Happy Dogs at McCarren Park

This is my first ever review. I felt compelled to do this after boarding my dog at Happy Dogs for the very first time.
I generally do not trust anyone with my dog. So when a need arose and he had to be boarded, I searched for a place with (1) a live video feed and (2) café-​free boarding. I stumbled across Happy Dogs.
Before you’re allowed to board at Happy Dogs, your dog must pass a behavioral assessment. I’ve noticed a few reviews here regarding «excitable» breeds failing the test. Happy Dogs kept my dog for about an hour and called me later on to inform me that he passed. I own a Westie. You do not get more «excitable» than a Westie. So if you’re concerned that your dog is too «excitable» to pass the test just keep in mind that the test is free and «excitability» could not possibly be the only reason some dogs are failing this test.
I boarded my dog at Happy Dogs over Memorial Day weekend and the staff was attentive and accommodating. For example — my dog is prone to refusing his breakfast if he’s uncomfortable with his surroundings. It being his first time away from me for an extended period of time, I expected this to happen. Before I could even inform Happy Dogs, I received an e-​mail from Lauren letting me know that my dog was being picky with his food in the morning. The staff was asking all the right questions and making all the right observations. At that point, I was confident that the staff sincerely cared for my dog’s well-​being and worried a lot less from that point forward.
As far as the concerns regarding the location goes, I personally did not ask to see where all the dogs are kept in person but I did watch the live video quite a few times. The place is kept clean (you see staff members constantly cleaning up), the dogs have access to an outside area, and the staff members are seen playing with the dogs on multiple occasions. The dogs all appeared comfortable and happy, tails up and wagging. I’m not naïve — I understand that a cage-​free location is probably not going to be as clean as my home. But if you insist on boarding your dog cage-​free you have to anticipate accidents. The important thing is that the staff is attentive to any issues and the Happy Dogs staff certainly were very attentive.
Happy Dogs will provide you with a photo of your dog while you’re away, which I’m sure many places do. It’s hardly proof that your dog is being cared for properly because anyone can snap a picture of your dog at his happiest moment. However, Happy Dogs’s attention to detail is why I will not hesitate to use their service again and it is what probably sets them apart. I have no doubt that my dog was well cared for.

Happy Dogs is amazing! Their staff is accommodating and friendly. They take great care of my lab and she LOVES it there. She rushes to the doggy daycare door and completely forgets about me every morning she goes. A total perk to living in the area and a relief to know my pup is safe, secure and having a blast.

Took my puppy for a test. I climbed the stairs to see their installations — too many dogs, small place, few staff. Was requested to climb down to NOT see my puppy getting in there. They said they loved my puppy, but wouldn’t take him because he’s too excitable. I appreciate the honesty, but I believe his puppy energy was too much for them. The stars are not because he was rejected, but because I think they have too many dogs and the space is not as large. They were very good with email communication.

I bring my little guy (Henry, a French Bulldog) here when I have to go out of town. The people are very friendly and they do a great job taking care of him. They send email updates and pics of him, as well as posting pics on facebook of him playing with the other dogs.
They are very thorough with the registration process, but that’s because all the dogs play together, and they want to make sure that any dogs who come in have been properly socialized and know how to play well with others.
The highest praise I can give them is that when I’m taking Henry there he breaks into a run when we get close and jumps up and down with excitement when we go inside. For him it’s like sleepaway camp. He loves Happy Dogs!

Avoid this place, they have no concept of customer service. I needed to board my Mother’s dog who was unexpectedly coming into the city today. I was aware they required an evaluation, so I called to make an appointment whereupon I was told that an appointment WAS available that very day, but even if her dog passed, due to their ridiculous and byzantine registration process, they were unable to evaluate and board a dog on the same day. Apparently even though they know whether a dog passes or fails the evaluation immediately, they are unable to actually act on this information for at least 24 hours. The way they break the news to you in the, «Aww, it’s cute you thought we’d do something that might be convenient for you» way is even more infuriating.
Based on the other responses from the owner/​manager here, there is one thing they are good at in my opinion, though, and that’s deflecting blame back on the customer when anything goes wrong.
EDIT: Yep, I knew it, the owner responded and tried to make it everyone’s fault but hers. If she didn’t actually have an appointment like she is claiming, then why did her staff tell me they did? Either she’s lying, or the staff was lying. In my opinion that points to either to willful deceit or utter incompetence on their part. Both options simply reinforce my original review.
Either way, I would rather board my dogs with an owner who can take responsibility and admit when she’s wrong and thus possibly improve her operation, than with someone who is so incredibly immature she must blame her inadequacies on everyone else and never take responsibility. Seriously, read every response of her’s to a negative review here on Unilocal,it is ALWAYS the other person’s fault, never hers. In this case, she claims there wasn’t actually an appointment available (which is false), while she didn’t even attempt to address my main complaint.
Seriously, board your dogs elsewhere with a professional, not someone who’s going to childishly whine and shift blame every time something goes wrong. The owner needs to learn to take responsibility and act like an adult, and until that happens, I strongly recommend you board your dogs elsewhere.

love these guys

Our beagle TJ has been going to Happy Dogs for a while now, and they do a great job! They always remember him and show him lots of love. The pics were great to look at during his stay and they emailed us with updates as well. He comes home good and exhausted. Great place!

