The Dog Scoop

Let me preface this by saying I’m a 23 year old male, who has lived in Newton my entire life. I never ever thought I would write a Unilocal review, because guess what, males my age don’t care about doing so. Probably the easiest going demographic you could have during our time period. If i don’t like a place, I just don’t go back. Simple as that. This WILL be the only review I write. Dog scoop is horrendous. We have a year and a half year old dog. She is the nicest dog I’ve owned my entire life (we’ve had 3). We go to the dog park in auburndale, and she has been deemed the sweetest dog by everyone there. Goes up to every person and every dog to say hello. Dog scoop said she was «too active» to go to their play group. What the hell does that even mean? She’s a dog. Funniest part, my dog came back with cuts all over her face and body from other dogs after play group. My heart was broken. These «professionals» have no clue how to handle dogs that don’t have a Medicare card. They want to deal with dogs that lie down, eat, sleep, and poop throughout the day. If your dog is under 10 years old, send them somewhere else. There are plenty of other places in this enormous city. Oo, and if you know someone who can’t get a job, with no experience, who needs to get back on their feet, please have them apply to dog scoop, doesn’t matter to them.

Every time I would pick up my dog from grooming he would have to pee so bad he would barely get out the door
They demand drop off by 11 and won’t let you pickup until after 4 (and I don’t think they walk him once)
The setup is inconvenient drop off one building pick up in another pay in the first plus the owner is pricky plus I had a standing appointment on Friday for months I missed one week due to emergency the next week they wouldn’t take my dog because I did not have an appointment I will never go back plus it’s a DUMP

I just got my dog groomed there today for the first time and he is GORGEOUS! The groomers did a very good job and my dog was quite relaxed when I picked him up — which surprised me because he usually hates being groomed.
I am very happy with the quality of the work — they were so thorough and he looks and smells lovely. What’s even better is he doesn’t seem traumatized by the grooming — in the past at our old place, he would be skittish and hide all day after a haircut.
The staff were all so friendly and professional — I am definitely going to try out the doggy daycare this fall!

The Dog Scoop is AWESOME! its all about Dogs here. They took such good care of my pugs, that I boarded for 5 nights this April. My dogs were so calm, relaxed, happy and Clean when I picked them up. I was very pleased and relieved as I worry about them when I have to leave them anywhere. I will definitely be boarding them here again in the future. I know they are well cared for when they are at the Dog Scoop. The socialization aspect alone is worth it! thank you Dog Scoop for caring for my dogs!

My dog has been going to dogscoop since she was 16 weeks old and loves the place. As soon as we arrive all the employees there are so welcoming and really make me feel comfortable that my dog is well cared for. Whenever she has been there she always comes home nice and tired, not to mention the annoying puppy behaviors are dissappearing. Finding this place was a god send. highly recommend it here and my dog really loves being there.

Let me preface by saying that my dog (approx. 22 lbs. standard sized dachshund) was asked to not come back and I fully support The Dog Scoop’s decision. However, my review is based on their inconsistent (or lack of) communication and how it put me in an incredibly difficult situation when I was about to be out of the country for a week.
Summary: They explicitly confirmed to me that my dog would be welcome for a week of overnights (despite knowing he can get irritated with bigger/​active dogs and nip or snap at them) while I was out of the country, However, they abruptly changed their mind the evening before I was leaving. Their about-​face left me in a difficult position. I would never recommend The Dog Scoop to owners of small or medium sized dogs, and I actively tell owners of such dogs not to come to The Dog Scoop.
Longer version: My wife and I started taking my dog twice a week for daycare at about 4 months of age. He loved Dog Scoop and they seemed to love him. However, he started to get «bossy» with other dogs about two months in. He was starting to snap/​nip at other dogs when a bigger and more active dog wanted to rough-​house but mine didn’t (we’ve since taken our dog to a trainer who has seen this behavior firsthand and said that it’s perfectly normal: when my dog retreats from play and big/​active dog doesn’t understand the «stop rough housing with me» signals that my dog is sending, my dog will nip/​snap at the other dog to let him know he wants to be left alone). Dog Scoop asked that we get him neutered before bringing him back again and we were fully on board (after all, we wanted to get him fixed when he was around 6 months). We got him neutered and didn’t bring him back until he was recovered from surgery.
Two weeks after surgery, I called up the Dog Scoop on a Friday. I told them that I’d be dropping the dog off on Monday for daycare and then overnights on Tuesday through Saturday. I specifically asked them if my dog would be welcome for the overnights even if he still exhibits some of the same behavior during Monday daycare. I explicitly stated that I’d be out of the country. The Dog Scoop said it would be no problem, but if necessary, they would keep him separate from other dogs. That seemed fine to me: he would get bored but he’d still be safe and taken care of.
So I dropped him off for daycare on Monday morning but when I picked him up around 6:30pm, they asked that I not bring him back for the overnights because he continued to exhibit the same behavior. Again, I understand why he was removed, but this message was a complete 180 from what they had told me only a few days earlier. This put me in a difficult position since I didn’t make any other dog-​sitting arrangements because DS specifically told me my dog would be welcome regardless. They didn’t even think of calling me during the day on Monday, so I could have used some of the afternoon to try and find alternative arrangements. Nope, they just told me at 6:30pm when I picked him up. Thankfully, my in-​laws live about an hour and a half away, so I was able to drive in middle of the night to drop off my dog.
So I would suggest to people: (1) don’t bring your dog here if it’s a small or medium sized dog because they don’t have a small dog area and (2) don’t expect your dog to get a lot of attention because the dog to worker ratio is quite high (i.e., expect your dog to fend for himself). I have actively told owners of small to medium sized dogs that The Dog Scoop is not the place for their dog.

