Fri and Sat. I have always paid more for boarding and my dogs were stuck in kennels all weekend. My dogs came home happy and worn out Sunday night which I was very happy about. They will definitely be going back! read more

We've had some disasters when it comes to petsitting/dog boarding in the past, but since we have found Polka Dot, we don't worry anymore. Polka Dot is the perfect mix of laid back, professionalism, and doggie fun. Dogs that are boarding attend doggie daycare for no additional charge which is incredible, because I don't like the thought of my pups getting outside 3x a day to do their business and return to a "luxury cage." Polka Dot staff has always been professional and our dogs are always SO happy (and worn out from all their playtime!) when I go to pick them up. Optional bath time before you pick up is nice, too, in case you have a bigger/hairier dog that is harder to bathe yourself after all that mud-running, playing fun. I agree with the previous poster that making reservations, paying, providing shot records, etc. is as hassle free as it could possibly be because these people know how to take care of dogs without being uptight and making you stress out more than necessary about leaving your beloved pets behind. Highly recommend! read more

I took my dogs to the new Polka Dot Dogs on Ella to be boarded over the 4th of July weekend. I believe we were one of the very first customers. I brought them here because Susan, the owner, has sat our dogs in our home before so I knew I could trust her. The place was squeaky clean, really convenient location, competitive prices and the dogs were happy when we picked them up. What more can I ask for? My pups now have a new home away from home!! read more

My two pups love this place! They are always so happy to be at day care, and all the ladies there are phenomenal!

We bought a LivingSocial grooming deal offered by Polka Dot Dogs about a month ago, and I have to say, they did a spectacular job (we have two dogs, one Shepherd mix and a Basset mix)! I would highly recommend them to anyone in the Heights/Oak Forest/Garden Oaks seeking great, reasonably priced grooming services for their dogs. read more

This place is great. Owner and employees know my name and dogs name. We take him there 1-2 times a week to get him out of the house since we both work. He always comes home tired and has never come home smelly (see my other reviews). Buy the packages if you plan on being a repeat customer as they'll save you money in the long run. Also Half Price Tuesdays can't be beat. These people genuinely care about your pet and your experience. Cash and I will be continue to be frequent customers. read more

My dog loves coming here! I usually bring him once or twice a week for daycare and occasionally board him. He is always very excited when he gets there and know right where to go! The staff is very friendly and seem to know and care about all of the regulars. I have used their grooming services multiple times and have never been disappointed. I have had bad experiences in the past so I plan to stick with Polka Dot Dogs! read more

Love this place and so do my dogs. Never had any issues coming here. Staff is friendly and seem to genuinely be dog people.

This evening I googled Polka Dot to retrieve the number for a friend and decided to check out the reviews at Yelp out of curiosity. I am not the type of person who is normally inclined to leave a review, good or bad which is ironic since I sometimes defer to them in making consumer decisions. So I decided I needed to take the time to put in a 5 star recommendation for my favorite doggie day care!!! Plus I found the 1 negative review particularly amusing upon reading. Just have to say I myself have never asked for a tour (although I'm sure they would be happy to oblige my request) because the facility speaks for itself when your dog (my husky/malumute Belloc) starts howling and can't seem to get out of the car fast enough to go "hang" for the day with his doggie buddies and the staff. Essentially my dog's reaction speaks for itself. I'm convinced he likes it better at Polka Dot than he does at his own home!!!!! And if he could talk, would probably ask Susan if he could move in permanently. Problem with that is that he has no serviceable skills to pay for his room/boarding : ( When you drop your pooch off it's readily apparent that the back yard is huge and accommodates a doggie pool for your pup to take a dip in, during the warmer months. And when you pick your dog up after work and he crashes when he hits the couch or his doggie bed for the evening, you're pretty sure he wasn't working a chain gang performing manual labor while at PolkaDot. And your dog certainly doesn't get so tired at the end of the day from lack of physical activity while you were at work. So before I belabor the point any further about how much my dog LOVES LOVES LOVES Polkadot and their staff, I also have to mention that I came across PolkaDot due to their philanthropic work with Scouts Honor Rescue Group. Susan does a ton of work for homeless pets as do her staff members so not only does my doggie love Polka Dot but so do I. They are AWESOME AWESOME PEEPS. I'll roll with my pups at Polka in H-town any day of the week!!!! read more

We have been using Polka Dot Dog for some time for day care, boarding and grooming our two Boykin Spaniels and have been very please with their level of care and service. The staff has been very helpful and courteous. And our dogs get excited when they go there which tells me they like it too. read more

Staff and management really care about the dogs and it shows. Great place to take your dogs.

Horrible experience. During the second day of my dog's first week of day care at Polka Dot Dogs, I picked her up in the afternoon and immediately saw that her collar, which is plaid fabric over leather, was completely shredded and her fur was a mess. Usually she is a wiggly bundle of joy when she sees me, but she kept her head down and was basically glued to my legs. When I pointed out to the staff that her collar was ripped apart and her fur was wet and tangled, I was told in a very rude way that I must have brought her in that morning looking like that. When I asked to speak to the manager, the desk staff said she wasn't there and refused to give me her phone number, saying, "We don't give out her number to just anybody." I am assuming my mini-schnauzer was put in with big dogs and was roughed up because of it. I had paid for a month in advance so left with my very shaken dog and a refund. read more