Canyon View Ranch

After a very positive boarding experience at a different facility, I feel like I need to leave the review I wanted to 2 years ago in hopes that it spares someone the same ordeal we went through with our fur baby.
My family took a vacation for 1 week in the summer of 2014. My spoiled mutt who deserves nothing but the best ended up here, over an hour from our home, because it appeared as though it was the première facility and came highly recommended.
On paper and in pictures this place looks amazing. But underneath the frills is filth. My dog, who had never been sick a day in his life, came home with open wounds covering his entire back. No call from the facility, no warning, nothing. He was lethargic, refused to eat, and obviously in need of medical attention.
Thousands of dollars later, after his body was shaved, he was given numerous intravenous medications, topical lotions, and weeks of the dreaded cone, we finally had our Kilo back. Turns out he contracted a severe bacterial infection of the skin.
I called them repeatedly after this ordeal, only to be told that whomever I was speaking with couldn’t help me, that my dog was likely already sick when he got there (riiiiiiiiight — that’s why you accepted him with open arms into your facility), that I couldn’t prove he got sick there, and that someone higher up the chain would call me back to resolve the issue. Guess what? I’m still waiting for that call back…

We love Canyon View Ranch. We never worried about leaving the doggies there for extended vacations… They were trained there as well as boarding. Unfortunately, we had to find a new place to board our pooches… They raised their prices to 80 dollars per night and we just can’t afford to send them anymore… We’re all very sad. The owners are awesome. If you can afford Canyon View, then use them!!!

We had similar experiences as Saul G., Wren B., and Anne M. We have Jindo dogs, which are known to be notoriously untrainable. That is until Tyler Wilson and the CVR team came to the rescue. Everyone told us it could not be done, but they did it. And they worked with us patiently to keep up the good habits they developed. This was the best decision we ever made!

Our two dogs were healthy when they went to this place – they left with severe diaharea, parasites, kennel cough, and pneumonia. Our dogs were there the early part of July, and are still taking medicines to treat the parasites they contacted at this facility – our dogs have not been around any other dogs since leaving this facility. I hope anyone reads this before leaving their dogs to suffer at this facility.

What a terrible experience.
Our two healthy dogs stayed here for a week and both came home sick. Our male dog had lost 9 lbs, more than 10% of his weight and nobody had seemed to notice. Our female dog lost 4lbs. Both dogs were suffering with diarrhea and vomiting.
We have spent the last five weeks and over $ 1000 trying to get rid of the intestinal infections our dogs contracted at this kennel. One of our dogs also came home with conjunctivitis in both eyes and has a skin condition we are still trying to sort out.
When we called ask questions we were told that their records showed that our dog had vomited once. No one loses nine pounds having vomited once. Clearly no one paying attention or monitoring the situation.
We will never leave our dogs at this kennel again.

I would like to give you an update that we have been reimbursed in full for our dogs stay and medical bills to date, however not without several emotionally charged, haughty emails and voicemails from both the owners. These emails and voicemails were highly inappropriate given we were already upset with the severe illness of our dogs and they flip flopped a couple of times in their decision to reimburse us as they were upset I had posted on Unilocal about our experience. In the end they did do the right thing, yet it was very upsetting to be a recipient of their hostile reactions.
Honestly, I could not even respond to their last emails and voicemails. One of the email responses they wrote back was in paragraphs written in angry red letters. Yet they said my emails were ‘snotty’ (they were not, rather factual) and that our dog probably looked unhappy, in a photo they sent «because we raised it from a puppy and that we were mean people and they never want to hear from us again.» Honestly, we had a wonderful tour experience there with all the staff when we first went to inspect their property on June 20^th. We had pleasant interactions with everyone including the other couple we toured the facility with. Sincerely, these guys exaggerate, dramatize and don’t tell the truth. The tone in which they spoke to me was inappropriate and filled me with additional anxiety on top of stress dealing with my dogs illness.
While the facility is beautiful, I have come to learn they continue to operate under an expired permit that is for only 30 dogs. Apparently at any given time they have upwards of 100+ dogs there. If this is accurate information, this could be a major reason why they seem to have a consistent problem with Kennel Cough and parasites at their facility as it is too difficult to keep everything sterilized with so many dogs and not enough staff. I even heard from one vet that a dog died there last year.
In the end, while we have been reimbursed, I could never recommend this facility for the safety of our dogs would always be in question. I hope the upcoming hearing regarding their expired permit on Aug 26^th will result in them having to adhere to the permit allowances should it be renewed and that this will be a wake up call to them to inform dog owners immediately if there is a case of kennel cough at their facility, giving owners the opportunity to not check their dogs in, or to retrieve them.
If you wish to attend the hearing to find out about all the grievances surrounding CVR the hearing information is below:
August 26^th, 9:00 AM
downtown at L.A. County Dept. of Regional Planning
320 West Temple St. #1348
Los Angeles, CA 90 012
Best Wishes and Blessings to Randall Neece and Joe Timko of Canyon View Ranch and all concerned.

In a 24 hour period, your dog will be crated 17 hours, they break it up some, but this is the bottom line; if you are ok with that, then maybe this is the place (?) You can call the front desk and ask. Also keep in mind that just because your dog comes home wiped out, it can also be because of stress, not pleasure. I won’t put my dog in a box for 17 hours a day.

