Camp Bow Wow Tampa

Our very energetic pup loves hanging at CBW for daycare and they’re the perfect facility for boarding. I never worry about him not getting enough attention or exercise. CBW is the best!

The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. We came in for a «new camper orientation» and they were happy to show us the facilities, told us about the smartphone app, and help us set up our first appointment for an overnight stay. The facilities looked very well-​managed. I have no hesitation about having my pup stay there.

Avoid this place. I boarded my lovely dog here overnight in early 2013, and she ended up in surgery due to their pervasively inadequate practices. First, their maintenance is unacceptable. My dog tore herself open three, yes three, times on their poorly maintained chain link fence when she was put in with a group of aggressive dogs bigger than her. (employees told me fence is being replaced in two months. Whoopee!) Two of the injuries were deep and required stiches. a silver dollar sized hole was opened in her coat, One puncture was so deep it almost went all the way through the muscle to the thorax. Secondly, their monitoring is inadequate. Nobody there saw the injuries happen, and they didn’t even notice them when they changed my dog to a group of smaller dogs, too late. Eventually the hole in the coat became apparent, even to them. Third, their attention to instructions is not acceptable. I always provide an extra day of food just in case some event interferes with my picking the dog up on time, such as a cancelled flight. So this group ignored instructions on how much to feed and gave the dog 2 days of food in one day. Ordinarily not the worst problem, except that surgery had to be delayed because of too much food in the system (asphyxiation risk while under anesthesia). Lastly, the response was uncaring. I never heard from the owner asking how the dog is! Indeed, since I picked the dog up, nobody there called me. In the two conversations I had, when I picked the dog up and once when I called to tell them what the vet said had occurred, both employees told me early in the conversation the owner wanted me to know they wouldn’t necessarily pay for the vet, but might «work something out». For the record, I did not ask for their money and would not take their money. i wanted to be free to tell the truth. But I thought it disgusting that they initiated 2 conversations on how they wouldn’t stand behind their responsibilities, while not calling me to see how my lovely dog was recovering. Incidentally, Camp Bow Wow is a franchise operation, and my dog is a continuing client at another excellent location that just didn’t happen to be convenient to flights from Tampa Airport

Convenient location, employees seem to really enjoy their jobs and care for the animals well-​being. Do have to agree with other Unilocaler’s reviews regarding the bare bones set up of the sleeping quarters. A little sprucing could go a long way :)

Staff was excellent! From the customer service received over the phone to the way we were treated when we brought in our Mimi. John agreed to stay after hours when we phoned and told him we were running late in picking up our pet.

Love this place! They took great care of our dog and genuinely seemed to enjoy her. They have cameras so that you can see your dog interact. When I picked her up they knew exactly who she was. Great place!

Another good Camp Bow Wow. They really are reliable. When I’m in or going to a new place, I look for a franchise. You can check on your pup via webcam. The staff likes dogs, is trained to work with dogs and is committed to the safety of your dog. And the setup is fun.

Why 2 stars? Because our experience was pretty poor.
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After researching all of the pet resorts in Tampa Bay pretty thoroughly, we felt really good about leaving our dog at Camp Bow Wow while we left town for Thanksgiving. My girlfriend used to drop her old dog off at the Brandon location, and she loved it. Plus, the Tampa location is super convenient on our way to the airport.
I asked the guy who checked us in, how much time is spent in their kennel, vs how much is spent out playing. He said that they are up at 6am to eat, and 90 minutes after eating, they are out playing all day long until dinner time in the evening. Making sure that our pop receives plenty of exercise, and is not being locked away in a cage all day was very important to us, and the primary reason we went to a «pet resort» over an old fashioned kennel.
One of our other favorite things about Camp Bow Wow, was that they have webcams in all of the play areas, so that you can check in with how your pup is doing all throughout the time that he is there. Well, we certainly did check on him a lot, and it was pretty alarming what we found over the course of his 4 day stay.
We checked out the cameras about 15 times, at all different times of the day. 8a, 10a, 1p, 3p, etc etc. The dogs were out playing twice out of the 15 times we looked.
So when we picked him up Monday morning, I asked about that, and this is the answer I was given:
«Yeah… we had some new people working and a lot of dogs here, so we got a little behind on the schedule.»
«Behind on the schedule» is definitely an interesting way of saying that the dogs were out playing maybe about 10−20% of what we were told. I could understand if instead of them being out at 8am on Thanksgiving morning, things were pushed back an hour or two. Or maybe an incident where a clean up pushed things back 30 minutes. But to tell us our dog will be out playing for 8+ hours a day, and in reality, he might have been out playing for 8 hours combined over 4 days… that’s pretty unacceptable, and I don’t think I’m in the minority saying that.
And to make things worse, he acquired kennel cough at Camp Bow Wow, which was also lovely. That was not an inexpensive trip to the vet.
So needless to say, we had two upcoming vacations that involved our pup heading back to Camp Bow Wow, but those were immediately cancelled, as soon as we found alternatives.