Have been using them for about five years now — first for daily dog-​walking, then for boarding, and now for daycare once every two weeks, with the occasional boarding stint. My dogs love it there, and I can rest easy knowing they are well cared for.

I’ve been taking my puppy to The Dog Scoop since we got him at 3-​ish months of age, and I couldn’t be happier. He spent a couple of months in the puppy area, which is located right in the main office so the pups can get constant attention. Once he was neutered, he moved to the adult dog area where there’s more freedom, open space, and it’s partially outdoors (but still the dogs are constantly supervised).
The thing I find most amazing about The Dog Scoop is that it seems so laid back of an environment, but they have their shit together like the pricier, hoity-​toity daycare facilities I looked into. It amazes me that they recognize my puppy immediately every day I bring him in, and that they will tell me who he played with, how he behaved, etc. When he was in the puppy area, one of the employees informed us that our pup seemed to be bored of the other puppies and would be ready for the adult daycare once he’s neutered. I love how they are so attune to each dog!
I’ve also used The Dog Scoop for overnights and, unlike kennels that my parents used for our dogs growing up, the dogs aren’t kept in kennels, cages, or crates. They have a HOUSE next to their daycare facility. A HOUSE, where puppies and dogs can sleep on beds, sofas, doggy beds, blankets, etc. and play with toys. 365 days a year… even at 11:59pm on New Years Eve… there are employees in the house hanging out with the dogs. Again, constant supervision, but with much more freedom and comfort than some chain-​link-​fenced kennel.
I love their payment system, too. They have an online system where you can view your account and buy «packages» of overnight stays, daycare days, grooming, dog walking days, etc. The bigger the package, the less each stay/​session is. If you no longer need to use their services and haven’t used all of your purchased days, you will get your money back for the unused days. I love this system. Love love love!
One star gets removed because of the parking situation. During the peak drop-​off and pick-​up times (before work, after work) the tiny tiny parking lot gets full and is really tricky to get in and out of. I wish that could be improved upon…
I’m so glad I chose The Dog Scoop for our puppy and know that we will continue using them for the rest of his life.

We have been sending our dogs to the Dog Scoop for several years. We use the convenient pick up/​drop off service once a week, and we just tried their boarding service last weekend. The dogs seem to love it. The Scoop people are kind and responsive – they seem to actually care when there is a problem. You are dealing with real humans (Alex and Chris), not people for whom this is ‘just a job.’ One of the most fun things about the Scoop is how many great pix they post on Facebook. It’s great to see your dog enjoying him/​herself and we have downloaded some real keeper portraits. Definitely a place I trust with my precious puppies!

Super convenient, reasonable prices, flexible on daycare scheduling, and they also groom and train. My dog is a fan, and so am I.

I took Mocha here for a bath and tidy which includes nails, teeth. They also ask you what you would like for them to concentrate on or be more sensitive.
It usually takes 2 – 3 hrs so you can drop them off and come back later. Reservations are a must.
When I went to pick her up, she smelled soo good and looked so beautiful! Her hair was shining so brightly and was super fluffy and they gave her a little holiday scarf. Love it!

My husband gave me a wonderful golden retriever puppy for my birthday. Right from the start (8 weeks) we brought Maggie to DogScoop. They have a wonderful set-​up for puppies right in the front office. They play, and the trainers take her out and helped her become house broken. They watch them carefully and are absolutely wonderful with them! Maggie LOVES going there, and she has learned all of those great «doggy socialization» skills, so she is terrific with other dogs and people. My vet endorsed taking her there early on, and he was right! We both work and I am completely comfortable knowing that she is in great hands and with great people who care for her like we do. Alex and his team are terrific! Jason the trainer helped us too!

So after taking a hiatus from the Dog Scoop for a few months (I was away for a family emergency), I called to make an appointment to get my dog groomed, because Allison has been grooming her for YEARS and I love the work. Anyway, I make the appointment, drop my baby off and when i picked her up… it was the WORST grooming job i had ever seen. Earlier this month, I come to find out that Allison left the Dog Scoop a long time ago and the owner has been lying to his clients about her employment! I am appalled that a business owner would not only provide such terrible customer service but drag the name of a very talented groomer through the mud. STAY AWAY!!!

