A Bark Idea

Oh, boy, let me tell you about the paws-itively awesome time Sulley always has at a Bark Idea! Cami and her staff have taken care of my pup for 7 years. From start to finish, it’s an adventure filled with wagging tails, belly rubs, and endless fun. Every time I drop off Sulley, were greeted with a big smile and a whole lot of tail-wagging excitement. They always shower him with affection and make him feel right at home. The facilities are like a doggy paradise. Everything is clean, safe, and dog-friendly – just the way it should be. The communication is spot-on. I receive periodic updates, complete with adorable photos of Sulley’s escapades. It warms my heart to see him having such a blast while I’m away. It's a kennel that truly cares about keeping you in the loop. To sum it all up, if you want your pup to have a doggy vacation filled with wag-tastic memories, a Bark Idea is the place to be. Their friendly staff, awesome facilities, and great communication make it a top-notch dog boarding destination. I’ll continue bringing Sulley back for years to come.

If you are looking for somewhere to board your dog, I would recommend A Bark Idea. The staff was kind (at first) & my dog seemed really happy here boarding. They send text updates each day and she was always smiling. However, if you are looking for training in addition to boarding I would not recommend taking your dog here. Someone had recommended them to me and said their dog was so well behaved after only 5 days here. My dog was supposed to stay for 11 nights and when bringing her for her temperament day I asked if she would need training all 11 days to which they said no and I appreciated the honesty. I asked to book her for 4 days of training and they recommended doing 2 days in the beginning and another 2 at the end and they said they would update me along the way with her progress & let me know if they thought she needed more days. Throughout the week they were sending me videos (more days then 4 days, I believe it was 6) but I didn't think much of it I was like maybe they are doing a little each day vs doing 2 hours or whatever it was for the 4 days. She seemed to be doing well (but there is only so much you can tell from a video). When I picked her up, I chatted with the trainer for 5 minutes then there was a pause in conversation so I assumed she was finished talking in which case I said thank you, my friend is waiting in the car. She later tried to tell me I cut the conversation short so she couldn't give me ideas on what to do next. My two main training goals were recall when in a play environment as well as leash walking as she stopped walking on leash months ago. Before I left, the trainer said "she likely still won't listen to you at the dog park when asking her to come and I wouldn't even take her there and if you do I wouldn't try recall". I then bring my dog home and try to walk her and she refused. She would not walk on the leash and did the same thing she did prior to me taking here. I then get an email receipt and to my surprise they charged me for eleven days of training when I only asked for four. After showing text proof that I only asked for four days (they claimed they couldn't find this, but if they scrolled up in our text conversation it was right there) they eventually refunded the extra days of training. They also started to get really rude after I addressed my concerns telling me "it seems you did not get familiar with our pricing". I certainly looked at their pricing before booking as anyone would. However, I have a right to address my concern that I feel as though I wasted my hard earned money after seeing NO progress and that was with 3x the amount of training she was supposed to have. Before finding them I had my dog booked at a training that was 2.5x more expensive then their pricing, so I certainly didn't appreciate them assuming I couldn't afford to pay for the training and that was why I was addressing my concerns. This put a bad taste in my mouth. They then told me that I seemed to be happy with the progress when they were sending videos and that my concerns are confusing and surprising. It is one thing to see video progress but after 11 days of training I bring her home and she still won't walk on the leash (which was again the reason I brought her) thats an issue. I asked what they would recommend doing now post training since she didn't make any progress. All she told me was to re-watch the "training videos" again and the notes sent with each video. I watched each video she sent atleast 5 times. In the videos all they say is "good girl, lets go, sit, potty break, we're walking in an unfamiliar area,etc". NOTHING that would help me with continued training. After addressing this concern, the trainer did offer to hop on a call with me in which case I asked her to please email over her post training notes instead for me to take a look at and I will let her know if any questions. That was two days ago and I received nothing. I never write reviews like this but felt the need to share my experience. Save your money & go elsewhere for training.

I can’t thank A Bark Idea enough for being the best dog trainers and doggy day care I could ask for! I rescued my little guy Pickles at 8 weeks old and he was super fearful of everything. He started A Bark Idea Puppy School at 11 weeks old and the rest is history! The first few times I dropped him off he was shaking and scared (separation anxiety), but that quickly changed. His third day of school he was wagging his tail as we pulled up to A Bark Idea, jumping up and down at the gate and when he was greeted by the team at the door he didn’t even look back at me. He loves training with Cami and Kelsey, as do I because let’s face it, the humans usually need more training than the dogs. Pickles has learned all basic commands and more, leash training and how to socialize with other dogs of all ages and sizes. They’ve helped Pickles to gain confidence as he gets older and taught me ways to work with him on my own. I also recently boarded him for the first time and he did so well! I wouldn’t trust anyone else to watch him overnight. I love getting all the updates of Pickles hanging with other pups and I mean just look at the photos, I’d say that’s a happy little guy! Thank you A Bark Idea for treating Pickles like your own. Eternally grateful!