The Barking Lot

I had 3 dogs simultaneously in daycare there from puppy to 3 years and couldn’t have been happier. I still return monthly for grooming and the pups always look and more importantly SMELL great.
My dogs are always happy when I pick them up, that means the most.

The staff couldn’t be better. They know /​remember every dog that comes in, even if you haven’t been there in a while. I love that they take the dog out of the playroom for lunch, it allows them time to calm down. When I first went in, Emily talked to me for almost an hour about the company and the facility. Zero has a great time there and always comes home exhausted!
We also use their dog walker Becky. When she came to meet Zero, we also talked for an hour. She is very communicative and has been helpful when I had an emergency schedule change!!! I completely trust Becky and everyone at the Barking Lot with Zero!

After going to daycare for a couple of weeks at the Barking Lot, my Boston terrier started to station himself in front of the door to my apartment in morning, blocking my exit. He obviously wants me to take him with me and drop him off at the Barking Lot on my way to work. He likes seeing his friends there (both canine and human), and I’ve noticed that his canine social skills have improved. The Barking Lot has a webcam, so I can watch him play on my phone. The facility is super clean, and the staff seem to love the dogs.

Great people. My dog always comes home happy and exercised. Best prices on origen dog food as well.

When in today for my dogs Wizzy first grooming ever we were scared he was scared but NICOLE did great she even gave him a little Mohawk best experience ever

I use the Barking Lot for daycare services and they have been a fantastic with my dog. The people are great and I can tell they really treat my dog like he’s their own. He is always excited to go and comes home exhausted from all the puppy play time. I’d recommend the Barking Lot’s daycare services for anyone with an active dog who can’t be home during the day.

I’ve used the Barking Lot for day care, as well as grooming for my two dogs, an Old English bulldog and a yellow lab. (My Bulldog is VERY stubborn.) They always enjoyed playing there. Today I took them both for a grooming with Nicole who is awesome. I’m sure the other groomers are just as wonderful, but I was always lucky to get Nicole. Both my dogs came back today hardly recognizable. I never knew they could get so clean! LOL. They did a fantastic job and I really can’t say I would ever have my dogs groomed anywhere else. Thank you Nicole for making my dogs sparkle! Highly recommended!

This is now the 3^rd time I’ve had my dog groomed here, and instead of getting better, it’s gotten worse.
For this last appointment, they called me the day before my appointment saying both groomers would be out, I had to reschedule, and they would offer me a 10% discount for the inconvenience.
On the day of the rescheduled appointment, I dropped off the dog and was clear about the haircut instructions. During previous times, they had cut his hair oddly and so I wanted to make sure they corrected it this time, and I made sure I left instructions.
When it was time to pick up my dog, I was told over the phone it took longer than expected because he was being «difficult». I’ve groomed my dog many times and have never had a complaint other than some sensitivity around his paws. When I arrived to pick him up, they informed me that he was being an «alligator» while they were cutting his hair and nails and next time, I would be charged an extra fee because he was «difficult». So now my dog has been marked as a problem dog because one groomer couldn’t handle a dog that moved. Not only that, but the groomer specifically ignored my grooming instructions AGAIN even after I made it clear upon drop-​off.
Essentially, of three total groomings, I’ve had 2 mediocre experiences, and one poor experience and poor customer service throughout. Suffice it to say, I will not return.

This place is great for your dog. A few years ago we had gotten a puppy Boston Terrier about a month before we went on a trip to Peru. We looked around on Unilocal and found the Barking Lot. It was going to be a 9 night stay so we wanted a place that would take care of our little one. When we dropped her off they were very welcoming. When we returned, happy to be back in ‘ol US of A we got several happy stories about how the staff would just carry Moa, our dog, around the place since she was so small. She was in good shape and well fed when we got back. They really gave us a lot of piece of mind. Subsequently, we took her there many times for daycare. These guys know how to run a doggie daycare!

Love the idea of the two hour open play! Potentially in the future they could sort by weight group? It’s such a bummer spending the entire time trying to keep your dog away from the hamster sized dogs and their owners glaring eyes. Sorry my pup wants to know what that yipping stuffed animal is! Time frames broken up by weight would be awesome so the owners as well as their dogs could enjoy their time too.

