Urban Tails

Saw this place on Unilocal months ago and completely forgot about it until I drove past it over the weekend. After rechecking the reviews I decided to give their grooming service a try. Rue, my shi-​tzu, has not been happy at the other place I was taking him, so much that I we had to fight to drop him off the last time. That is not all together unusual for him though so I let them have more go, and never again… he was a very mad camper when I picked him up.
Rue was hesitant going in this morning, as you normally is when I drop him anywhere but the real magic is when I picked him up. He was so happy and looked so good. The cut was exactly what I wanted, it was even throughout his body and he was super soft. The best part is that his nails were clipped! I had to pay extra for that at the other place and the nail still scratched me a little when I would take him home.
The service they provide is really good. I called late last night and they were able to get me in first thing this morning. When we arrived we were both greeted, they even knew his name off the bat… i mean people coming from the back greeted him by name not just the person behind the computer. I forgot his shot records so they called the vet to get a copy, awesome sauce! All of the staff was super nice there. There was no odor to the place, at least the lobby and it had a great we love animals feel, not commercialized at all.
We are super happy with out experience there and plan to return. We maybe even try doggie daycare servie…

I have only used this place for grooming services, but they did a great job. The groomer called me before she started on my dog to make sure she knew exactly what I wanted. She hit the nail on the head and my pup looked great. My dog also got to run around and play with the other dogs all day so she was worn out when I picked her up. Bonus!

Absolutely love Urban Tails and so does Zeke! We’ve used Urban Tails for daycare, boarding, and grooming. 5 stars all around! Zeke is a very energetic dog and always comes home from day care thoroughly exhausted and happy.

Eureka!!! I’ve finally found a boarding/​daycare that Ezra likes. It’s a little far, but what place in Texas isn’t far? We just moved to Texas and I’ve been trying to find a boarding/​daycare that my dog would like. He had been regularly attending the same daycare in California since he was 4 months old (he’s now 3 yrs old). He’s a large breed, double coated dog. So, we were looking for a place with a large indoor, climate controlled, play area. After unsatisfactory test stays at other places, we were referred to Urban Tails. He couldn’t be happier. The staff is really nice. They have a cool swimming pool and plenty of space for the dogs to romp. The lofts suited our needs. The staff member, Eddie, suggested we do cage free boarding next time. This will definitely be our regular go to spot. I’m soooooo happy.
My only complaint is that they charge for daycare evaluations. Coming from California, I’m not used that. It doesn’t make sense to me to pay a company for an evaluation that, if passed, will enable them to generate more revenue from my business. Why am I paying you yo be able to pay you even more in the future? That just doesn’t make sense to me.

Do NOT be FOOLED. Note that half the 5 star reviews for this place are people who wrote less than FIVE reviews. This place would have a MUCH worse rating had they not put FAKE REVIEWS on here!!!
Will NOT make this mistake again. I boarded two dogs here at the recommendation of River Oaks… which I now completely question them after recommending such a place.
First off, the front desk girl is like a zombie waiting for slit her wrists the second you walk out the door. It made me super nervous to leave my dogs with somebody who seemed to hate their job that much.
Second off, their website packages and whomever is on the phone is COMPLETELY misleading and confusing. We were under the impression that our dogs were to stay in a luxury loft with tv, bedtime cookie, cot, etc. This place left such a BAD impression on me that mid way through my vacation I panicked and called in to see how everything was… only to find out that they did have a luxury sized loft WITHOUT any of the amenities. On top of that, the girl on the phone said it like nothing.
Third off, I come in to find my bill is almost double what I expect. Turns out they were charging both of our dogs $ 34/​night in which they were very unclear on the phone while we were booking. I’m not sure if it’s the zombie voice, or what, since my husband was the one who booked (and was also shocked). I honestly don’t even mind paying any price for my dogs to be comfortable and happy… but we got NOTHING of what we thought we would get, and then paid extra on top of that. Even with all of that, the front desk girl just said this all like it was matter of fact.
I would NOT leave my dogs with them ever again. On top of that, they tout that they have webcams to watch your dog etc… NONE OF THEM WORKED!!! I got crap with Chinese letters, and most likely a virus. I was very irritated at the piece of sh*** technology they had. Don’t mislead people if you’re too cheap to have a legitimate system. I feel completely CHEATED and displeased after this entire ordeal. So… if you love coming back from your trip or vacation to some bullsh*** this is your place to go!

