What A Good Dog

I would say that if have to agree with some other points made already. Great facility and most of the people with which I’ve dealt have been wonderful. It can be a little frustrating to get someone to answer the phone to even make a reservation (hello…people want to give you money!!!). Checking in and out can be a little time intensive depending on how many others are there doing the same but still worth the wait. My dogs always come back exhausted which is worth it’s weight in gold!

I changed my review based solely on customer service. The facilities are still the best in the area, the guys & girls that take care of my dog are very nice, Karl is always happy to be there, but as a few other people have noted their response could improve.
I had a question about something that happened during daycare (nothing serious) & so I called to get a little more information. I was told only the owner could speak to me; I have since left three messages to no avail.
Like I said, nothing serious — just the sheer fact that my calls were left unanswered is troubling.
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As a first time «puppy mom» I was nervous to take our new puppy anywhere. WAGD was recommended to me by a few coworkers.
My French bulldog, Karl, has been going to WAGD (Malvern location) for a little over a month now and he couldn’t be happier. Puppy day care can be expensive, but WAGD makes it worth every penny. Between all of the services that they offer (we have taken advantage of doggy day care and the grooming services), the excitement Karl has once we round the corner and how much WAGD’s staff matches Karl’s enthusiasm… we know it’s well worth it.
The staff is kind and the facilities are immaculate. After a day at What a Good Dog, Karl is pleasantly exhausted. We’ve also noticed how his temperament has improved, socializing him at day care has helped leaps and bounds.

Amazing looking facilities, but lacking in customer service.
I’ve taken my two dogs here one to two times a week over the past 6 – 7 months. The building and property are very impressive (misting stations in the summer to keep the dogs cool is pretty cool) and generally very clean. Customer service is inconsistent. Boarding gate drop off is a very cool service which saves time, but picking up is normally a slow time consuming process, I’ve waited in excess of 15 minutes to pick up my dogs in the past, although an average is probably closer to 5 minutes. The employees who pick up the dogs at the gates are generally pretty friendly, but front desk staff has one woman I’ve encountered who is pleasant, and the other 3 are not so much. To be fair the woman who I normally see in the evening for pick up is the pleasant one. While the facilities are very nice to look at I’ve found out that if it is raining and there is a training happening inside, your dog (s) will be out in the rain, literally. When I dropped off one day during rain I was told there was training that day and my dogs would be rotated inside as much as possible, but they would spend most of the time outside, in the rain. Outside of rainy days, my dogs still come back noticeably dirtier than when I dropped them off, I’m not exactly sure how this happens. If you want to use their doggy day care they ask that you call in advance to help with staffing, which is understandable but no one else asks for this. Grooming is good, but there is no furminate option and the equivalent offered is nowhere near as good at removing hair.
Overall I think there are far worse choices you could make, so I rated this an ok three stars.

One stop shopping for all our doggie training and boarding needs! The best of the best, beyond compare!
Training — I cannot rant and rave enough about Shirlee O’Neill’s skills as an instructor. I have taken various training classes throughout a lifetime of dogs and Shirlee is the best of the best. I have learned more in the past year than in a lifetime of training. I feel so grateful to have found her. There are those who can do and those who can teach, but it’s rare to find that combination. Shirlee has keen intuition and is able to convey it to her students, no matter what level they are on.
Boarding — I discovered the training because of the boarding experience. After visiting many local and not so local boarding facilities, we chose WAGD. It was an obvious choice because it was so far superior to any other facility.
The influential factors:
1. The staff’s dog behavior expertise. These aren’t kids doing this to make a couple bucks. They are well trained, insightful professionals who carefully and safely manage the boarding and daycare guests
2. Due to the elaborate filtration system, there is absolutely no doggie, antiseptic cleaner odors. The place is spotless and odor free!
3. The services offered during boarding are enough to fill any dog’s day to keep them physically and mentally stimulated — training, swimming, field play, daycare, etc. (huge bonus since my dogs are very active on a daily basis)
4. The entire staff is warm, welcoming and knowledgeable about dog behavior
Room for improvement — administration. Response times to emails and paperwork (shot records, etc.) could use some elevation for a facility of this quality, but it’s low on the priority list in comparison to the points above. My dogs are their priority while boarding and attending training, providing peace of mind, so ultimately, that is what is most important.
Thanks WAGD!!! We WUF you!!!