I can’t say enough good things about Camp Bow Wow! I have a very high energy Vizsla who has been boarding there when I go on trips for the past two years. The moment we turn down the road to get to their facility he starts jumping around my car in excitement. You can tell how much he loves it there.
The staff is always friendly and the customer service is great! I’ve never had a hard time booking him and I always know he is going to have a great time.

Background: I decided to board my dogs @ CBW because it had good reviews and it was much closer to me than Royal Pet’s Market, which is where I boarded them previously. Now onto the review–
First and foremost, the staff is super friendly & you can tell they love being around dogs all day. The fact that they call the dogs «campers» and themselves «camp counselors» is adorable.
I’m giving them 4 out of 5 stars because they’re a little pricey for what they offer. They’re slightly less expensive than Royal Pet’s Market but the facilities don’t even compare! Camp Bow Wow consists of a few play areas (no grass, or even faux grass, that I can remember) and the dogs sleep in caged kennels with a bed frame made out of PVC tubing with a cushion on top. Very bare bones when compared with RPM, which is only marginally more expensive but the facilities are a thousand times nicer!
Of course, despite the lack of «cuteness», the dogs are happy and safe, which is what matters in the long run. However, I think I’ll continue making the drive to RPM. I don’t like to think of my babies inside of a chain link kennel.

This is out go-​to boarding location for our little Jack Russell. It’s a little pricey (which is why I’m only giving it 4 out of 5 stars), but the attention my pup gets when she’s there makes it worth it. It’s a clean, friendly facility and every dog must go through an «interview» process before being approved to board there. That way they make sure all the dogs atre compatible and get along with each other.
I enjoy the fact that I can call up a couple of days before and there are usually no problems with having her boarded the next day and, when I’m away, I can keep track of Maddie via webcam so I know she’s having fun and getting her exercise in.
On my last visit Maddie was on some antibiotics and they had no problem giving the medication in my absence. They also keep me up to day on her eating habits, and during her birthday month they gifted her with a free day of doggie daycare. :)

We boarded our darling Italian Greyhound here for one night while we escaped to the beach for the night. The staff we interacted with were friendly and knowledgeable and had a great rapport with our fur-​baby.
They have private dog kennels for feeding time and at night for the dogs to sleep but during the day all of the dogs are allowed to interact and play with each other. I was very happy to see that they have three dog play areas, organized by size: small, medium and large. This was very reassuring for me since my small dog is easily intimidated by large breeds.
I really appreciated that I was offered a full tour of the facility, as I tend to be a little worried about the cleanliness of these places, but this one seemed well-​run and tidy. I also felt reassured by the fact that there is always a staff member present in the play area when the dogs are interacting. It’s good to know my defenseless little angel is going to have somebody keeping an eye on things, just in case.
They also have «day camp» which doesn’t include the overnight stay. It is less expensive to just hire a local dog-​walker, although if you have a very active dog or one that’s destructive when left alone at home I guess day camp would be a better option.
Although we prefer to take our pup with us on trips, we wouldn’t hesitate to bring our him back here the next time we have to go out of town and he can’t come along!

I can’t believe it took me so long to bring my dog here. A friend of mine told me about Camp Bow Wow over a year ago, but I just started taking my dog here a few months ago. While it took her a few visits to get adjusted to camp, she now gets so excited when we pull into the parking lot! I highly recommend at least a day or two a week if you have a high energy dog. When we get home, she eats dinner and goes right to bed so I know she was able to get a good day’s worth of exercise and play time. The staff is very friendly and they learn the dogs quickly.

Great place to be a dog! Friendly staff, military discount, plenty of play time for the dogs and peace of mind for their owners. Only wish they had a separate area for older dogs that was more quiet. We will be back for sure!