I give this place one star. Based on what I’ve seen I was very disappointed about how dirty and badly organized this place is. I was looking for a good daycare place for my cavalier King Charles around midtown area and stopped by the Urban Tails for a tour.
First of all, I want to notice that I’ve been to many doggie daycare places but Urban Tails smells very awfully like it was NEVER cleaned. I’m sorry for the details but you can totally smell the fusion of pee and poop in the WHOLE facility. I imagine the cleaning and sanitary level that the dogs are surrounded by in there.
Second of all, while one of the ladies was showing us around I’ve noticed like one of the workers SPRAYED the dog with something! It started beeping at him and got very irritated immediately!!! Why would you even spray a dog!!! Maybe it was something to minimize the smell in the room but actually you can just wash and sanitize the floors and other things like other facilities do. You don’t have to spray the actual DOGS! Lack of sanitizing can lead to different virus, fleas and diseases transferable between dogs!
Overall, the facility is very dark and looks sketchy inside. Maybe someday it was a nice place but I think due to very non-​organized and careless staff it became what it is right now. Won’t bring my dog there for sure and won’t recommend anyone to do so.
If you are really interested in dog daycare go take a tour first in the facility randomly (without appointment!!!) and make sure the place is safe for your dog.
P. S. Look at their NON recommended reviews. They are almost all one-​star. Weird right?!

Updating my previous review. The «nickel and diming» I mentioned before developed into full-​fledged dishonest practices. Last time I boarded my dog I called for a quote and re-​read it back to them exactly in an effort to be clear (an absolute must if you work with these people — better yet, pay up front so the agreed price is set in stone). When I picked him up the price had increased a full 50% above the agreed price and I was told «I should have known» about the up-​charge despite it being convieniently left out of their verbal quote. Had they given me an upfront and honest price I wouldn’t have boarded in the first place. Certainly won’t be going back in the future regardless.
I’m not sure if they do a poor job of training their employees, terrible job of communicating, or if they actually plan these stunts (or all three) but I’d stay as far away as possible — way too many other options out there to put up with these guys.

I’ve now had the chance to use their boarding services, and like I figured, my puppies were happy and well taken care of. :) I even had them groomed on the last day they were there and didn’t get charged for boarding that day since I was picking them up after their appointment.

When we wanted to train our new puppy a few months ago, we decided to send her to Urban Tails for their «potty and train» program. The program was expensive (I want to say it was around $ 1,500), and it was a complete waste of time and money.
My dear sweet baby learned very little. When she finished the program, she could barely sit, she was nowhere close to being potty trained, and God help me if I wanted her to come when I called her. I really cannot say we gained anything from sending her to Urban Tails.
Despite that, when we were looking to board her recently, we called Urban Tails. I don’t remember the rate given, but it was much more expensive than other places nearby. Plus, you have to pay extra if you want your dog to be let out more than twice a day. In fact, unless you pay for a 30 minute play session, I’m pretty sure your dog is locked up alone for most of the day. No, thanks.
We’ve started boarding her and taking her to daycare at the Green Bone — she loves it so much that her little tail starts wagging the second we pull up. If you’re looking for a place to board, definitely send your pup to the Green Bone instead.

