Camp Bow Wow Stamford

I can’t say enough good things about Stamford Bowwow. I start by saying that I have been around the care of my own dogs for 50 years, I have seen everything. I have been going to Bowwow as long as they have been there. And even though I now live 70 miles away from Bowwow, I bring my dogs back! Why? Because I know they will be happy there.
I trust the Caros and Michelle and all the assistants, I know that the right thing will be done. They will spoil your dog if they possibly can! When you board them at Bowwow, you are counting on a clean pen, nice «beds» that are 4″ off the ground, attention to medication, care with their special food, plenty of fun exercise, dogs with problems getting special care, etc, etc. How can it be better?
The exercise they get during daycare is closely monitored and managed and kept clean. If there are a lot of dogs in daycare, that speaks well for Bowwow. More friends to play with instead of being at home alone.
The Caros take great care managing very difficult issues like kennel cough. Regarding the health of our dogs, the Caros have no choice except to rely on us, their clients, to pay attention to the «dos» and «don’ts,» like don’t put your dog in a run with other dogs who might not have the right shots.
So many of us dog lovers treat our dogs like our children. And WE are spoiled as well, because in 95% of the U.S., dogs don’t have care anything like what they get at Camp Bowwow Stamford!

No thank you! My dog is in excellent hands and care where I take her. The facilities seemed dirty, the staff is very unfriendly. Michelle at the front desk is extremely rude and very unprofessional. I would never recommend this facility not even to a dying animal.

The dog loves Camp Bow Wow. They’re open seven days a week which is great. During holiday weekends they make you book 3 days minimum which is a bummer but it is a nice vacay for the pup. People have complained about the front desk people being rude, but they’ve always been peaches and cream to me, so as usual I assume the problem lies with the person complaining. When your dog gets home he or she will pound water and then sleep for two days

I had been taking my sweet dog there since they opened to board. She is getting older and is rather shy and nervous. They decided Maggie was too much trouble. I was very disappointed with them and their lack of feeling for an older dog. Make sure if you go there your dog is perfect!!!

My dog Optimus Prime usually goes to work every day with my boyfriend, but when my boyfriend was out of state on business I decided to take Opti here a few times per week to prevent him from being alone all the time, since I work full time and I’m a full time grad student.
The owner was very friendly and he was able to answer all my questions. All the counselors are friendly, and I felt comfortable leaving my dog here. I watched him periodically throughout the day on the website to see how things were going, just out of curiosity. When I picked him up he was exhausted from a day of playing and running and slept through his dinnertime.
I never had any interactions with Michelle, the woman at the front desk with whom many other reviewer seems to dislike, so I can’t comment on that.
On the downside, there are times when there are so many dogs in the play areas that it seems like there isn’t much room to run around and play. Also, it seemed like they didn’t take the dogs to the outdoor play areas very often, which is a shame.
Now, as for the people who are complaining about their dogs getting kennel cough: There are a lot of different strains of kennel cough which are both viral and bacterial, much like there are different strains of the common cold or the flu. As such, there’s no one vaccine that can cover all the possible variations. So, even if all the dogs at any given establishment are vaccinated, there’s no absolute guarantee that your dog won’t get kennel cough. It’s analogous to getting the Flu Shot: Some years it works, some years it doesn’t.

I have just come back after leaving my three dogs at Camp Bow Wow for 7 nights of boarding. I have been taking my dogs to Camp Bow Wow for three years and I am always so impressed with the staff and how well the dogs are taken care of. They get plenty of exercise and I can watch them on the video cams while away. Michelle, at the front desk, is always very pleasant and helpful.
It is important that the dogs have up to date vaccines and they will not be allowed in camp if sick. This is for the benefit of the dogs and I must say that I have seen angry dog owners at the desk when they are turned away due to not having up to date vaccines.
I highly recommend this facility.