Just wanted to write a quick update! We have been taking Ferris into Happy Dogs monthly for a bath and we are so so happy with the service. It only costs about $ 40 and he always smells divine for weeks after!
So Ferris HATES getting his ears cleaned and they do a great job (somehow) getting them clean. You would think eventually he would wise up and know when we walk into Happy Dogs that it is coming but he is always a happy little camper to be there.
Thanks guys!

My boyfriend and I have had a wonderful experience with Happy Dogs — especially the care and attention that Abby, our Boston Terrier, received. We have experience with all the services Happy Dogs provided — ranging from 4x a week doggy daycare, drop offs, grooming and boarding.
I’ll elaborate on my experience and the way Happy Dogs distinguished themselves from other doggy daycares in the nearby area:
1. Philosophy: Rather than just bringing you and your dog onboard, they’re thoughtful about sharing their philosophy on pet care, which is important. I’m sure they don’t expect everyone to agree with their philosophy or principles, but I appreciated that they outlined it explicitly to ensure that this aligned with the expectations I had.
Our dog is not the most social dog out there, but I did notice a significant improvement in the respect that Abby showed other dogs on the street — I attribute that to Happy Dogs and the socialization she received there.
2. Communication: Any questions I had were always responded to in an expedient manner — ranging from pricing inquiries, requests for drop-​offs and grooming. Whenever I did have a question about pricing or feedback (which will happen with any business relationship), they respected my input and were very fair with me.
3. Staff: The staff at Happy Dogs is their most distinguishing attribute. I am very happy with the attention received from each staff member. They were each well-​versed on Abby and took personal responsibility to keep me updated on her care. The staff is a delight to see in the mornings when I dropped Abby off or picked her up at night.
We set Abby up on a 4x a week schedule for daycare, but given our jobs, it was reassuring to know that we could arrange a drop-​off if our work schedules did not allow us to pick her up in the evening. I trusted them with the keys to my apartment and I don’t take that trust lightly. It was earned through their respect for my dog and consistency of care she received.
I highly recommend their services if you live in the North Williamsburg area.

The staff here is competent, personable, and warm. I would trust my dog with no one else.

My dog has been going here for over 2 years and I have really seen this business grow and evolve. We have been to other daycares in the area (some of which are now closed) and this is by far the best for the following reasons:
Cleanliness & Organization: The front space has changed around a few times and is great in that there is a small selection of food and toys if you want to pick something up on the fly. I like that there is always someone sitting there to greet you and your dog in the morning and to answer any account questions that you have (everything is tracked in your computer profile) and the dog spaces in the back are divided with a small outdoor space. If you log on to the webcam you can see that they are always mopping up the floor etc. so your dog comes home smelling as clean as can be. I wish it was a little bigger particularly with how many dogs are there but hey its Brooklyn living and I just think of it as a dog party back there.
The Staff: If you have been to other daycares you will know that staff can be hit or miss and there is often a bit of a revolving door. The owner runs this like a proper business so I gather there are standard procedures and training in place. But more than this everyone is so friendly. They are happy to chat when you are waiting for your dog to come out and are good natured, happy, smiling etc. It makes a difference.
Safe Environment: This really should be number one on the list and I was surprised to see the complaints on here about the «pack leadership» approach of maintaining a calm environment within the room. So much so that I logged in and watched for 20 minutes to see what actually goes on. I was surprised to see the level of interaction going on throughout the day (vs. letting the dogs fend for themselves) and I have to say I think this is a great aspect of this daycare that I didn’t even know was going on. My dog Bailey has come home with nips and bites on her after attending other daycares I chalked it up to some rough play but this has never happened since she’s been going here. Good job Happy Dogs.
Hours: They are open early and late and we never have a problem fitting things into our schedule.
Communication:
They have instituted some unique pricing structures which include some membership type loyalty structures. If you send your dog every day this can be great. I think the net effect for us with an inconsistent schedule was a little bit of a price increase. We went through a bit of a rough patch dealing with this and the effect it had on automatic charges on the account (not worth boring you with the details of the story) but I have to say that they are so great at responding to general questions and complaints via email and making improvement when warranted.
Great daycare, great owner and great staff.