I decided to try this place on the recommendation of a friend. I was actually really excited because I heard good things. I have a 7-​month Siberian Husky that I wanted to put in daycare so he wouldn’t have to stay home alone whole I ran errands. So I made an appointment and the lady on the phone told me my pup would be put in the Puppy Tails group, which according to the website include 2 ½ hour play sessions with staff and and a loft to rest in. She also sent me a social evaluation form to fill out for future visits to the puppy pool, etc. I gave her all his information, including his weight and temperament.
I got to the place to drop him off and the staff member took one look at my dog and told me he couldn’t be on Puppy Tails because he was too old (apparently Puppy tails is up to 6 months). She then told me the trainer would conduct a social evaluation and put him on one of the older play groups. I left and got a call about an hour later from the trainer telling me she would conduct a social eval and would notify me of the results. Three hours passed and I didn’t hear from anyone, so I decided to call and check up. The staff member told me that they hadn’t had time to go over the social eval form because they received it too late (I sent it the day before) and that he wouldn’t be able to interact with any of the dogs until it was completed. They said he would be lodged and get some private play time with staff. She also said the trainer would be available to discuss his evaluation when I came to pick him up.
So now I’m wondering why the trainer told me she was conducting the evaluation if she in fact wasn’t. I came to pick him up later that day and the staff told me the trainer had already left for the day. I asked what interaction my pup had, and she said he had 20 minutes of play and a 15 min walk around the block. He was there for 10 freaking hours and only 20 minutes of play? For a Siberian, this is equivalent to jail.
I brought him home and noticed 1) his harness was on upside down, which is not comfortable in any way; 2) he peed for about 5 minutes straight, which makes me wonder what he did on his walk; 3) he finished his entire oversized bowl of water.
All in all, not impressed. There is some definite miscommunication between the reservation team and the actual staff, and unfortunately my little guy had to suffer the consequences of what seems to be general incompetence.
I’m sure others have had positive experiences here, but first impressions are lasting impressions and I don’t see why I paid to have my dog sit in a room alone when he could have done that at home for free. I think I’ll be looking for a different daycare center from now on.
UPDATE: Nancy from Urban Tails called me a few days after this incident to apologize and offer a free social evaluation and one day of free daycare. I don’t know if I’ll go back, but I’m glad they accepted responsibility for what happened.

I have two dogs, both are rescues and both about 3 years old now — we adopted Olive (50lb lab/​collie/​pit mix) when she was a puppy and Charlie (80lb catahoula/​lab mix) was about 2 years old when we got him. Both dogs go to daycare (just over $ 30/​day per dog) and this is where we board them when we go out of town. The staff here is friendly and patient (for some reason I have to have the bill explained to me each time we board — it’s a crazy system!) and I feel like my dogs are well loved when I leave them at UT.
Olive and Charlie LOVE Urban Tails! They start getting excited on our way there and Olive can barely walk through the door bc she’s wagging her tail so much! Then they come home exhausted from playing all day!
They do a 30 – 45 min temperament test with the dogs before they are admitted to daycare, and the trainer will explain to you who your dog will be introduced to (alpha male/​female, shy dogs, playful ones, etc) and your dog meets each one individually on a very loose leash (to simulate being off leash). The trainer explains how they «should» react, and then walks you through their introduction — you (the owner) stays off to the side so you’re not part of the process, since some dogs are protective of their owners and/​or behave differently around you. Olive easily passed. Charlie is deaf so he can’t understand «verbal» cues from other dogs (warning growls, etc) and he startles easily. He also needs time to warm up to other dogs before he plays with them. Charlie needed a few socialization sessions before he was allowed in — he is still kind of on probation and doesn’t get to play on some days, which I’m ok with because I’d rather them be cautious.
I also like that I can check in on them on the webcams in each daycare room — the cameras aren’t the best quality, but it’s nice to look in and see how much fun they’re having!
Teri and Monica (the trainers) are so patient with Charlie — they really do pay attention to how he’s reacting and try to make his experience there as fun as possible. Charlie gets really nervous in new situations, and they took it very slow easing him into the environment — now he loves to go! I also can’t say enough about Anna — she is there most times when we board them and she clearly loves each and every one of these dogs, no matter how sweet and loving (Olive) or quirky and high-​maintenance (Charlie) they are, and works to make their stay as fun and comfortable as possible.