I think the poor reviews for Camp Bow Wow are merited, however there needs to be a little perspective here regarding the health issues:
All dog camps are going to have a risk of health issues. Regarding kennel cough — sometimes it can show zero symptoms for weeks before surfacing, and is impossible to be 100% diligent in preventing it from entering the camp. They do as much as they can to be honest. For example, my dog Sammy doesn’t seem to understand a leash and pulls really hard on it, which causes him to hack up like he’s got kennel cough. They apologized profusely and said they could not take the risk in letting him in.
I would definitely recommend them over Best Friends in Norwalk. Their play rooms are MUCH larger and separated by 3 sizes of dog, and all have access to outside areas that the dogs can go in and out of as they please.
Again when reading these reviews it helps to keep in mind that people get really emotional about their pets — understandably so. However, there’s even a review that complains about the health of his pet upon returning, but in the same review complains they turned his dog away because it was sick. What would you prefer them to do? How would you run a doggy day care better?
Oh and Michelle is awesome I’m not sure what the complaints are about. She bends over backwards for me as I’m always booking late or in a rush and asking if I can pay bills when I pick him up, etc.

Camp Bow Wow is our saving grace for days when we have to work late or just need to tire the dogs out. Our two dogs love going — we check in online every once in awhile and they look like they’re having a great time. They come home exhausted and happy, which for me makes for a great day!

Not impressed. The facilities felt dirty, the staff was unfriendly, and the space felt very crammed for the number of dogs they have at any given time. I do not recommend this place at all!

Horrible experience. As others have mentioned, Michelle at the front desk is extremely rude. Everytime I took my dog there he came down with Giardia. When I called to ask if they could refund the remainder of the package they refused and the owner wouldn’t even talk to me. Instead, Michelle talked down to me as she has done to other people. She claims that she called my vet and they said they have no record of him getting sick. Had she called the right she may have gotten the right info. I’ve now spend thousands of dollars on vet bills and I’ve gotten no where with Camp Bow Wow refunding my money. I asked them to please negotiate with me or make an exception and they refuse. Horrible business people. They don’t care about the health of the dogs. They only care about making money even if it means that your dog will get sick.
If you care about your dog’s health … please steer clear of Camp Bow Wow. Do yourself a favor and go to Bandilane where the people there actually care about your loved ones.

If you are CONCERNED ABOUT THE HEALTH OF YOUR DOG, DO NOT TAKE YOUR DOG TO CAMP BOW WOW.
Before I get into this review: The camp COUNSELORS are great. Very nice, very accommodating, and they took really good care of my pup.
Now, as far as the front desk staff, Michelle (she appears to be the manager) is just downright rude. She has ruined the experience for myself and my dog.
As I can see in other reviews, the feelings toward Michelle are mutual.
First of all, check your dogs immunization records. THEN, on top of that, check your dog’s records in comparison to what Camp Bow Wow requires. Unfortunately, they will notify you AFTER a vaccine has expired (per Camp Bow Wow, NOT my vet), as you are dropping your dog off… or, like in two SEPARATE cases, after I have dropped off my dog, and left to go back to work (15 minutes or so later).
Secondly, if your dog is sick or has ever been sick, be VERY careful about when you plan on bringing your dog back. I tried to avoid, but had a full-​blown (public) argument with Michelle, during which she constantly contradicted herself, and eventually told me to leave with my dog because «there is a chance he could POSSIBLY be sick», oh, and not to mention the fact that she kept saying «do you know how much this would cost me if all of the dogs here got sick because of your dog??». Sorry lady, thought you might be concerned about the dogs, not the amount they are worth in this facility. I had told her over and over that the doctor said he was «okay», and it was over two weeks prior to my attempt to drop off my dog.
Thirdly, speaking of sick dogs, our dog has come back from camp a number of times with infections, warts, worms, etc. We have had a total of over $ 1000 in vet bills due to little things he’s picked up from camp. When at my vet, one of the first questions they asked was «Does he go to Camp Bow Wow?»
You might like Camp Bow Wow if you have a small dog that can tire out easily. In my case, I have a larger dog who needs to run around. Unfortunately, Camp Bow Wow doesn’t really allow dogs much «run around» space or opportunity.
I have also heard that «Best Friends» in Norwalk is a great alternative to Camp Bow Wow. They will even pick up/​drop off your dog. A nice tech at our vet recommended them very enthusiastically!

