Group Play is NOT for every Dog

The other week we got a scathing 1-star Google review. The review blasted us for poor customer service, poor communication (internally and externally), and for not letting their puppy participate in our Back Country group play and “forcing” them to enroll in our Canine Enrichment Program (K9E). Normally we simply thank an unhappy customer for their feedback, acknowledge our shortcomings, apologize, and ask for another chance to earn their trust. In this instance, this normal response did not happen.

In this case, honestly, while we think we did fail in communication, we don’t think we failed in customer service. The client asserted that they had a reservation at Pet Camp with pick up and drop off on the Pet Camp Express. We didn’t have the reservation in our system but when the client called upset that we hadn’t picked up their dog we instantly explained that we didn’t have a reservation for the dog but would send out the Pet Camp Express right away. The client, fairly belligerently, rejected our offer. We should have done a better job at making sure that we went from phone call to reservation (something we do hundreds of times a day) but we made a mistake. And as noted above, when we make a mistake, we apologize and offer to solve the problem – in this case to no avail.

On the second issue, that we would not let her dog participate in our Back Country group play and “forced” her to do K9E, no apology was given nor is forthcoming. The pet parent had already told us that the last time her dog went to the dog park it grabbed a dog by the neck and shook it! Sorry, the dog is simply not ready for group play at Pet Camp. Might her dog one day be ready for group play? Maybe. Is our K9E program the best way to allow this dog to become better socialized and more likely to succeed in group play at the dog park or at Pet Camp? Absolutely. Participating in our K9E is not a punishment. It is an opportunity! An opportunity for a dog to be physically and intellectually challenged, to learn new skills and commands, to become desensitized to stimuli, and to become better socialized (if appropriate) with a wider set of dogs and people.

We are sorry that this pet parent will not give her dog the chance to succeed at Pet Camp and while we disagree with the decision, we understand that it was her decision to make. We also think she should respect our decision to do everything we can to keep her dog and the other dogs at Pet Camp safe.
Thanks for reading.

Pet Camp has been providing San Francisco’s best pet care since 1997.  From group play to customizable Canine Enrichment, Pet Camp has the doggie day care and overnight care options perfect for any dog; if your a cat parent, Cat Safari offers a range of cat activities to keep your cat fully engaged; need bathing, training or transportation services for your dog or cat?  We’ve got that covered too.