Canine College

Use only in emergency.
—-After a private conversation via Unilocal with the Owner, she decided to post a somewhat condescending excuse for just one of the issues I had with her services:
She researched the event I referenced in our messages and discovered: «Your dog did receive the bath services you requested (no cologne and no group play after). Because you had requested no cologne and no group play after the bath, staff used a mild Oatmeal Shampoo with no scent which is probably why you could not smell shampoo scent on your dog. ?
Ms. Debra, a dog should smell clean after a ‘no scent’ shampoo — as most people are aware.
I have had my dog bathed at your facility in the past (with mixed results (70% positive) and always order ‘No Scent’ and ‘No Group Play’. When your staff does it properly — my dog returns clean — in that case I am a satisfied customer. When done carelessly, he smells — my payment for your services was in those cases — a waste of money. It is always a risk — but I would rather my dog be bathed after boarding — before I put him in my truck.
Given your suggestion that ‘no scent’ shampoo is undetectable — Unilocal readers can decide on the validity of your excuse and for what I contend was poor service. Other problems are common but not severe enough to boycott a kennel. If you were truly serious about customer concerns — you would spend more time with your customers — I have never seen you after 3 years. You are certainly active on review boards like Unilocal and google — image is key:)
Again, after his last bathe at Canine College in July 2015, we had to bathe him again after returning home. It wasn’t the first time — but it will be the last.

Not overly impressed with Canine College. Gave it a shot the whole summer, but was never wowed! Three times after boarding our lab, I was at the vet the next day getting her treated for something. Our lab has been to different kennels and has never gotten sick/​infections like she did after her stay at Canine College this summer; once bordetella and just yesterday picking her up with an eye infection. Not good if you ask me. Especially a place that prides themselves on maintaining a healthy, clean environment for dogs!
Needless to say, I will be looking for a new daycare/​kennel for our dog to go to next summer when we are back in Michigan.

Horrible! Left our English bulldog there for 5 nights and he came back a mess! They let him play in the water all day and at night must have put him away soaking wet with his soaking wet collar. His whole neck is covered in hotspots and he is on antibiotics. When we called them they said that he liked playing in the water that’s why when they NOTICED the hotspots they still let him play in water all day. I will never bring him back there again

Brought our dog to canine for 6+ years as well and experienced an issue where the owner dismissed us as loyal customers and basically said we have plenty of other customers. It’s basically a big business with steep prices that looks pretty on the outside but does not have adequate staff for all the dogs they bring in everyday.

Sucks because I was excited to find a daycare /​training facility for my dog in my neighborhood. I took my dog in to see if we’d like the place /​get some information about training, and possibly buy some goodies for my dog.
We got kicked out.
You know why?
Because I wasn’t allowed to bring my dog inside the building.
Her exact words were «you can’t bring your dog in here. Oh my god what was I thinking right?!? So sorry, my bad for thinking I can bring a dog into a dog shop.
So stupid of me.
Any-​who, if I can’t bring my dog in to even look around the facility, needless to day, I won’t be returning anytime soon.

I brought my dog to Canine College for ~6 years out of shear convenience. The prices are steep and the owner is unpleasant. There is no loyalty to long term customers. After a dispute about a charge she told me «we have many long term customers» when I said I would no longer patronize this business. The ladies at the desk, and employees actually caring for the dogs, are very kind and seem to enjoy their jobs.

Canine College is set up to make a great first impression. The college theme is cute and the lobby of their facility is cool looking. Beyond the initial façade, I have not been impressed. When we brought our puppy for his temperament test, they asked us to be prepared to leave him for a few hours if all went well so we packed food for him and brought it with us. He passed the temperament test no problem, so we left him there for the afternoon and handed them his Baggie of food which they agreed to feed him as he was still on a 3xday puppy meal schedule. When we picked him up that day, they brought him out limping and handed us the untouched, full Baggie of food. They employee who brought him out told us that they don’t feed dogs who are just there for their temperament test. What? Granted, the day was free of charge, but why didn’t they tell us that instead of agreeing to feed him? As for the limping, he had run so much on their concrete floors that he had raw skin on a couple of paw pads and a big piece of hanging skin on one pad. Why didn’t anyone notice the limping and check his feet? I called and asked them about the food and his feet a few days later and was told that the employee was mistaken, they did offer my dog his food so if we got food back it was because he was too excited or distracted to eat it. As for the feet, the staff member on the phone said that it had happened to her dog, too, which was sympathetic of her but didn’t address why they didn’t notice the limping and prevent it from getting so bad. She said we could give them instructions to watch for this if we boarded him in the future and they could give him extra rest time in a crate as needed. Against my better judgement, we did board him for a couple of nights the following month. Big surprise, they ended up messing up his food schedule AND he contracted Bordatella there. I called and spoke to the owner and she was not concerned at all that they gave my dog kennel cough (diagnosed by our vet)! She actually had the gall to tell me not to return there for 10 days so my dog didn’t infect any other dogs! As if we will ever return. Oh, and the staff never seemed to have a clue who I was or who my dog was and those cheesy report cards that people rave about? Seriously? I think they just write whatever on there because I asked them about what they wrote and just got blank stares both times we were there. This place gets a great rating but, oddly, it doesn’t factor in several reviews similar to mine which are «not recommended», which would tank their overall score if averaged in.