We’ve been customers of The Barking Lot for years, and when we had to move for grad school, leaving The Barking Lot behind was a major loss. As soon as we were back in the city, we went right back and it’s better than ever! The staff are amazing and SO knowledgeable! They even remembered us after a LONG absence away! So happy to be back near The Barking Lot gang! Sugar and Piper appreciate you!

OBEDIENCE CLASS — LOVE 5 stars
I have taken my dog to the Irving park location for grooming, obedience class and dog day care. The classes run by Dennis and Wendy are great. Our dog learned so much, but more importantly learned what to do and what not to do in real day to day context. I will say that the puppy class was really large and our obedience I class was smaller, I’d recommend the smaller size class. They answered questions we had after class that helped a ton, and we would do it over again in a heartbeat.
GROOMING (with Nicole) — LOVE 5 stars
We’ve been to Nicole a handful of times and every time she’s done a great job and he’s happy to see her the next time around. We bought a grooming kit and tried it on our own, and it’s harder than it looks! Sometimes he goes in for a ‘sanitary’ where he’s washed, nails are clipped and hair trimmed where needed. Other times he gets his hair is cut, ears plucked (prevents ear infection), nails trimmed. He’s got black nails which makes it difficult to trim without cutting to close. She’s fantastic.
DAYCARE — mixed feelings: 4 stars
PRO —
require proof of shots
supervised play
individual crates before and after play
’nanny cam’
take off collars, no toys etc — safer for dogs
NOT MY FAVORITE–
Dogs eliminate in playroom, but it’s indoor so where else would they go & it’s cleaned immediately. Worth a mention for those that are having trouble with housebreaking.
They ‘pop’ plastic bags to break up play, which makes sense & is non-​harmful but after daycare my dog was scared of bags.
I didn’t see a large & small dog room the handful of times I went– they were all together. This may be because they all have good temperments, but FYI.
CON–
I saw on the ‘nanny cam’ my then ⁷¹⁄₂ lb dog approached one of the female staff as they were petting another dog, because he loooves people, and she pushed him away hard enough he fell over onto his back and slunk away. The next time I brought him he was excited to run into the dog room so I’ll chalk it up as an accident, but if that’s on camera I’m uneasy about things off camera.

Horrible customer service. called to get some information about grooming services and the girl that answered my call was so condescending and rude. We just got a dog and live around the corner, and I was hoping to be able to establish a relationship with a nearby daycare/​groomer, I guess I’ll be going to their competitors!

At first I was apprehensive to take my puppy to any daycare… reading Unilocal reviews on every daycare in Chicago, talking to neighbors, and looking at the requirements of each. When I found the barking lot I thought «why not give it a shot».
When I dropped my pup off for the first time I was greeted by a really nice woman who put me at ease at first, however while I was talking to her, some guy took the leash out of my hand and led my pup to wherever they keep the dogs. I wasn’t offered a «look-​see» of the space nor was I asked any questions about my pup. So I left feeling a little worried because it was my first time doing this sort of thing.
Later that day when my bf went to go pick up the pup he said he literally ran out of the place… puppies are puppies so I didn’t think the behavior was abnormal.
Everything came full circle after our second time and LAST TIME bringing our puppy there. My bf dropped the pup off for a half day 1 week after our first time there and noticed he did not go willingly to the kennel space and was extremely resistant to leave my bf. He didn’t think much of it at the time, until the next day we noticed our pup would not come out of his crate at home without being loved and soothed and was laying under things in our apt… this behavior from him was completely abnormal. It was not tiredness from playing all day. He was scarred by something.
Of course being a new «mother» I called the barking lot and they said they didn’t notice anything different about his behavior while he was there the previous day, nor did they see or think something happened to him. Clearly something happened, but just to make sure I didn’t go wrongfully blaming the barking lot, I called our dog walker who walks our pup everyday and asked him if he noticed anything different with the pups energy. He said he did and that he was going to mention to us that he did not want to come out of his crate to go for a walk like he does everyday with the same walker.
What compelled me to write this review and let other dog owners know about our experience was when my neighbor told me about her experience at the barking lot. Her dog came back from this place TWO TIMES with wounds on his body. I know dogs will be dogs, but as owners we trusted this kennel and paid this kennel to take care of members of our families. To me that means making sure they do not incur any injuries while there and if they do, TELL your paying clients!