Today I saved about $ 338 on care, for my 8 year old sheltie, Dori. She needed her teeth cleaned. Nothing major was wrong, not even a little doggy bad breath, but you could see they were in need of a cleaning. My regular Vet said he would need to give her drugs, to her keep still, for cleaning, The cost for even a simple cleaning plus meds would be between $ 325 to $ 350. Marina said she could do it and the cost would be around $ 12. SHE DID IT! Dori practically came out smiling! She wanted to show off her pretty clean teeth. Urban Tails and their staff keep their promises!

I really cannot say enough good things about Marina, the groomer. I started taking my dog Benji to her at the recommendation of his behavioral therapist. She told me that Marina is excellent with the dogs she grooms, and that she was impressed how she handles reactive dogs. Benji is a rescue and had a lot of behavioral problems, and I used to get calls from groomers to come pick him up because he bit the groomer. When I first started going to Urban Tails I would ask how Benji did during the grooming and Marina would always say he did fine, he was quiet, and he never gave her trouble. I didn’t believe her until I saw Benji run up to her in the lobby and sit quietly at her feet. Anyone that can make my dog that comfortable is a dream come true.
I always pay attention to how the owners and dogs act during the drop off/​pick up process in the lobby. The dogs always seem happy — I have never seen a dog shake or hesitate to go with one of the staff. The owners are always chatty and happy, too. The staff and dog owners all seem to know each other by name or face. With everyone, including the dogs, so happy and friendly, I know that Urban Tails provides an excellent service. So every time I leave Benji there I never worry becuase I know that he is in good hands.

Community peeps! Come by and check out their photo fundraiser to fight breast cancer and support rescue pets on Sunday, September 18!

As an owner of a hyperactive German Shorthaired Pointer, Urban Tails is a dream come true. The large, open playspace (aka Bodyslammers) is a guarantee that I will be picking up a tired dog which usually gives me two days of peace and quiet at the house. Plus, if you ever wondered what your dog does when you are not around, the live-​cams give you a peek into his world. I am particularly fond of their daycare special events. From the Cinco de Mayo parties to the Art Classes, I can not get enough of them especially the event photos and dog paintings. But most of all, the staff make it truly special. For example, last week my dog celebrated his 4^th birthday at daycare. Nancy and the entire staff went above and beyond by organizing an impromtu party including some pool time. To top it all, they captured the party with pictures and gave me a copy of dvd as well as a birthday card with a special note about Jackson by each staff member. It is this extra service that will always bring me back.

This place is not only ridiculously expensive, but you definitely do not get service equivalent to what you pay. Being a Midtown resident, I thought Urban Tails would be perfect as it was just down the street from me. I gave them a try and, over all, was terribly unsatisfied with my experience.
First off, the pricing not clearly explained to me on the phone. The representative I spoke with sold me on a boarding service that, I learned upon getting to the shop, was not the daily flat rate for boarding as I was led to believe, but a daily addon price TO the daily rate for a puppy boarding package. That was never clearly stated and I was never told a base price. They launched right into add-​ons and more expensive rates without telling me their flat daily price for boarding.
My puppy was about 6 months old when I took him, and the fact that they walk the dogs regularly a certain number of times a day appealed to me. I was in the middle of house-​training him and knew it was imperative that he stay on his schedule. For a week after I got him back, it was as if they had deprogrammed him! There is no way they had him on a schedule. He messed in the house as if he had never learned potty training ever. It was a nightmare to deal with.
And if they –had– taken him out or did any of the things they said they would that I paid extra for, I never knew for sure. They are supposed to fill out and give back report cards for first-​time boarders, telling the owner how the dog did, their behavior, when they were taken out, etc. Well, they lost my dog’s report card and claimed that, since his caretaker wasn’t there, they weren’t sure where it was and that they would mail it to me. 3 weeks later, it never came. I called to inquire and they just told me they didn’t have it.
I would definitely recommend somewhere else. I ended up paying about $ 150 for a single weekend and I doubt my dog had the resort-​stay for my resort-​bill.

