Camp Bow Wow Troy

Lenox loves to come to Camp Bow Wow. He is excited when we pull into the parking lot and exhausted when we leave. That is our goal to have our dog active and happy while we are away. We also love being able to monitor his days on the internet while we are half a world away on a 3 week trip. We can see that he’s playing and happy.

I work from home, which is great for my little 13 lb. Shih-​Poo, but I also work a lot of hours with limited time for play. On days I’m unable to play, she looks so sad and depressed. To remedy this, I registered her with Camp Bow Wow earlier this year. The expectation was that she would run, play and have fun interacting with the other dogs and staff. I even paid for 4 half-​day packages to get her started. I do like that Camp Bow Wow separates small dogs from the big dogs. I also like that they have a webcam which allows me to watch her interact.
What I didn’t like? My lil furbaby was in a pit with about 10 other dogs, all of which were bored. They just stood around, looked at one another, or laid down, Never once did they interact. Their only interaction was when someone walked by. They would bark and try to climb wall as if to say «Please! Get me out of here!!». This, unfortunately, was my first and last visit.
Although the staff member did a wonderful job cleaning up behind the dogs, she just stood around the entire time never once petting, playing or interacting with them. It appeared as if she didn’t quite like her job, or the dogs. To me, when there’s no interaction among the dogs, the staff should initiate some sort of play by running in a circle for the dogs to chase her, pet or talk to the dogs, maybe even bounced a big ball just to initiate some sort of interaction.
Don’t misunderstand. I do like Camp Bow Wow because the front desk staff are friendly; when touring the place it was very clean; unlike Caninie-​to-​5 they have nice sized play areas for small dogs; their kennel area is neatly organized and clean; and they have nice, homey suites. But I need my dog to play and interact! For this reason, I would have given Camp Bow Wow a 5-​Star rating. But because the small dogs don’t appear happy there I, unfortunately, have to downgrade this to a 4-​Star because I can’t do a 3.5 rating.
Our little dogs are like our children. When we pay for a baby sitter, we don’t expect them to be thrown into a room with nothing to do!

At Camp Bow Wow they make you feel like family! All of the staff members have smiles on their faces! You can tell they love their jobs! I’m very impressed with how clean the facility is! A great bonus is that you get to watch your pup while they are there!

Have taken our dogs there since the facility first opened, and we are pleased. They give our furry kids very personal attention, and we trust them. Gerri is phenomenal.

I have been taking my dogs to CBW for years now. They have always been incredibly friendly and excited to see my dogs. The cams they have installed to me are a must — I don’t understand how people can take their dogs to a place with no cameras! I LOVE watching my dogs play and being able to check in on them.
Just recently I went on a vacay to CA and one of my dogs had a bad allergic reaction to something the day before. CBW took great care of him, gave him his meds and more than tolerated my almost daily calls t check on him. My other dog who was there as well got a scratch that got infected and the manager, Gerri, called me to let me know. She offered to pick up the meds from the vet herself when she got off work! I had a friend do it, but what service!
I appreciate that they separate dogs based on size and play level. Some places don’t and my big dogs have never met a tiny dog and I can’t imagine they should be playing together.
The only thing I wish was different was the fact that no one is there overnight for the boarded dogs. I would feel much more comfortable if someone was there with the dogs in case something happened.

Very friendly staff and I love that I can watch my dog play. Plus, my dog loves it there!

I would give three and a half stars if I could, but three seems too low so I’ll stick with four. I have been bringing my puppy here for a few months now and I’m overall pretty pleased, even though they have a few kinks they really need to work out. My dog is happy here, which is the most important thing. He runs and plays all day, and by the time I pick him up he’s blissfully exhausted, which makes the trip and cost worth it. I work from home so it’s not necessary for him to go there, I just do it to burn some of his energy and because he loves other dogs. I like that they have half days (5 hours or less), they’re the only place in the area that offers that and they’re cheaper than full. If you do decide you like it, getting a package will save you A LOT of money. (Hundreds of dollars as opposed to paying as you go). The biggest issue I have is with inconsistency of the staff, though. Some people clearly care about the dogs a lot, have remembered their names, pet them, talk «doggy» to them. And others just clearly don’t care, and it’s just a job to them. I understand that in a way, I’ve had «job jobs» too, but when a child or animal is involved, I think compassion is very necessary. Not only do some of the employees seem apathetic, but they don’t always do the basic parts to their job, and I have been extremely frustrated with this on multiple occasions. A few times I have scheduled (and paid for!) a bath and/​or nail trim for my puppy, and when I pick him up neither have been done. The first time the explanation was simply, «We just didn’t do it.» When I asked why, I was again told, «We just didn’t.» Oh, ok then. I was comped for a free bath once, which was nice yet unhelpful considering I was having people over that night and didn’t want a stinky puppy. Some days he comes home wet and/​or smelly from camp too, I understand they can’t control this completely but I’ve seen dogs pee on camera and other dogs stepping through the pee for at least 30 min before its cleaning up. This is why I bring wipes and clean my puppy in the parking lot before he goes in the car. Also, there have been days when I send him with food, and yet he comes home and DEVOURS anything in sight (he’s not a big eater normally) because he’s clearly starving, and I know for sure they didn’t feed him the food I sent. When I took him in the first time, he came home with a report card but never once since then. I think that sort of consistency and personalization would be nice. We’re paying a lot of money for a service, and I think anyone who is taking their dog to daycare clearly cares about their dog a lot. We can’t all watch the cameras all day and it would be nice to know how they’re doing. Oh also– I have never boarded and don’t plan to, they leave the dogs alone in cages from 7pm-​6am with no one even on site the whole night. I don’t know how most places work with boarding but that seemed very extreme to me. I know it sounds pretty negative but overall I’m satisfied with this place, Puppy is happy so I am too. I hope they’ll get these little issues worked out and a solid staff and then it would definitely be 5 stars.