Our dog has been going to Happy Dogs for months now. He goes 4−5x a week and is picked up and dropped off nearly every night. We frequently change his schedule (in terms of timing, how he should be left etc) and I am very satisfied with the prompt responses from Happy Dogs but also how they follow instructions. Sure, sometimes things arent perfect, and yes, we have had times when he is dropped off a little later than we agreed on, but stuff happens, and the dog is fine and the dog is Happy Dog’s biggest concern. Also given our ever changing instructions, I am more than happy with the service.
Our pup has stayed over at Happy Dogs for boarding and we’ve always been satisfied. He can be shy and anxious around people and LOVES every staff member at Happy Dogs. It’s also obvious they love him. When they see eachother on the street when we’re walking with him, it’s like theyre long long friends.
Specifically in response to some of the reviews here:
1) I watch the cam all the time. I’ve seen our pup reprimanded once and he was rough housing another dog. warranted
2) The staff is amazingly nice and makes me feel confident in our decision to leave him there

The web cam seems like a great feature, right? Well that’s if you are a super big fan of Cesar Milan. They use the same «pack leadership» approach to control a packed room a dogs into submission. The problem is, if you watch the video it is NOTHING BUT CORRECTIONS. Dogs play, correction. Dogs move, correction. Dogs in your way when you walk, why bother picking up your feet when you can just shuffle right through.
I expressed my concerns to management hoping to get more insight into their methods. While they were «thankful» that I provided feedback, they subsequently banned my dog from going there. It’s surprising that this is how they handle concerns from their customers. I took this up the ladder and got the same response.
We have since started taking our dog to Eva’s Play Pups. It’s a much bigger space and the staff is super friendly! My advice is to definitely try all the options in the neighborhood as there are so many great places. BUT if you do have a problem with Happy Dogs, don’t say anything… unless you want a great story about how your playful puppy is now part of the unhappy dogs club.

I love this place!
Well, if you have to leave your beloved pet someplace, then might as well be with caring and loyal people. My dog has been here several times over a few years and ive Always had a pleasant experience. The owner Jennifer is very attentive to her business and has chosen a great staff. This Is the main reason I am a customer. The manager Kat is super. She is super polite and always helpful. I’m not sure of the other employee names but Bonnie (daytime front girl) is super sweet and the overnight guy Adonis is the best! If you want/​need to be able to trust your pet with anyone– these are your folks… Oh — I forgot to mention their great location, right across from the dog run and the park!
Keep up the good service and thank you.

Update: Unsurprisingly, the owner has responded with her own falsehoods.
— My emails were not irate but I think under the circumstances showing how upset I was to have her dog confined to a crate for 24 hours and the business in question deny any responsibility.
— Of course I told them that the community would hear about this story. I don’t really see that as a threat as so much as, hey this is coming FYI. And it did. On Unilocal.
— Actually, it was several pairs of shoes and a ceramic dog bowl that could only be destroyed if it was dropped from a great height. Like, for example if the person dropping off Gideon didn’t bother to put the dish on the ground so Gideon could eat and because Gideon was hungry he knocked it off the counter to feed himself. I don’t know, I feel those examples are accurate descriptions to «destruction to my apt».
— Sorry but Kat never took me line by line in front of the computer.
It’s more telling how a business responds to mistakes than how it does when things run smoothly.
PS. I did find out that they didn’t charge me $ 4.99 for the miscellaneous bag of food I found. So I will thank them for that.
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I had been using Happy Dogs for a few months when the unconscionable happened and for the first time ever I’ve been motivated to sign up for Unilocal and leave a review.
My dog has been using Happy Dogs for daycare and every so often boarding when I’ve had to go out of town. There were instances when instructions were not followed despite them being written down and in his profile (not putting my dog in his crate when dropping him off leading to me arriving to destruction in my apt, not giving medicine when explicit instructions were written out) however I chalked it up to natural human error and because I’m probably too forgiving, not reasons for why I would pull my business. Though it should have been a red flag when after the second time he was not left in his crate the manager at first denied instructions were not followed and tried to tell me that my dog had broken out which is 1) not physically possible and 2) he loves his crate and has never even tried to get out.
This weekend every dog owner’s nightmare happened. I had planned to leave for Montauk early Saturday morning, before Happy Dogs was open. So on Friday night when I dropped by and spoke with the manager, Kat, I told her that in addition to Gideon needing a drop off he would also need a pick up. I had brought with me a canvas bag which I filled with a bag of food and a treat and told her I was leaving it with her so that whoever was picking up my dog on Saturday morning didn’t have to worry about the bag. We had a discussion about an early drop off time due to the holiday and I was then told as she was sitting in front of the computer «ok I have him down for 845». Since their closing time on Monday was 6pm, and they open at 9am on Saturdays, I took this to mean she was entering his pick up into the system as 8:45am on Saturday. Logical right?
On Sunday morning I received a call from the same manager asking if I wanted to cancel my reservation because my dog had not checked in. Meaning he was still in his crate, at home, where I had left him more than 24 hours previous. I was understandably upset. What made me livid however was when I finally spoke with Kat on the phone she intimated that it was MY fault because they didn’t have a pick up in their system. I was beyond shocked that Happy Dogs’ initial response was not one of concern over my dog and their customer but over covering their own butt. I received a follow up email to the conversation stating that again, because they didn’t have a pick up time in their system that they were «confident» I had never requested one and therefore they wouldn’t waive the boarding fee for Sunday night.
Frankly, if they had responded with concern and made an attempt to make everything ok with me and my dog I still would have given them another chance however their reaction to what happened made me realize they only care about themselves and not their customers or the dogs in their care. This is appalling. We are not talking about dry cleaning here — these are animals that need and deserve the utmost attention and care.
It’s also worth noting that when I returned home the bag of extra dog food I had next to my fridge was gone and in the canvas bag that they had at least remembered to drop off with my dog was a small bag of dog food I hadn’t bought before I left and didn’t need though they’ve probably charged me for it as well. I’m not even going to dignify asking them about it.