I have to take issue with the comments of the apparently disgruntled employee who wrote the prior review. First, the review failed to mention the 24 hour cameras — each of the daycare rooms, the pool area, and one other play room all have cameras that can be accessed via computer 24 hours a day by the dog owners. I love the fact that I can see my pup in real time when he is there. I asked another doggy day care place why they didn’t have cameras and they said they are afraid of the liability — you know this place is confident about the level of care the dogs are getting if they allow it to be filmed at all times. Indeed, if you are considering taking your pet there log onto their website, check out the doggy cam and watch for awhile. The rooms don’t look dim or dark or overcrowded. I also appreciate the fact that the «watchers» are not allowed to sit and read — it means the dogs are not being ignored and not getting in trouble. It also means that they are not just sitting around sleeping — which they can do at home — I take my dog to daycare so he gets some exercise and doesn’t get too bored. When the watchers walk around the daycare room, the dogs follow and interact and its good. I like the fact that there are no toys in the daycare area — that is a no brainer — anyone who has been to a dog park has seen fights break out over toys. I can’t speak to the smell but I can’t see how you can avoid it. I see the watchers immediately mop up pee and have not observed any lack of attention. I also know that before letting my dog into the daycare they carefully screened him – (they also require that daycare dogs be neutered/​spayed) they did temperment testing for 45 mins or so while I was present and I was impressed. They would not let my dog do a «cage free» sleep over for boarding until he had a few daycare sessions under his belt and they felt he could handle it. The staff have been nothing but friendly and seem very knowledgeable about dogs. I have not seen the staff do anything inappropriate or ignore the dogs while I have been watching via cameras in the daycare areas. I boarded our prior elderly dogs there and never had a problem over the course of two years or so. My current dog does daycare probably once a month and is boarded there from time to time and seems to love it. No place is perfect, I am sure, but I have been happy with Urban Tails — I only wish it were cheaper so I could take my dog more often!

Please please PLEASE do not take your dogs here!
I USED TO WORK AT URBAN TAILS, and as the proud momma of a Shepherd-​Chow mix and a beautiful Blue Heeler, I would NEVER put my babies here. EVER.
Not only is it overly priced in general, but nothing is worth this. They have 3 main playpens for the «Doggy Daycare.» For small dogs, medium dogs, and large dogs.
The playpens are all indoors with soiled, black rubber flooring and dim, dank lighting. They ALWAYS ALWAYS overcrowd the daycare floors!
They only have one «sitter» watching as many as 15 – 30 dogs at a time – thats WAY to many for such a small space! Working there, I saw MANY dogs have problems, be extremely reclusive or unhappy. And I heard my bosses MANY times telling those owners how much their dog enjoyed it when they did NOT!
A lot of dishonesty!
Not only that, but forget it if you have a small Pomeranian, Shih-​tzu, or Maltese, or other small dog – they let the medium sized dogs run around and trample in the small dog pen so they don’t have to pay for TWO sitters.
These dogs are VERY cramped, VERY pent up, and there have been MANY fights and scuffles. In a 9 hour shift, they only change the mop water twice. TWICE. They claim there is soap and disinfectant in it, but not nearly enough.
THE MOP JUST SPREADS AROUND THE URINE AND DIARRHEA – The bottoms of my shoes would STICK to the rubber and reek of urine all day.
The sitters are always kept on the floor for hours at a time. We are not allowed to sit, rest, read to the dogs, or do much of ANYTHING! This results in a very bored and cranky sitter, and dogs are VERY perceptive and pick up energy!
That restlessness REALLY picks up on the dogs!
They claim to do «temperament» tests, but I have WAY more of my fair share of rude, poorly mannered, and aggressive dogs on the floor.
There are RARELY any toys, because if ONE DOG out of the 15 – 30 are toy aggressive? All toys are put away.
So these dogs are in a dimly lit pen covered in dried urine and stench, run around with NOTHING to do all day.
The Kennels are kept clean for the most part, but the dogs are bored and lonely all day. They charge for «snacks» and walks as extra. THATS A NECESSITY! The dog is «walked» around the building for about six minutes. Maybe once a day. TERRIBLE!
Potty runs are a special area of the building full of kennels with potty mats. So they usually don’t even get to go outside to relieve themselves. No sun, no fresh air.
As if this place could not get any WORSE, lets move on to the STAFF.
Most of the staff are gang bangers, ghetto trash who can’t even speak English as well as my foreign exchange students, and felonies and misdemeanors up the nose – which they freely talk about.
NONE of these people know anything about dogs or animal behavior. The three main bosses DO have some knowledge, but they are never on the floor, and always in their offices! So what does it matter?
The employee «training» course was a JOKE. Forget learning about thorough and compassionate dog handling, body language, and psychology — they were POORLY made power point presentations (by the way, one of the ghetto girls could not even read, and needed help reading «Exceptional») about things my five year old niece should know about dogs.
It was so laughable, I was ashamed to call myself a part of this company.
The only GOOD thing I could say about this company is that their cat corner is big, clean, and nice and quiet for the kitties. But thats it.
Don’t even take your pets to the groomer – I have seen her EVERY TIME cut and bleed dogs nails. Once or twice is an accident, but you’re a terrible groomer if you cut the quick EVERY time. Also, she has most of the felon staff handling her dog grooming because she puts way too much on her plate.
Urban Tails is overpriced, under-​staffed (with criminals), knows nothing about Dog behavior, is unsanitary, and provides and overall unsafe and MISERABLE condition for your furr-​baby.
I’m no PETA advocate or animal rights wacko, but this place needs to be SHUT DOWN!