20 years ago we took our brand new puppy to What a Good Dog out at the mansion facility.
I don’t know if our dog was the best ever canine, or the teaching at What a Good Dog was so wonderful… but it was a match made in heaven.
We now have a new poodle and we had our class at the mansion again and just finished agility is fun at the new facility in Malvern.
What a beautiful set up they have. We took a look at the two pools, and thought wow… How neat is that…
We had a fun time with the agility class. The class consisted of only 4 dogs and there was enough room for all of us to maneuver the workouts at the same time.
We loved our instructor Shirley. Shirley!!! Come play with us.
We will definitely be back again for another session.
Sending hugs… Mardi

This facility is a mixed bag. I have taken numerous classes at WAGD and used their boarding, grooming and day care services. Because I have had excellent experiences, I keep returning. Unfortunately, I have also had poor experiences. The owner is a terrific trainer, and several of her staff members are great as well. Others are nothing short of rude and unprofessional. Reception is a particularly iffy. Sometimes I have been greeted warmly, other times I wonder why I go there. Sometimes the phone is answered promptly, other times my messages are not returned.
Bottom line: when things go well, WAGD is great, but you can never be certain of what to expect. The facility is beautiful and clean and many staff members are wonderful. I think the owner would do well to raise her standards across the board and expect a consistent level of professionalism from all her staff.

WAGD is a beautiful facility, but oddly enough, it is not puppy friendly. I took my puppy there for a puppy kindergarten. My puppy gets excited when she meets people, and will submissively urinate, even if she has just gone. This is common with puppies, and they usually outgrow it. She did this in the entryway of WAGD and the owner pitched a fit. She complained that she would now have to send the entry-​way carpet out to be cleaned, and that we were no longer to come in the entrance, but instead use a side entrance way. The owner apologized the same morning, but the entire episode was ridiculous. I would have never gone back, but since I had paid for the training, I finished the class. The entire incident left a bad taste in my mouth. My husband, who was to be involved in the training, refused to return. Now that the class is finished, I would never go back again. I cannot imagine that a dog place would install carpet that was not puppy proof. There staff also seems to be generally unfriendly, although the trainer was nice and competent. The training was OK, but I have a giant breed dog, and was in a class with a tea cup size puppy. I was always on edge, afraid that my big puppy would inadvertently step on the tiny puppy. I did get the distinct impression that they don’t really like large breed dogs. I have found another doggy day care and training provider that my puppy loves. The people at the new place, are friendly and all seem to love dogs. They also divide the training groups by the size of the dog.

Lab swimming in Winter = pure bliss!
We took our lab to WAGD yesterday for private swimming. The whole place is huge, nicely decorated and immaculately clean.
The pool area is sizable with plenty of room for us to play, splash around and get in a good exercise session. They even have fetch toys and a fresh-​water hose station where you can rinse your pooch after-​wards.
It was $ 30 for ½ hr. (plenty of time) for open swimming and you can bring your family of up to 4 dogs. They offer a package of $ 210 for four weeks and you get to swim 3X/​wk.
They also offer obedience, boarding (for kitties too), doggie play sessions and grooming.
I’m sold on swimming and I wouldn’t hesitate to try them for other services.

We haven’t boarded our dog in a few years (she used to stay with friends), so I went in search of a good facility. My dog is deaf, and she’s also old, so those things have to be taken into consideration.
I visited a few kennels that were what you’d expect. And what you’d expect is not up to my standards. (Note: Also see my review of Wagsworth.)
A friend of a friend recommended What a Good Dog. I showed up randomly on a weekday afternoon, and was cheerfully given a tour. The setup is very different. The dogs are not in jail-​cell type kennels. Instead, they are in big, open, cage-​type kennels spread around an enormous room. This gives them the feeling of still being in a pack, and they can see everything going on around them. On all my other kennel visits, the dogs were freaking out and it was too loud to even ask a question. Here, one dog barked at me, and then stopped. The others were napping, or playing, or just hanging around, looking content. I was sold.
When we brought our dog in (with her own bed and toy, which was encouraged), she was greeted with kindness and enthusiasm. Christy took the time to get acquainted and to find out just what my dog needed — and what I expected. She asked about whether she should be in the yard with the other dogs or go by herself, and how often, and what her limitations were, and her eating habits, and even where she likes to be petted! It was obvious that Christy loved the dogs and took great care of them. We were told we could call or text any time to get an update on how she was doing, which was really nice.
I went on my vacation without a single pang, because I knew they would take great care of my dog. I did text one time during the week, and got a timely reply. And a few days later, I received a photo of my sweetie, with a cute note from Christy.
All in all, What a Good Dog was a fantastic experience, my dog came back to me happy and healthy, and I can’t recommend them enough.