This is dog care and boarding done right. My wife and I have a blue heeler, and that breed becomes very attached and bonded to their people. He can be a real pain to leave with others because his behavior is just so particular and can be hard to deal with. Well the staff at Happy Dogs are one of the few that can manage it. We left him there for 4 days while we went out of town, and they took great care of him. We know this because we were constantly checking in on him with their convenient webcam, right from our smart phones. We could see that he was getting lots of attention, companionship from staff and other dogs, and that he was content even though he hates to be away from us.
We were both very satisfied with our experience. Their shop is also well stocked with great dog products. And the staff is very pleasant to work with. This is a great business, we highly recommend it!

We take our dog, Bucks, to Happy Dogs regularly for grooming.
Always happy with the result.
Making appointment with them is easy and the staff are very friendly and clearly care about the dogs.
Highly recommended.

I did a LOT of research for the best place to leave my puppy. I’m very picky and very particular. I found happy dogs and wanted to give it a shot. The lady on the phone was very nice and helpful. I came the next day for temperament test. They approved my puppy and I was excited because the place was full of dogs to register. Staff is so helpful and friendly. I use Happy dogs for daycare/​boarding. If you really care for your pet you should definitely bring your dog here! You can watch your dogs on live video, they post pics on Facebook. I absolutely love this place! I’m never worried to leave yuki there because they really take care of her! 5++++ starts!!!

This review is for grooming only.
My dog smells great when I pick him up from happy dogs!
We’ve been going there for years, even when it was different owners. It’s very convenient.
Originally when the ownership changed the staff was a bit rude and sometimes neglectful. However recently it has been great and the staff seems to be nicer.
Their prices are very fair and its always a fast turnaround time.
Also, it’s amazing how long the clean smell lasts on my doggie!
Thank you happy dogs.

I have been a «yelper» since 2006 and I can count on two hands the number of times I’ve been compelled to write a Unilocal review — either when something is horribly wrong or outrageously awesome. In this case, it’s the latter.
Happy Dogs is the best daycare for your dog. ever. period.
Not only is the staff warm, friendly and always enthusiastic about every dog, but they are capable of normal and pleasant communication (responsive to phone calls/​messages) and generally very cheerful, upbeat, and friendly. AND, if that wasn’t comfort enough, each day I can see a live-​feed video of my dog and pics on facebook. The payment is super easy (credit card on file, no hassle during pick ups or drop offs) and it was FAST & SIMPLE to have my puppy approved (vet faxed vaccine records morning of my first day). And that’s just the human benefit — it’s even better for your dog!
I am a dog lover, through and through, have been my whole life and always will be, and probably more neurotic as a dog owner than I’d like to admit. So it’s rare to find a person, let alone business, that can match my enthusiasm for canines, yet Happy Dogs manages to do just that. They treat each dog as an individual animal who plays an important role within their pack. Every dog I encounter during pick ups and drop offs is visibly happy and excited (as is mine) to be there and so are the owners.
My puppy, who began going to happy dogs daycare regularly at only 4 ½ months, completely stopped inappropriate behavior (humping) because their staff properly correct unwanted actions within a stern but positive environment. He always comes home worn out and tired from a day of romping and cuddling with friends.
I take the subway 7 stops each morning just to get to happy dogs and am lucky enough to have a pup who can fit into a duffel for the ride. I tried several different daycares in my neighborhood and none even compare.
Oh and they’re ridiculously affordable. Cheaper than every other doggie daycare in my already-​cheap hood (bushwick).
recommend times 100 000 000 000 000.