Downtown Doghouse

always love going there for my dog. Even though he sometimes gets upset when I leave him there, but the owners and staff take a good care of him while I’m not there.

I want to start off by saying, this is not a one star review because my puppy’s hair cut was okay, definitely not worth 110 dollars. Instead, this rating goes towards the attitude of the workers and the treatment they gave to my dog. To begin with, it was my first time taking him there, and things seemed fine… until I came back 3 hours to pick him up. While my time away, I was thinking back on the place. It was small (check) It was clean (half a check). It had other dogs (check) It had more than one worker (check). The dog stylist seemed professional (half a check). All these were simply things based on their physical appearance and first impression. But when I came back to pick up my dog he seemed nervous, scared, and so relieved I was back. This is the FIRST time he has acted this way after getting groomed. He has had three previous hair cuts and had never had such a bad reaction to the place and the hands he had been treated with.
About the treatment he was given; the administration decided to give him a treat. Shocking because I don’t know the reason why they were given him the treat because I had let them know he has a strictly gluten free diet. So I am not pleased with them going against my command. Also based on my dogs reaction to the place it seems to me that the treat was given to calm him down from how frightened he was.
When we got back home, my puppy has a lose stomach and had a rash all over the back part of his legs. Unacceptable!!! For any type of groomer!!!

Though this establishment’s administrative services leave much to be desired, this review focuses solely on their their hand stripping services.
The woman who booked the appointment over the phone chose Mackenzie for our first hand stripping appointment at Downtown Doghouse, assuring me that Mackenzie was «an award winning groomer» and that her fee is $ 135/​hour.
When I dropped off my Jack Russell terrier, Mackenzie came out from the grooming area bearing the demeanor of an assistant. She didn’t greet me or introduce herself; she just grabbed my dog and glared at me, as if for instructions. I introduced myself, asked her who she was, and proceeded with instructions for the cut (which she did not follow). Upon my trying to confirm the price, she curtly replied that the hourly rate was $ 150 and she had no idea why I had been misinformed.
To make a long, unpleasant story short, in the end they returned my dog with an amateur hand strip job and her WHISKERS CUT WITH SCISSORS as you can see in the pictures. Her face does not look like it was hand-​stripped (see pictures), but cut with scissors in layers. I have never seen anything sloppier than this. I can do a better job and I learned to hand strip by watching a video on youtube!
I don’t know what kind of person or establishment, which performs grooming services for dogs, would cut off their whiskers. I am so disgusted, not only for spending a fortune on a botched hand strip but mostly, as I am reminded every time I look at my dog, for her chopped off whiskers.
If Mackenzie was so callous as to cut my dog’s whiskers (as if I’m not going to notice!) I wonder then, what else did she do to my dog? Did they scold her and strike her too?

I called downtown doghouse on a Sunday, knowing my odds of getting a appointment were slim, but they were so nice and said they would call me back within a few minutes to see if they could fit my dog in. In about 15 minutes they called back and said «bring him in»!
I was surprised to have booked a last minute appointment anywhere in the city. Go, downtown doghouse for the accommodation! You rock for this.
I also want to add how calm my dog was after I picked him up. my experiences in the past, have not been so pleasant. In fact my dog would easily be startled or have the jitters. Must say this is the best dog grooming experience in a very long time!

I am going to address a few points about Nancy’s response:
1) It is unprofessional to even mention the dog’s name in an online public forum, since that violates client confidentiality in perpetuity. As you can see, I specifically don’t have my last name in my Unilocal profile, so why would you assume that mentioning my dog’s name would be appropriate?
2) Considering Nancy wasn’t even present when this happened, denying that my dog was trembling and that a portion of his ear was cut off is implicitly calling me a liar without reason. The fact was, the dog was trembling in shock and the vet can even confirm that a solid chunk of his ear was sliced off. Are we going to believe Nancy who wasn’t even there over the vet who examined my dog?
3) The fact that it was an accident is not an excuse. A dog grooming business is similar to a daycare center in that one is entrusting a live being to a business. Would you fault a parent for removing his or her child if a daycare center employee caused a «minor cut» on the child’s face? No, because «no accidents» is the standard to which these businesses should adhere.
Ultimately, Nancy’s response was egregiously unapologetic. Despite using the word «sorry», she proceeded to paint a picture of me as overly emotional and out of touch with reality. Instead of writing a private message in the spirit of customer service, she prefers to throw a customer under the bus for the sake of salvaging their meager reputation. When a restaurant burns your steak, their response is not, «It was an accident.»; they simply cook you a new steak. A business that truly puts the customer first would certainly not besmirch the customer’s integrity in public.

Valarie is amazing! she used to groom my other two dogs before they passed away. They were always happy to see Valerie and when I picked them up they always looked perfect. I have a new dog now and Valarie spent a few minutes with me to talk about what I wanted done and any quirks my dog may have. She really listens and she gave a honest assessment after his grooming session.
Also it’s very clean and organized. There is also tempting merchandise to purchase.

I love this place. I have been bringing my toy poodle here since we got him at 8 weeks old. almost 3 years now. He loves it and the service is fantastic. I love Annie. her work is amazing and my dog always the latest and best cuts He’s a REAL HOUSE PUPPY OF CHELSEA! I recommend them to everyone.