Totally accommodating staff, fun times for my pooch, guilt free vacation day for me. Highest recommendation.

Grooming for my Poodle:
This place was amazing. It was really easy to get an appointment, and it’s right off of exit 16 on I-​90. Allison asked me exactly what I wanted to do with our Poodle, and she looks like a rock star. She told me she would be ready by 1PM, and she was. Piper was in a great mood when I picked her up! The cost was only $ 40; which included bath, cut, nail clipping, ear cleaning. I look forward to going again.

I want to like this place, I really do, but the place has some issues that I can not over look. Because my schedule unpredictable, I would drop my dog off some day but not consistently – this seem to irritate the owner and seemed to be moody and cool towards me – really? Sometimes he would ask, «where you been» and I swear I felt like I was a 10 year old school boy! Pissy attitude? I ignored it and continued to bring him.
Next, I noticed when I picked my dog up, he was always thirsty, hungry and needed to pee immediately – a lot. It started to concern me that maybe he just needed more time to adjust, so I brought him more often and guess what – the same. OK, maybe this should be true some of the time but every time? I began to worry about the care they give to each pet. One day I arrived and some of the staff members walking the dogs and I never saw them walk out of eye sight. It’s like they walk a short bit and turn around, like a 2 min… I saw enough, and decided to never came back.

I brought my 6 month old lhasa-​poo puppy here last week. I was scrambling for a grooming appointment and I was able to bring my pup in on a weekday afternoon. I dropped my pup off at 11am and picked her up at 2pm. I thought the groomer did a great job and they put a little bandana on my dog which is super cute. The cut was $ 50 so i feel like I could find a better price elsewhere.

I started taking my dog here when she was about 12 weeks old and stopped taking her when she was about a year and a half old. There are 3 reasons I stopped taking my dog here:
1) My dog got giardia 2 or 3 separate times because I was taking her to The Dog Scoop and management wasn’t doing very much to prevent the spread of it between dogs (i.e. asking owners of suspected carriers to treat their dogs before bringing them back to The Scoop). Instead, dogs that are carriers just spread it to other dogs through sharing of water, toys, etc. The 2^nd time my dog got giardia from The Scoop I stopped taking her for 3 months to treat her. When I brought her back to The Scoop she got reinfected in 2 visits.
I’ll give The Scoop credit, they reimbursed me for the $ 200 of medicine it took to treat my dog the 3^rd time, although management said they couldn’t have prevented my dog from getting giardia because my dog eats other dogs poop (a habit she learned as a puppy from other dogs at The Dog Scoop). That may be true but I brought my parents dog there for a week (while they were on vacation) and he got giardia, and my brothers dog has gotten it from The Scoop as well.
2) The staff /​handlers are really great at The Scoop (although I was never a fan of their dog trainer, he seemed pretty rough with the dogs and was kind of a dick). Very courteous, knowledgeable about dogs, and just good people. Although, I don’t think there were enough handlers for the amount of dogs they were taking in. Most days they had 100 – 140 dogs there with maybe 3 – 4 people outside. I don’t think that’s fair to handlers or the dogs. At $ 30 a day or $ 3,000-$ 4,200 that The Scoop probably takes in daily for day care you’d think management would hire enough staff. I don’t know what the right number is but I don’t think it should be 28 – 30 dogs per handler.
3) After being a good customer for about a year and a half (I referred new customers, prepaid for about 60 – 80 visits, used other services, bought food there, etc.) management was pretty curt and unapologetic when my dog got giardia a 3^rd time. I was surprised because there had been times I shot the shit and drank beers with management in the front office while waiting for my dog. When it came time to deal with a good customer they opted to be curt and write me a check rather than treat me courteously, maybe even come up with a plan to minimize the spread of giardia between dogs at The Dog Scoop.
I’ve since started taking my dog to Tail Waggerz in Newton. So far it’s been great and my dog hasn’t gotten giardia. They’re also open 7 days a week and do boarding. You can read my review for Tail Waggerz.

As soon as my handsome dog gets a modeling gig and makes millions, he’ll go to the Dog Scoop DAILY. Of course, if he makes millions, I won’t have to work thereby negating my need for the scoop, but I digress.
The good news is that you don’t need millions for The Dog Scoop. They offer a handy, dandy pre-​pay option which saves you money if your dog, like mine, is sans modeling gig.
The really good news? Your dog will have way more fun at the Dog Scoop than he will EVER have at your boring pad while you’re toiling away at work. He’ll hang out with his little dog buddies. They’ll play, nap, maybe grab a beer at the nearby Local. Only kidding about the beer. Maybe I’ll grab a beer at The Local to celebrate that my dog is pooped from the scoop and will act like a good boy at home that night after work?

Great place.
1) Doggie Daycare — our dog comes home completely beat. They also run a tight ship so none of the dogs get out of control. Very structured play environment.
2) Training — Jason was great. Gave us some great tips to train our dog and establishing pack order.
3) Grooming is great as well.
Can’t live without it.