2-Star Review of Pet Play House

I went back and forth about leaving this review because I don’t want to say negative things about a new and growing business. At the same time, I don’t want other people to spend their time and energy pursuing a place that ultimately may not be a good fit for their dog. The facility itself is really nice-looking and clearly designed to be fun and engaging for dogs. It’s also obvious that the owner cares deeply about dogs and is very committed to making this business successful. We were excited about the opening because it’s close to our home, and we were looking for a place where our high-energy Lab puppy could burn off some energy, socialize, and eventually stay for daycare and boarding. We went through the evaluation process twice. The first time, we scheduled an evaluation, brought our puppy in, and talked briefly with the owner about how excited we were to find a nearby facility. We explained that he is still very much in training (he was 8 months old at the time), is extremely playful and energetic, and sometimes gets overly excited and doesn’t always recognize when another dog is finished playing. About 45 minutes after dropping him off, we received a call saying that he “doesn’t always know when other dogs are done playing” and that he had “ticked off” another dog. We were told we could bring him back for another evaluation and that an “ambassador dog” would be there to help evaluate him more thoroughly. We waited a couple of weeks and scheduled a second evaluation. During that visit, there were a couple of doodles and a Yorkie, who actually escaped from the small-dog platform while we were getting the tour. About an hour into the evaluation, we received another call letting us know that it wasn’t going to work and that he wasn’t a good fit. We were also given some advice from the staff about needing to neuter him immediately for his health and training. That was concerning to us, particularly because both our breeder and our veterinarian have recommended waiting until he is closer to two years old, and this is not our first Lab. I want to emphasize that the facility itself is very nice, and I genuinely think it could be a great option for the right dog. Based on our experience, though, it seems better suited to older, lower-energy dogs or dogs that are naturally more laid-back in their play style. If you have a young, very active, athletic dog who loves to run and play hard, I would probably look elsewhere. My impression is that the facility and staff may not currently be set up for that type of dog. I truly hope the business continues to grow and develops options for a wider range of dogs, because having a facility like this nearby would be wonderful..