I am so happy to have found Downtown Doghouse! I am a veterinarian in the area and recently adopted a senior King Charles Spaniel. She needs regular grooming but has special needs (deaf, diabetic, arthritic, etc). She LOVES her grooming appointments and practically runs from the West Village to Chelsea. She has been groomed by Valerie and Mackensie and always looks fantastic. They have notes so they always know the perfect cut for her. The staff has always been very accommodating and often schedules me same day appointments. Thank you!

Mackenzie groomed my Yorkie, SammiD, this week. She is 8 years old and we have lived in NYC, New Jersey, Florida and London with the little miss and this is the best grooming she has ever had!!! I have never done a review before — but just had to sing Downtown Doghouse’s praises!!! I have been looking for someone since she was a pup. Great job —

I’ve left five star reviews in the past for Downtown Doghouse but after picking up my mini-​Schnauzer today I felt I needed to say again how amazing this place is. His cut is perfect. The customer service is perfect. This business is perfect.

I love this place. I find the staff friendly and helpful and I have been here a couple of times with my dog already for a grooming appointment. I really like Annie the groomer. She cuts Suki’s hair exactly how I ask her to and also provides helpful suggestions. My dog, being a rescue dog, is also VERY timid. She used to act really weird after I brought her back from other groomers (hiding in corners, not eating) but she behaves totally normally when I bring her back from here. The one downside is it’s expensive: 90 bux for my 8lb shih tzu. But that’s New York for you. At least here, you pay a premium but you know what you are getting and you know your dog is being treated well.

I’m so glad I found this place they did a fantastic job on my Aussie. Other places would give her an uneven cut and would try to fix and ended up being worse. Thanks to Downtown Doghouse she looks amazing. I will definitely come back

Nancy and crew are not only pleasant to deal with, they’re excellent at their job and true animal lovers. You can see this plainly in the way that they interact with the dogs.
My boy’s claws get scraggly and he whimpers like a baby when he gets a manicure, but the cookie at the end of it makes it AOK. I wouldn’t take my dog anywhere else, ever. This place is simply the best.

I’ve just moved to New York from Beijing where I had the most amazing groomer — Noble Pets. New York has so many grooming salons, I did my research and chose Downtown Doghouse as it had good reviews compared to others. Valerie did a brilliant job! I’m so happy with his cut. She worked his style from a previous photo and he looks so great. He walked away like a supermodel pooch getting so many compliments along the way! Highly recommend this place.

This place is great! I’ve been taking my 12 year-​old Chow Chow for grooming for years, and she is treated like a queen. Valerie is wonderful! I always ask for her.

I took my 2 year old Shih Tzu to Downtown Doghouse this past week for full grooming (our first time here) and was so incredibly impressed, not only with the cut, but also the professionalism and patience of the groomer (Mike). While my dog gets a typical puppy cut, I’m particular about the shaping. In the past, I’d been very disappointed by other groomers in the area — they’d ignore my preference, couldn’t get the look right, and in some cases actually nicked her with the razor. At Downtown Doghouse, Mike was so attentive. And it showed! When I went to pick up my pup I was blown away at how perfect Mike had gotten the look. Additionally, the grooming area is located in full view of clients (not hidden downstairs or in a back room) and I found this very reassuring. Downtown Doghouse (and Mike) will certainly be my go-​to groomer from now on.

Downtown Doghouse is a cute little dog boutique that focuses on grooming but also has a small but adorable collection of supplies like collars, leashes, food/​water bowls etc. It’s where you go if you want unique items to accessorize your pup. Prices are on the higher end but worth it given the quality and selection. Grooming is expensive (approximately $ 85 for a small dog) but I haven’t used their grooming service yet.

I found this place doing a search here on Unilocal.I have a 60 pound Portuguese Water Dog with more knots than a drunken sailor. I’ve tried a number of different groomers and truthfully, many of them did a good job. But this resonated with me as soon as I walked in. You could see the dog grooming area — they didn’t have to take them downstairs like they do at some places. I never liked that. I think the groomer’s name was Mike. He did a hell of a good job– exactly what I asked for. He had to cut below the knots so now she looks like a sheep — but I would not hesitate to go back again. Maybe this time I can work on her knots in the days, weeks and months before we need another cut.

I took my 8lb boy Maltese here for the first time last week. They were able to get him in last minute, which was very helpful. He got a great bath, which included the sanitary trim, nails, and ear cleaning. He was ready exactly on time 3 hours later, and when I picked him up and mentioned that I didn’t like his current haircut (that he got somewhere else), they took the time to help do some reshaping on his way out. Nice staff, highly recommended!

An update after I posted the review:
The owner called me. She was very concerned about what happened and asked for an opportunity to make things right. The commitment to customer service was admirable. I would have changed my review to 2-​star rating if I didn’t take my puppy to the vet today. The vet checked his ears — one of the ears was clearly not cleaned, and very red. Puppy was given some ointment to deal with the potential infection in his ear. I’m not sure whether this has anything to do with the grooming, but I can’t rule it out either.
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We must have taken my Havanese puppy there on a day when the stars were not aligned. This was our 4.5 month old puppy’s first grooming experience. I showed Valerie a picture of the puppy when we got him, and explained that we’d like to keep his puppy look, so please do the usual shampooing and cleaning but only trimming his hair a little bit. When we saw our puppy 1.5 hours later, his round face became narrow and pointy because WAY TOO MUCH hair was cut. I almost burst into tears when I saw how different he looked — what happened to my cute puppy?! He looked visibly traumatized too, and wasn’t himself after we got home.
So the bottom line is, if you love your little one (which I am sure you do), think twice before you take him/​her to Downtown Doghouse.