Top Dog Resort

I’ve taken my dog to Top Dog Resort at least 5 times the past 4 years. I had just booked another stay with Top Dog and came across the reviews of lost dogs, escaped dogs, horrendous rules, etc. Hence, I cancelled my appointment with Top Dog.
In my experience, my dog has loved going to Top Dog. However, each time I pick her up, she is covered in tiny prickly things that take forever to pull off her coat. I was told she must have gotten into the back woods area, and I asked where Don and Linda were when this happened. No response. I have noticed the dogs in the yard completely unsupervised. I arrived, at another time, without calling five minutes in advance and noticed the dogs running all over the yard. .. no adult in sight. When I asked them where they were, they mentioned they had gone inside to get something for the dogs. Then yelled at me for not calling in advance.
I’m not a fan of boarding my dog as most kennels keep them locked up in a cage and charge a small fortune for this. So, I have found another option that I’ve heard is excellent (referred by neighbors) (and am trying for the first time). You select a specific home where you want your dog to stay. .. you meet the homeowners, inspect their home, and do a trial run of how well your dog will do in this environment. I chose a home that has another dog my dog’s size; the owners supervise the dogs ²⁴⁄₇. Each home owner has the option to set the charges, but the one I’ve chosen (and I looked at 3), charges less than Top Dog…and the environment is so nice.
I’ve lost confidence with Top Dog. I commend Don and Linda with their efforts, especially in rescue dogs, but question the safety of my dog at their resort. My concern is that if the dogs escape, and they are all under 25 lbs., how well do they fare on their own in farmland. I’m no longer comfortable leaving my dog there.

All I can say is that you really need to be careful before you decide to deal with these two people.
After spending a substantial amount of time filing out paperwork, it was still not good enough for them.
They may know how to treat a Dog. But, they certainly do not know how to treat Humans!!!
They are a ripoff. We only kept our dog there two hours and we were charged $ 100!!!
We decided not to leave our Dog there as we had a funny feeling. We were treated very bad.
I would never recommend anyone dealing with them. Just be very careful. Make sure you clearly discuss all financial issues.

Their advertisement in the Washingtonian is disceptive and misleading. The property showed in the pictures is no longer owned by Top Dog Resort owners Don and Linder. They vacated the property a number of years ago and left it in disrepair and it is currently bank owned in a distressed sale. They left the HOA community in less then desirable circumstances.

We went through a harrowing experience with Top Dog Resort. Just days after LOSING our dog, the owners CHARGED us for her stay — and even added a $ 100 surcharge!
Our beloved Rosie, a small poodle-​Yorkie-​Shi-​Tzu mix, escaped from Top Dog Resort on August 6, 2013 while we were away on a family vacation. When the owners called to tell us they had lost Rosie, we immediately packed up and drove nine hours from Michigan to Virginia to start searching for her.
Arriving that night, we listened to the owners’ explanations that Rosie must have «climbed over or chewed through a fence.» However, when pressed for details, they admitted they never actually saw how or where she escaped — they weren’t watching.
Unfortunately, Top Dog had removed Rosie’s collar and tags, as they do with the packs of small dogs in their care at any given time.
My wife and I spent two excruciating months searching for Rosie. We live 40 miles from Catlett and traveled there dozens of times, putting up posters, talking to residents, often staying into the evening. We were blessed to have constant support from Fauquier County Animal Control and the SPCA. Back at home, we constantly made calls, posted messages on the web and social media, and took out ads in the newspaper. Searching for Rosie became a full time job on top of my demanding day job.
Top Dog’s owners only made efforts during the first 36 — 48 hours to put up some posters, look around the area and make some calls. Incredibly, one of the owners (Linda) expressed annoyance to me — she said it was our little dog’s «fault» for escaping, and that this episode was turning into an «inconvenience» for them and «disrupting their routine.»
We were dismayed as Linda «took control,» insisting on doing things her way: she thought she would catch Rosie by making loud noises and calling out for her. We soon realized that she knew NOTHING about how to deal with dogs when they escape and go into panic and «flight mode.» We received expert guidance from Animal Control and the SPCA about specific measures to recover a dog in flight. The officer explicitly told us NOT to call out to Rosie, not to approach or chase after her, but to be quiet, still and neutral.
Linda also got into a shouting argument and botched things up with our microchip company and I had to call them to correct the situation (another story, no room to elaborate here).
I was stunned when I looked at Top Dog’s $ 370 invoice for Rosie’s five-​day stay including an $ 100 extra fee tacked on (for their time putting up posters, making calls and looking around the immediate area for a day or two). Unfortunately we had given them a blank check when we first dropped Rosie off, and they cashed it only days after she was lost.
Everyone we have told about this incident is appalled that a boarding kennel would charge a grieving family after losing their dog. What hurts is not the money, but the gesture itself.
Our story has a happy ending, but it does not involve Top Dog. Throughout August and September, there were sightings of Rosie reported every few weeks, always around five miles apart. Catlett is a rural area with farms, barns and woods all around — we were looking for a needle in a haystack. Wherever a sighting was reported, we would set humane traps there — mostly catching only cats or possums. I was losing hope with October approaching and the weather turning colder. Still we never stopped searching and putting up our Rosie Lost Dog posters on poles and stop signs all over a 10-​mile wide area.
On October 6^th, we caught Rosie in a humane trap I borrowed from the SPCA and set in a place where a family had spotted her in a farmer’s field on Shenandoah Path. We were blessed to bring our dog home two months to the day after she was lost.
She has been through a huge ordeal surviving in the wild and her PTSD will take months to subside, but she is remarkably healthy and transformed by the experience. We are amazed to have her back with us, and she is happy to be home.
I hate having to write a negative review, but many people have urged us to share and help other dog owners avoid a similar calamity. Hopefully readers will recognize our efforts to be factual, but there is no way to hide all of the pain and distress.
We were told by people in the community that this is not the first time Top Dog has lost a pet under their care. They are an elderly couple with no staff or sufficient back-​up plan — after two days, WE ended up carrying ALL of the responsibility for finding our lost pet, and were invoiced by them for our troubles.
P. S. There are two «filtered» Unilocal reviews by others for this establishment that you should check out as well. Scroll to bottom of all the reviews and look for the «2 Filtered» link.

