Camp Bow Wow Pittsburgh South

Camp Bow Wow seemed great. Before my boyfriend & I dropped off our golden retriever and miniature pinscher for a weeks trip to Mexico. We returned home to find out that our dogs were sent home with one of our emergency contacts five days early. Our retriever supposedly came down with a cough which the vet stated may or may not be kennel cough and dissapeared after leaving the kennel. Because they were boarded together they were both removed from camp in case the cough had spread. Both dogs were vaccinated before boarding. Instead of calling the goldens vet or even the camps vet for a consult they first left us a simple voicemail which wouldn't be heard until we arived back in the states. This stated "there was no problem and the golden had a slight cough". Then they called our emergency contact to pick up the dogs. When our emergency contact arrived to pick up the dogs they would not give her a loaner colar and leash for the dogs. She had to buy new ones at the pet store just to get them home. This made no sense to us when the camp stated at drop off that we didn't need to leave the leashes at the camp. They obviously weren't prepared for the dogs to go home early. When we arrived home we immediately called the camp to discuss the situation. First, we were told that the camp didn't know what vet to call. This information is not only required in the camps paper work but could also be found on our golden's name plate on his collar. We asked in case an emergency contact can't be reached what happens to the dogs? They stated "We don't know". When asked if a dog needs to be quarentined or a virus has spread through out the kennel what procedures are followed we were told "Were not exactly sure." They also, stated that they followed the proper procedure for possible kennel cough. Not according to other kennels and veterinarians I later contacted. Making things worse the manager we spoke to on the phone did not take our concerns seriously. She laughed at how upset we were that our dogs (family members) were not properly handled. She stopped laughing when we told her our dogs would never return the camp and would make others aware of these problems. To summarize, we completed and signed forms at camp stating that if a health problem occurred our vet would be contacted, our credit card information would be used and the situation would be handled in a proper manner. This did not happen and everyone including the dogs had a very rough week. Never again will we trust, use or indorse this kennel.

Pros: NONE

Cons: BIG MISTAKE

We took our dog Galena to Camp Bow Wow a few days ago for her initial interview visit. She absolutely loved it! I think it is wonderful that they put dogs through an interview process. I'm sure it would be sad to find out that your dog can't participate but it really is better for everyone involved that it is done this way. It protects all of the dogs, the people who work there and you as a dog owner.

We went home after dropping her off and brought up the web cam to watch what happened. She had a great time and the staff was very attentive. There was always someone keeping an eye on the dogs. They were very quick to clean up any waste. They gave the dogs a lot of freedom to play but stepped in when any of them got out of hand. (The dogs were very well behaved in our observation and this rarely happened. In the rare instance that they did step in, the dogs were not being violent or overly aggressive. It was more like a "hey guys...take a break" situation.)

We picked her up after a few hours and loved that we got a report card about her visit. We were also given a photo and some information about common dog health issues (bloat and canine cough).

In my experience so far, the staff is very honest and helpful. I think that the cost is reasonable for what you get - especially the cost for boarding. I like that you are allowed to bring your own food/treats and that they will give dogs their meds if need be. They seem to very flexible and in my opinion they are true dog lovers! :)

We will definitely be visiting Camp Bow Wow again for some day visits and plan to board Galena there when we go on vacation in November and likely for future vacations too! :)

Pros: fun, unique, clean

Cons: none that I know of yet....