Easy drop off, clean facility! Clean is very important to me. I loved being able to see my Clyde on the video monitors. It was comforting to see an employee always keeping an eye on the dogs and monitoring the play areas. All of the staff was extremely friendly too. The young lady working the desk when I picked him up gave me a report that described him perfectly so I know she wasn’t just faking conversation. It felt personal and was very much appreciated. Finally the all inclusive price is great. It seems like all the other doggy day/​evening care facilities in the area have an up charge for everything including play time or outdoor time.

At first this place appears to be wonderful. All the bells and whistles, seemingly sweet staff, dog loving, accommodating, and really too good to be true. I left (after my «initial» time) feeling like I WISH I had found the place years ago… GREAT staff, clean, open areas… dogs get time together… LOVED it!
I went to pick my dog after a long weekend and they were closed. It is a holiday and they are only opened 4 hours all day (Ann Arbor Is opened all day). I still have no idea what hours they were, but I thought it was 1 – 5 so I was there at 430. The «actual hours» were 5−8pm… I watched the cam the 30 mins I waited and NO DOGS still on any camera… hmmmm
I was told to «call when you are on your way so we can bath your dog». Well, I called yesterday, today, (4 times) and no answer AT ALL. I left a message yesterday and two today no answer. They have great dog cams that (if the dogs are out of their kennels) you can SEE your dog playing (my daughter loved that) BUT my dog (nor ANY dog) was «out» for cameras to see the last two days… they said on initial interview «If you don’t see your pet, call us and we will go in the play room and point for you»… yeah, that is IF they answer the phone. They need ALL kinds of info for us, emergency numbers, pick ups vet info etc. WE get only one number and no one answers…
I am military, and the person who did our «interview «said that I had a discount. When I went to get my dog the ‘discount» went down considerably. In fact the lady (who I had never seen) said, «I don’t know what they did… (while reading my file) she said «lemme go ahead and just re-​do your whole intake since it’s all pretty messed up, I have no idea what they were doing»… when I asked about my dog and the cameras she told me I probably hit the wrong camera (when I said I tried them ALL) she said there was probably a «glitch». Then she apologized for no call back and no one answering, had me sign my bill, while another attendant brought my dogs «things» and LITERALLY threw them on the counter, no eye contact no smile just a «thank God it’s over, I hate my job» toss… I looked in my dog bag and his toys were all ruined (I was never told that the dogs share toys either) so don’t take the «good ones» like I said, no one told me that at all. I tossed his frisbee in the trash there… and left. No word on how my dog did, no ANYTHING… just a huge bill and comments on how «messed up» the info I got was…
My dog got home and immediately had diarrhea on the floor (he NEVER does this)
He has been to several boarding places and never has he ever been so stressed out.
First and last time there. SO sad, I was so excited.

My puppy loves the staff! She gets very excited as soon as we turn onto Stephenson Hwy, like she already knows what’s coming. I think the location is convenient, the prices are reasonable for the service, and I also think the staff is amazing.

After I wrote my review in December I was contacted by the manager of Camp Bow Wow apologizing for everything, and from one small business owner to another, I appreciate that. I was invited back to give them another try and things went much better this time. I got a full report on her and it seemed like there was more attention to detail. I wish I could have viewed the cameras from my phone to see what she was up to, but I kept having issues there. So many dogs in there anyway I would have had a hard time finding her :)

Camp Bow Wow is just so darn cute! It’s a franchise & every location I’ve been to takes the cabin/​camp theme & runs with it.
Most importantly, the staff I’ve worked with have always been friendly & inquisitive on my dog’s needs (any medicines, special treats, feeding times) to ensure his stay is a good one.
The live feed is what puts this doggy day care above the rest. If you’re traveling or just giving your dog a day to play it’s really comforting to know you can check online or on the app at any time to see your pup! The live feed is only available in the play areas, there are not cameras in their kennel areas. There is also a feature where you can take a still shot of your dog playing. Guilty — I’ve used it before!
You pay a little more at Camp Bow Wow for day camp or over night stay but for my furry family member — I’m willing to pay to ensure he’s being taken care of at a reputable business.