Great Place for our pup!

We had such a great experience at The Barking Lot today and we will definitely be regular customers based on one little customer service thing that changed everything. When I took my two dogs in this morning, I explained that at the last groomer we went to, my puppy went #2 in the middle of the groom (the former groomer made a really big deal about this and accused us of not taking him outside before the grooming appointment. Dumb.). The Barking Lot employee asked if I knew what part he had an issue with, and I said no. She explained that if he had too much of an issue, they wouldn’t force him to do anything he wasn’t feeling comfortable with. We talked some more and before I left, I told her that she should call my husband when the dogs were ready to go.
However! She called me first and said that she knew she was supposed to call my husband first, but she wanted to let me know that the dogs did wonderfully for the most part. She gave me a full report on our puppy and told me that the part that «literally scared the crap out of him» was the blow drying. She said that instead of using the blow dryer on him, they put him in a warm cage so that it was quieter and more peaceful. I REALLY appreciated both the phone call and the fact that they found something that made him less anxious.
Not to mention — the dogs look great! Thanks guys!

We adopted our dog Oliver, an adult shepherd mix, from PAWS on Clybourne in early May. We noticed right away that he loves other dogs but becomes very shy and timid around people, especially men. I knew that I was in a wedding in Texas and I’d have to board him so I began looking around for places.
The Barking Lot is conveniently located and we decided to take them up on their complementary doggie daycare they offer to new clients before boarding him there.
I figured we’d use Oliver’s overall body language as a barometer to gauge whether or not they were a good fit for him.
The first time we dropped him off he refused to go with the staff (which I had anticipated) and we had to escort him back to the kennel. I’m happy to say though that over the course of 4 – 5 stays he has visibly relaxed and seems to enjoy going with the staff. The people who work there always seem genuinely glad to see him and they’ve been working with Oliver to help him feel more comfortable. I’m happy that I found this place and wouldn’t go any place else unless something drastic happened.

THIS PLACE IS AWESOME! There are really no words that can fully describe the level of service I have experienced at this place.
Due to recent job changes and moving up here I have been on the road for the past 6 months WAY more than I enjoy and have had to utilize the Barking Lot quite a bit (I feel like I pay their rent sometimes). Two recent stays have pushed me over the limit to finally sign up on here and give them a review.
On one particular visit couple months ago I was several states away and my dog Joey came down with a UTI of sorts. I didn’t have a vet in the city (just moved here from SC), but fear not they have one they recommended. They also do not a special shuttle service, but an employee who was getting off work decided to take Joey to the vet and wait on him there to ensure everything was fine. They could tell I was very worried and kept me informed throughout the entire ordeal.
After bringing Joey home after this most recent visit I found a report card in with his bed! I was quite worried to be honest, as it has been a challenge getting him socialized since he was adopted (damn previous owners!!!) BUT he got rave reviews on his report card and I loved the comment sections! I called them specifically saying how much I enjoyed getting it, and they seemed to really appreciate it as it is a new service.
I will continue to use them for all my boarding and daycare needs while I am in the area. Super nice people who you can tell really enjoy the dogs and their job. Again not enough can be said about them!

We have taken both our dogs here since 2003 and have always been very happy!
Our first dog was a rescue and D.O.G. training was invaluable. He always looked forward to going to the Barking Lot for Training, Grooming, Boarding and even the occasional Day Care.
Our second dog was also a rescue, too, but we got him when he was a puppy (six months old) so we used Daycare, Dog Walking Services, Grooming and Boarding. Again, our dog loves it there. We love working with everyone there: Jamie, Krysten, Emily and many more. Everyone is professional and obviously knows and cares about our dog.
I can confidently give the Barking Lot five stars.

The staff was extremely friendly and the prices were better than most in the area which is why I decided to board my dog for one night while I was out of town.
When I picked up my dog she had a intense smell of dog urine all over her. I have boarded my dog in other kennels several times before and this has never happened. Also, when I got home she darted for her water bowl as if they hadn’t provided her enough water during her stay.
Not quite sure if I’ll be going back or not.