I first heard about Urban Tails a few years ago through their savvy PR guru, Tina Zulu. But back then, I was not a dog owner…
Fast forward a few years and I’m a proud step-​mother of the most adorable yellow lab, Texas.
But come Memorial weekend a few months ago, I already made plans for a non-​pet-​friendly lake house in the Hill Country. So I scrambled to find a kennel that would take him in that very same Thursday.
Fortunately, Urban Tails had room. And not only that, their regular requested boarding time of around 3pm was pushed back for this nervous mom to about 6pm.
With his records faxed over to UT, we arrived with dog food, overnight comfort blanky and a few toys. I filled out a quick eating routine schedule, along with my options of story time, play time, treats and more, and we were done.
The lobby is huge and filled with an assortment of treats and pet supplies, like leashes and collars, along with samples for you to take in case you’re in search of a new doggy diet. UT also offers grooming services … and the city’s first ever indoor doggy playground with swimming pool! You can also watch your pet over their webcam. I had a difficult time accessing this, but mainly due to user error.
I warned the staff that he doesn’t eat when away from home, so they assured me that if he goes a day without touching his grub, they’d add — was it chicken broth? — to his food. I wish this first-​timer would have gotten a tour before I handed over my babe, but I understand that there was the holiday weekend rush …
I’m not one for leaving him at kennels anymore, since I know he goes into a state of depression and a hunger strike days after, but if it came down to it, I wouldn’t hesitate bringing him back here. The staff was incredibly friendly as I annoyingly called them for questions in preparation, along with updates during his stay, so I really appreciate that.
Other services, pulled from their site:
*Pet Lodging: Luxury Loft Lodging, Minimalist Loft Lodging, Cage-​Free Overnights, Day Lodging, Luxury Cat Suites
*Dog Daycare
*Professional Pet Spa
*Life Skills & Behavior Assistance: Puppy Potty Training, Puppy Play Kindergarten, Beginner Basics Obedience Classes, Social Stars AKC Canine Good Citizen Preparation, Board & Train, Day Training, Behavior Counseling Assistance, Private Socialization, In Home Training or Behavior Assistance
*Pet Supplies

It’s an OK place to board your pets, however, it’s more of an indoor facility with no place for dogs to run outside to get some fresh air. The regular bunkhouse and luxury suites are nice and clean, however when you first walk in and get a whiff, the smell of urine and socks just hits you, enough for you want to turn around and leave. At the time of my site visit to see if I wanted to board my dogs there, there was only 1 – 2 dogs doing doggie daycare and there was no one there watching. I guess the dogs were just lying there in the dark so there was nothing to do. There was 1 attendant there and did say HI to me, but she appeared like she was dressed as a gang member so that sort of turned me off. I may consider doggie daycare one day, but not boarding.