We have been taking our Maltese to Top Dog Resort for years. We just love Linda and Don. Our pup gets excited when we pull into the driveway — he knows he will be hanging out with friends in the pool, running in the lush fenced in yard and will get lots of love and attention while we are gone. When we pick him up he is freshly bathed and even though he is excited to come home, he will miss the great times he had at the «resort». It is definitely worth the money!

Wonderful place with a loving staff. Only dogs under 25 lbs.

The pictures on the web site and advertisement are not the actual location of the resort. The owner moved to a new location a number of years ago and has not updated the web site or advertising. The pictures are misleading!

My dog stays here all the time and loves it. She’s been going there since she was a puppy (she’s 8 this year). She gets very excited when she knows we’re going there and she is NOT a very outgoing dog at all. As a rule she doesn’t like anyone but our family and doesn’t like other dogs (I know she doesn’t sound very nice but she’s so shy) but when she goes to TDR she is like a different dog. We live part of the year in Delaware which is about 4 hours from Catlett and when we go away I drive all the way here to drop off my dog. That says a lot. As far as the review that was critical of the 3 hour visit etc, the visit is how the owners determine whether your dog will be happy there and will fit in. It’s for the good of your dog as well as the other guests. The mandatory bath, which is not uncommon in my experience, is for a number of reasons including the fact that it signals to the dog that they are going home that day.

We took our Shih Tzu to Top Dog Resort, and he just loved it. He was happy when we dropped him off, relaxed when we picked him up, and obviously had a great time with all the other small dogs.
We went through the introduction meeting a few weeks earlier. I was impressed with the cleaniliness, friendliness, and professionalism of the proprieters.
There were rules, but all were common-​sense and aimed at protecting the dogs. Rules included things like calling 5 minutes before you arrive, providing a checklist of items you bring with you, provide written information on how you can be reached (multiple contact methods), provide proof of vaccinations, and bring your dog clean and with flea control already applied. Also, they evaluated my dog for possible disruptive/​aggresive behavior, and will refuse to accept an aggressive dog. I APPRECIATE the care they exhibited. I knew my dog would be around friendly, healthy, mannered dogs and not be subjected to illnesses or bad behavior or being hurt by an unruly dog.
As for the environment, it is very loving. The dogs are kept in the house, not in cages. There are multiple rooms they can go between and every kind of bed and toy imaginable. Your dog will find a comfortable, familar place to sleep. The feedings are arranged so it mirrors how he eats at home. It is very stress-​free for the pups. I wanted my dog to stay in a place as «close to home» as we could get. Top Dog Resort is that place.
The outside area is fenced in and the dogs cannot get out. Don and Linda go out with the dogs. So I am not sure I believe that «dogs got out» and were down the road. There is their own dog, Ned, that is allowed to roam ouside the fence. I am guessing it was Ned that was out and not any guests.
FInally, the cost is fantastic. No extra charges for «a walk» or «play time» with other dogs. No extra charges for medicine or special feeding instructions. No extra cost for a bath on the day they come home (who doesn’t want a clean dog returned to them?). No extra cost for a bed by a window.
This is the ONLY place I would leave my precious family member overnight. I wanted the home-​like atmosphere and plenty of little friends to occupy my puppy while I couldn’t be there. It did not aggravate me at all to spend the time viewing the property and the processes that every dog goes through. It RELIEVED me.