Do not care about the dog’s personalities or preferences

I do not normally write negative reviews, but we really want to help another family hopefully avoid what happened to us when we took our puppy here this last week. She is 6 months and we did research about day care options and Barker Lounge came up with great reviews at an affordable rate and is convenient for us to get to. I’m not sure if there is a huge difference between their two locations in terms of how things are run and the staff, but our experience at the east Charlotte one was truly terrible. We run a camp for a short time in the summer and thought we would consider a day care program so our pup could have some extra socialization and playtime while we have longer work days out of the house. Our puppy has never shown an ounce of aggression. She’s timid around new dogs and wants to check it out first and eases into play (she’s 6 months!) but is a goofball. The staff member, who we spoke to via email and then when we arrived for her assessment didn’t want to hear a single word about our dog, her temperament, or what we’ve seen from her socially. He was rude and condescending and very stand-offish. We told him it was our first dog and a brand new experience so we really didn’t know what to expect. He walked us around quickly - they have about 10 dogs (some large) in very small half-wall areas indoors - it’s very cramped. The people in each group (one per group) look completely disinterested and are on their phones half of them. The outdoor areas are a little larger - but we couldn’t get any information about how much time they got outdoors. He took our pup right away when we walked in and didn’t even say any words to us or share what was going to happen with her. After our “tour” - during which we saw our pup isolated in an outdoor space with absolutely no one around - we got in the car and had a bad feeling. My partner actually went back in to say we decided against leaving her there and we wanted to take her. Then he was suddenly very sweet and apologetic and talked us into giving it a shot. We left and 90 minutes later he called me and told me they had to pull our dog from group play because she was being really aggressive and showing dangerous behaviors for the other dogs. I pressed him and asked specific questions about how many dogs were in the group and how she was introduced - I had forced him to listen to how we have seen her be timid and need time to check out a situation before being ready to be playing and in a large group. He said she had met them one at a time and was in a group with TEN other dogs. So in less than 90 minutes he expected our 6 month old dog to adapt to a new place, new people, new smells, and ten other dogs without getting completely overwhelmed or overstimulated. I told him I had never seen any aggression from her and so it seemed clear it was based on the situation. He said he would not pass her through her assessment and wouldn’t be able to come there for daycare. I immediately went and picked her up and I have never seen her so anxious to get out of a place. I couldn’t believe the whole situation and it felt awful to know I had left her in such a terrible situation for her. So if you have a younger dog or care about the environment or how the staff and people view and work with your dog - this is NOT the place for you. Definitely look elsewhere - the other place we took her to the next day to try were a world of difference. They said she was nothing but sweet and silly and so fun to have - she did great in a small group with other dogs that had similar temperaments and also were more timid. They had us fill out a full lengthy paper on her and her habits/behavior and the staff was super reassuring and lovely and helped us feel ok about trying a new place. So I know we aren’t crazy - avoid Barker Lounge if you have high standards for your dogs care!

Jun. 09, 2023