I have taken my dogs here a couple of times. They have a lot of fun and enjoy it. My interaction with the regular staff has been positive and they have been helpful.
This is why I marked it down. Pricing for daycare seems a bit high. They have packages available and they save money, but that’s if you buy a bunch of sessions. They charge for every little extra.
My second issue was with a manager (possibly owner). She is rude and talks down to the customers. A situation recently happened, which I will not get into detail with here because it does not necessarily affect the care your animal will have or anything to that matter. She just didn’t like being told that her facility may have been the cause of something and put the blame on my dogs. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL!
With that, the care is good and it’s convenient for our family so we will probably go back if necessary. I will continue to check out other places though.

I cannot believe all these great reviews for this place! I took my dog there once a few years ago for daycare. While there, I bought a leash and pretty pink collar. The first time my dog wore the collar, it was raining and the collar got wet and the color ran and actually dyed my dog’s beautiful white coat pink all around her neck and chest! When I tried to take the collar back, the owner had a fit and did not want to give me my money back. She also looked at my dog and said it was nothing, and that the color would wash out (which it did not — as I already tried 3 times). After some arguing, she finally gave me a refund for the collar but told me in no uncertain terms NEVER to return to her establishment — which I would not have done anyway after this. She acted totally crazy, and did not show the least concern that my dog’s fur was permanently dyed due to her cheap collar! I had to trim all the hair off myself and it took months for it to grow back and she looked normal again. My only thought was that if the owner acted so crazy over this issue, how would she have acted if there was a serious injury to my dog?
I was shocked by the owner’s attitude, and just thought I should share this information with other Unilocal readers.

Best place in town! Reasonably priced, clean, friendly staff, and they take great care of your pets! They have tons of options for add-​ones that make your dog feel right at home. I seriously love this place. My dog Grady comes home exhausted every single time. They even take the time to send out notices during times where a dog may of been sick there just to warn you. They are very professional and care about your dogs health and safety. Crap. I came back to edit a pre existing review just to tell you how great this place is. Their store in the lobby consists of some pretty good food, bones and other various items. All reasonably priced. They have vet days and tons of different areas for the dogs to play. Keep up the good work!

LOVE Canine College! I’ve taken my dogs to several different boarding facilities in the area, never quite satisfied with policies/​prices/​cleanliness. Canine College is the best daycare/​boarding facility hands down! They provide all day play, employees who play with your dogs (even setting out kiddie pools in the summer!) and provide personal attention, and all for very competitive pricing! I love the personal webcams for a few dollars more so I can check in on my dogs at night. They have a great lobby and sell all sorts of healthy/​legit pet treats and food (and a coffee bar for pet parents)!

Our dog Benny just about loses his mind every time we turn the corner towards Canine College. We’ve done boarding, daycare, grooming and training at Canine College and LOVE it all. They know my dogs name (better than mine) and love him to pieces. It’s obvious by his enthusiasm that they are the best ever!!!

We take our pups to canine college since we moved from novi to farmington hills and absolutely love this place.
Boarding includes day care and is reasonable price. I love their news letters in emails and enjoy taking my pups to the college specially in cold winter when we can’t really play outside.

I love love love this place! I found out about them initially when they did an open house a few years ago. They advertised it on craigslist’s pet board so, Dharma (the pup) and I decided to check it out. The staff was super friendly and my pup had a blast exploring the place and meeting the regulars. After a temperament test, I quickly booked a weekend of boarding for her which went really well.
A year or so later, I decided to take the plunge and put her into doggy day care. She is a bit hyperactive because of her breed, so playing all the day at ‘School’ is a great way for her to expend her energy. I love that I can watch her on web cam and I love how she comes home tired after a day at ‘school.’ The staff is super friendly and would always remember us. I would get progress reports about her hyperactivity and how she acted with other dogs frequently.
I recently recommended Canine College to a friend and I know she really was happy with this place as well. The only downside is that doggy daycare can be a bit pricey (around $ 21 per day) but they do have packages where you can save a teeny amount of money. If I could afford it, the pup would be going there much more often!
Also, they have a great little shop in the front of the ‘school’ that offers a great selection of leashes, toys, natural dog foods and other goodies that often cannot be found at the conventional pet stores… even this is worth checking out.

**Update** Webcam is now working. Thanks for your help, Amber!