Camp Bow Wow Durham/RTP/Airport

06/27/2008 Posted by jm1974

First off, rest assured I am not a "fired employee" which seems to be the scape goat here. I am a former client, used this facility for over a year. When I first started taking my dog to Camp Bow Wow, it was great. Very friendly & experienced staff, I could leave her all day, go to work & not have to worry about her health or safety. About a year after I started taking her, services started to decline greatly. I noticed a ridiculously huge turn over rate. Every single day there were new employees, and when I asked about the people who used to take care of my dog, people she had grown to love & trust, well, I was told that all the long term employees left. There was nothing left but uneducated, unprofessional white trash old women and inexperienced, spoiled teenagers. And I am supposed to trust these people with my dog, who is like a child to me? People with children would not be okay with taking their kid to school to a new teacher everyday, just as I was very uncomfortable with leaving my dog to new strangers everyday. My dog did not look forward to going to Camp nearly as much anymore; because she did not know nor trust anyone on staff. She became nervous and did not eat well on the days she went to camp, which my vet attributed to the stress. Also, there would be maybe 2 or 3 employee cars in the parking lot on any given morning and yet I look on the cameras and see TONS of dogs, running everywhere, crowded, with one employee supervising at least 25, inside & outside. I decided to ask the current receptionist one day what the deal was, why had things declined so much? I was told that the owner, Neil, had become money hungry and was offering very low pay, no benefits to the long term employees... no health insurance, no paid sick days, nothing. Also I was told that employees did not feel safe because the acceptance process, which at one time was strict & selective, had all but been completely eliminated and there were dogs there who did not belong there.

Pros: it's going under

Cons: high turn over rate, overbooked, understaffed.

06/04/2008 Posted by hardworker1

This is for all the people that are writing false accusations on here about this camp because i work at this camp and i know that a lot of things on here are far from the truth. For beginners we do not take any pit bulls so i dont know what you were looking at when you wrote that and we do not put a lot of dogs in one cabin because each dog has his own cabin and the only way more than one dog is in a cabin is if it is a multiple dog family. There is always an employee in the play areas with the dogs and just because you cant see them at the precise time you are looking dont mean that there is no one in there with them and we do not over crowd the play areas because we go by a state ratio. As for the statement made about bully breeds i am not sure what you meant by that but we do not have any bully breeds there. The dogs that come there play and they have a great time romping and rolling with each other and if some of the romping and rolling appears to look like one dog is bullying another one thats not what is happening because we wont allow that so i assure you that they are just having a great time playing. The staff works very hard here to keep everything neat, clean and sanitary because these are important things to us. We love and enjoy the dogs that come here and we look forward to seeing them everyday and i also assure you that they are our main concern. Cleanliness and safety are two very important factors to us. The clients that leave their dogs with us can walk out the door knowing that their babies are well cared for by people that care and love dogs. People please do not continue writing things on this site unless you know exactly what you are talking about because it will get you nowhere. To all of the people that bring their dogs to us please continue bringing them and i assure you they are in great hands.

Pros: Friendly smiling faces to greet the client and dog, staff that is more than willing to assist clients if they need assistance getting dogs inside or out to the car, plenty of parking space

Cons: none

06/03/2008 Posted by TruthfullinFAYNC

use your own judgement.check them out more then just once........ ............. ............ ........... ........... ............. ............. ........ ..........

Pros: Thumbs down

Cons: Thumbs down

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

05/27/2008 Posted by kimsbnb

I have had to deal with someone here who went on the word of another person who complained. I am sorry that they posted something so negative. I have contacted that person and found they had flat out lied. I personally researched this place and found it to be top notch. Kim

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

04/18/2008 Posted by csr2003

i took my pet there and i was not empressed at all the place smelt like urine and there was nothing in order it seemed like, it did not seem that tidy and clean either. it seemed like every time i turned around i saw young teenagers talking in the lobby and not doing there jobs with the pets that they were looking after. i will not go back............

Pros: nothing

Cons: everthing

03/21/2008 Posted by Jamiewho

I used Camp bow wow at the Durham location right outside raleigh. It was very close to my workplace which was awesome! Basically, I was ok with the service. It could have been better. The areas really smelled like dog which ofcourse makes sense cause its a daycare for dogs! But, the other place I used really close by called You lucky dog smelled super clean every time I came in. And I love clean! I liked how camp bow wow had alot of dogs and the webcams. But the rooms are so small! Even the outdoor play areas seemed tiny compared to other places i've used. (We moved quite a few times for work and have seen many many daycares.) Even in washington DC all the daycares had much bigger rooms with alot more staff! Most of the times I came to drop off my dog or pickup where good. I only had one very bad experience with an extremly rude employee. Who didn't seem to care about anything except having me pay for passes. So 1 out of 8-10 visits wasn't bad. One of my biggest concerns where that I never actually saw anyone cleaning or really "playing" with the animals. But my dog seemed to enjoy it and has only gotten minor cuts at this place. I am however concerned at the amount of bully breeds at the daycare. Since my dog had been attacked by pitbulls twice in the past. BUT NOT AT THIS FACILITY!!!!!!!!!! It just had me worried enough that I stopped taking my dog there. The price was typical for doggy care.

Pros: Lots of dogs, fair price, enough parking, package deals

Cons: Lots of bully breeds, long check-in/out sometimes, Very young staff attending to the dogs instead of cleaning like the other facilities. I'm used to seeing adults watching dogs. Smelly areas

02/19/2008 Posted by MSmell

They are very mindful of our training at home, and they try it onsite as well. Great, great place. Our dog loves it, and they love our dog!

Pros: everything

Cons: none

12/29/2007 Posted by kileyq

Our dog has been a regular day-camper for the past 6 months. She almost pulls the leash out of my hand in her excitement to see all of her camp friends. They keep the dogs sequestered according to their size. My dog was a small puppy when she first went, and they put her in with the small dogs. She has now graduated to the medium and large dog areas. The cameras in each area make watching your dog an addictive distraction at work. The staff is always friendly. The prices are a bit on the high side, but purchasing a package can get you a better rate. We switched from taking her to our vet's daycare because of the convenient location and hours. If someone is checking in their dog for boarding and you are late to work, be prepared to wait. Hopefully they can find a way to take in the pre-paid day campers without having to wait for people in line to fill out forms... Our dog enjoys herself and burns off a lot of energy. No problems with eye infections (?)

Pros: cameras, day camp

Cons: drop-off can be slow

12/18/2007 Posted by jp11

My dog goes there every day. Dogs seem to be excited to be there. Very nice staff. They serve sirloin on Mondays. Socialization is very good for the dogs and you can see they're worn out by the end of the day. Hours and location are very convenient. The staff seems to know how to handle dogs very well.

Pros: Location, staff, hours, Monday is sirloin day, Teddy the wonder dog!

Cons: Sometimes a dog just smells like a dog!

12/14/2007 Posted by dolbyfriend

I would recommend Camp Bow Wow to dog owners who appreciate great service and care for pets, as well as, great service with a smile every time you visit. The staff really enjoy working and caring for my pet and others. While Camp Bow Wow is a great place for dogs to hangout all day and/or weekend, I would like to see the camp move to a larger facility that has a large outside area where dogs could run and exercise more. As for the cost, I would say it's a little pricey for me and the average dog owner.

Pros: Great staff and service

Cons: Lack outdoor space and a little pricey for the lack of space.