Planet Pooch Doggie Daycare

I worked there for 9 months. the website says "your pal can run around all day with the big dogs and then cool off in the pool, or curl up on the couch with his favorite attendant -- whatever makes his day." but in fact, i've only seen the pool used on one day and curling up on the couch next to their favorite attendant? no. the only room that has a couch is a room in which old, or less friendly dogs are kept, but there are rarely employees in that room. also,there's only one employee per group of dogs 95% of the time, so they don't have a choice who they're with. the website also say "All of our daycare attendants are given a two-hour orientation class covering canine behavior, [etc]" "All daycare attendants also attend a 4 hour class on dog first aid and CPR. At the end of their probationary period each staff member is competency tested to reflect their level of responsibility.". "Also, every week our behaviorist coaches the staff in each play group to reinforce and expand the subjects covered in the orientation." the fact are as follows: 1. the two hour orientation class is in fact two hour-long DVDs that the owner has new employees watch sometime soon after starting their employment. 2. in the 8 months i've worked there, there have only been first aid/cpr classes, given a week apart at either location. this means that several employees went over a year and never got trained until this year. it also means that all new employees are untrained in cpr/first aid, and there is a high turnover rate. 3. there is no probationary period or competency test that i was ever made aware of. 4. no behaviorist coach has ever come in to "reinforce and expand" out knowledge. the owner dan cares more about his business than the safety and happiness of the dogs, or his employees. if a dog is barking too much, dan may press them in between the gate, or pin them to the ground until they cant move, even if they scream. the dogs are scared of him once they get to know him more

If you're dog is not aggressive towards other dogs, Planet Pooch is pure doggy heaven. It's in Redwood City close to SFO and they provide day and night "CAGELESS" boarding. Usually up to 60-70 dogs during weekday daytime hours (regular daycare while parents are at work) and about 15-20 overnight dogs. They book far in advance so make sure to check them out on the web, call for more info and fill out the online registration forms ASAP. Also they will require a temperament evaluation beforehand. The place is terrific and has a very good dog to monitor ratio. Also the Web cams are great. Last summer I was able to check up on our dogs from a ice-cream parlor/internet cafe on the beach on the Big Island of Hawaii -- what a relief. Upon return, after two weeks, my dogs were happy to see me but didn't care to leave ;) website http://www.planetpooch.com more

Our little pug just loves Planet Pooch. When we have to go out of town we can feel totally comfortable that our little guy is happy, healthy and extremely well cared for. We use their weekly pick-up/drop-off service from our local dog park and let me tell you that it's our dog's favorite day of the week. The staff at Planet Pooch is completely dedicated to having a safe, fun environment for the dogs. The only bummer is that they are so busy because they provide such excellent service that you may have to make your daycare reservations a little in advance. more

We took our dog to Planet Pooch 3 times for day care then for 5 full days of day and night care. The dog care seems fine. However, many of the staff (including owners) are discourteous. There are MANY rules to follow at Planet Pooch and new customers are expected to master every one immediately. If you goof you get lectured and/or yelled at. An example: When we went to pick up our dog after the week of care, a staff member gave my husband the wrong dog and then disappeared before he could say anything. After calling her back, he asked for our dog politely. She did not utter a work of "oops" or "sorry". Then when my husband took our leash off this wrong dog so that he could get our dog (this was in a completely enclosed area), the staff member began yelling at him (yes, yelling) that he wasn't supposed to take the leash off yet. Then an owner came out and started berating him as well. Meanwhile no employee of Planet Pooch came out of their fenced area to get this dog that wasn't ours. I guess that was my husband's job. Another example: I went to pick up our dog at 12:55 after a morning of day care. Pick up is permitted until 1pm. After that you have to wait until 2:30. A chain had already been put up barring me from the pick up area. A staff member just glared at me when I asked to pick up the dog. He did not respond verbally or move to get my dog. I asked him 3 times to get the dog and he NEVER responded to me. Finally, another staff member came out and told me I had to go to the office to ask for the dog. There are more examples. You make your own decision. I stopped taking her even though I had more pre-paid visits because the people are so unpleasant...I don't usually post reviews of places but the customer service was so poor here... more

Super-friendly people who know a lot about dogs and will go out of their way to help you out more