I have had the absolute worst experience with the Stamford Camp Bow wow. I would never recommend anyone to bring their dog here for the following reasons.
1. The staff — Michelle, the frontdesk employee is an absolute outwardly rude individual. She continuously spoke down to my girlfriend in several interactions we with her. In several conversations her and my girlfriend had she would outward lie when I called to clarify a situation with her.
2. Dog Health — Multiple times of bringing tucker there he came down with several ailments. Initially, he had kennel cough which in turn Michelle accused my girlfriend and I for causing an outbreak at camp bow wow. That is absolutely not true — she became very defensive at the thought that tucker ever got sick at camp.
He then got a large outbreak of worts from camp. The first question the vet asked was does your doug go to camp bow wow? She says she sees this all the time coming from there. It took 3 months for them to disappear.
Please for your dogs sake do not bring your dog here. The vet recommended best friends in Norwalk — but I have not gone there yet.

Our little Lola is 4 months and we LOVE Camp Bow Wow for her! She had a free interview day, the staff was AMAZING and Lola loved her time there and was exhausted when she got home. (This is not an easy task for a 4 month old bulldog, nor have we ever seen her exhausted!)
She is now there for a weekend boarding, and I feel good about her being in their care and love watching her on the doggie cam. The other dogs are sweet and love to play, all seem to get along really well, no problems or concerns there!
The prices are reasonable for the care received and it is SUPER clean, really can’t say enough good things about it, if you have a dog and have considered it, you have to GO. Yay Camp Bow Wow!

I wanted to like camp bow wow. I really did. But the truth is, though the staff was well intentioned and friendly 90% of the time, they didn’t have nearly enough space for the number of dogs they accept. My dog, though crazy, came back with bounds of energy which NEVER happens when she gets a full day of real exercise. Not just napping in the corner as we were told she oft did. Eventually, because of her fence jumping (which she has done at three kennels now, and has only been a problem at Bow Wow) we were told she was no longer welcome. !!! Color us surprised considering we signed a waiver for her — we were told she was «too smart» or something to that extent. A day or two after that, she was simultaneously diagnosed with kennel cough. Thank you camp bow wow for that awesome parting gift.
The staff was helpful, most of the time. Some of the staff was rude, and once because we were running 15 minutes late from traffic forced us to keep her overnight despite the fact that we called over a half hour ahead of time that we were running 5 – 15 minutes late. That was not a $ 45 we were happy about spending.
It’s unfortunate really, because I don’t think there’s many facilities like it in the area and we don’t like to leave our dog home alone so when my husband and I know that we’re both going to be out for much of the day at work, but I would not recommend Camp Bow Wow to any dog owner.

Polo’s first day at Camp Bow Wow was free and FANTASTIC. The Camp Director took me on a tour of the facility and I was impressed by the cleanliness and the staff’s demeanor. Various kennels for dogs being boarded and two seperate playpens for pups depending on their weight/​size. Polo went out to the play with the other dogs while I was lured away, me having the emotional affect of dropping your kid off on his first day of kindergarten. Although, I’m pretty certain if he were a child… I’d be running away as fast as I can hoping he’ll forget about me by the time cookies are doled out before naps. When I came back to check on him, he had hardly any interest in my presence. A good sign.
One thing to note: be sure your dog is up to date on his vaccinations and is wearing a martingale or standard collar. No prongs, chain, etc.
My two favorite things about Camp Bow Wow
1) They have puppy cams for both the inside/​outside pens of EACH area. So I can watch puppers romp around all afternoon. During my frequent online check-​ins, I also witnessed the staff playing with my dog and checking in frequently for doodoos that needed pick up.
2) When I picked him up, he was exhausted for about a day and a half. AND they even took a photo of him during his first day at camp while he was atop this plastic slide looking thing with 5 other dogs. Adorable.
While we’ll probably leave the dog with friends or family in times of need, it’s nice to know that Bow Wow is there in a pinch and also provides grooming services. I think they might be a little pricey, but it’s well worth it if it means your dog is being socialized and running out all that extra energy.