I don’t like writing negative reviews, but I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone and I would be wary about dropping off your dog at this facility. If you read some of the other reviews as well, it seems like there have been several dogs that got sick from this place and I just don’t think it’s worth the risk considering there are so many other boarding options. I took my yellow labrador here a little while ago and when I picked her up she looked fine, but then when I got home I noticed as I was petting her that she had developed a hot spot, which I will admit may not necessarily be CVR’s fault because it can be caused by several things but it does seem likely that it was caused by the ranch’s sub par standards. I did some research and «Anything that irritates the skin and causes a dog to scratch or lick himself can start a hot spot. Hot spots can be caused by allergic reactions, INSECT, MITE or FLEA BITES, poor grooming, underlying ear or skin infections and constant licking and chewing PROMPTED BY STRESS OR BOREDOM». I had left my dog with CVR for two weeks and I think the most likely cause of her hot spot was that it was prompted by stress or boredom. After reading my next paragraph, I think you’ll see why she would be stressed (being bitten by other dogs) and dogs at CVR spend a lot of time in crates I found out, which would be a definite cause of boredom.
After getting her home, I also noticed that she had a large area of crusted blood under her ear where another dog must have bit her. She has never had anything like this before or since and this was clearly an injury caused by another dog. CVR allows all of their medium to large dogs to run free in a small open enclosure with each other for a portion of the day and the dogs are supposed to be «supervised at all times» according to them. The fact that my dog came home with a fairly large wound that had scabbed over shows that either the dogs completely lacked any supervision or that the person watching them was completely oblivious to what was happening. They are also by law supposed to inspect all of their dogs for any changes in behavior, appearance, injuries, etc. yet I was never notified by CVR of any incidences with other dogs or injuries, which makes me think that they really weren’t supervising or inspecting their dogs at all! I don’t think my sweet lab, who wouldn’t hurt a fly, really enjoyed getting her ear chewed up by another dog so it’s safe to say I won’t be bringing my dog here again.
Because of this experience, I have started taking her to a different boarding facility and she hasn’t had any hot spots or injuries from other dogs since.

It is interesting that the alleged owner of Canyon View Ranch responded to me on Unilocal.i have never heard of or from him the entire time my dogs were at the facility. The medical records the facility kept are clear. there was no pre-​existing mole, it was his tongue that ended up bringing them to the facility. the blood test offered was performed and that was when the low white count was discovered. The kennel NEVER contacted me during the 6 weeks he was there w/​ANY concern about his health. they NEVER shared any records w/​the treatment facility or me for that matter. It was like pulling teeth to get the records after the fact.
there are so many good kennels out there why would you take a chance. i will next be posting the «records» they kept on my dog. you can judge for yourself if this is in compliance w/​regulations and common decency

9 years ago, they trained my boy husky and he’s been the best over the years. We recently had them train are 1 year old husky and after weeks of dedication… Our dog is so well behaved. Tyler put countless hours of TLC in and we now have a member of the family that is great all the time. I highly recommend their services. Thank You Canyon Ranch.

This place is really really on the ball. Everyone there is very friendly and amazing with dogs. I brought my lab in for a long stay and some training. He had leash aggression and needed a little help getting back on the right track. The head trainer there is really great and helped me get the program really quick.
Every time he stays here he has a ball. I pick him up and he’s all smiles. I will definitly be bringing him back every time he needs a place to stay.

Two years ago my fiancé and I adopted our dog, Django, from a shelter. He was around 2 years old then and had been living on the streets for a while. Naturally, when we got him home he had a big transition to make and while he loved living in a home and getting fed like clockwork, his days on the streets made him very afraid of most people and somewhat aggressive toward other dogs. When we took him out he would pull on the leash and bark at any dog he saw or heard even if we had already walked away and were out of sight. He would cower when someone came to say hi to him or to pet him. It was not only embarrassing for us to be dragging a barking dog down the street but it was obviously a huge anxiety trigger for Django. We wanted to help him feel more comfortable and confident…
STEPHANIE W. steps on to the scene and Django went through the most AMAZING transformation in the 4 week on-​leash program at Canyon View with her. Not only did he start walking right next to us, sitting and lying down on command, but he stopped fearing other dogs. She was absolutely amazing and built his confidence so much. We walked him around big dogs, little dogs, on leash dogs and off leash dogs and Django stayed pretty steadfast in his training. Not only did she train Django but she trained us, too. She made sure we knew that it would still take constant work from us and we finally feel like it’s attainable. She gave us the tools we need to finally help him.
Then when we left we stopped for lunch in Topanga Canyon where a big dog was completely off-​leash and came right up to Django. In this situation we both would usually freak out and get in the car but instead, Django and the other dog greeted each other with some sniffs and without barking or pulling. It was bliss.
From now on I will not get another dog without getting them trained with Stephanie. It’s actually life changing.
Hooray! Canyon View gets 5 stars from me. Their facility is great and lets the dogs get plenty of exercise and playtime with other dogs. The staff was super friendly and helpful. Django was not crate trained prior to going and I was a little nervous about him being in there at night but he did just fine. They said he barked at first but then he got used to it and knew it was his space to relax. Definitely spend the extra $ 25 to get them a bath as they are pretty grody at the end of their stay but that just means he was playing extra hard!
100% worth the money and the drive. YAY!

My dog had really bad dog aggression problems and she pulled like crazy, after a couple of ugly bloody fights I was desperate for help so I came here. Since I knew my dogs history, my expectations were pretty low, I literally said, I just want to be able to walk my dog and pass other dogs without losing my arm, I don’t care if she stays mean, I just want to able to walk her.
Two weeks into the process Stephanie the trainer had my dog walking like a champion, around other dogs, and even playing! I was so excited I get tears in my eyes just thinking about it.
They trained her and us, we learn how to walk her properly, when to give corrections, etc.
I can’t give these guys enough praise, I went twice a week to see my girl and practice training. Even though they are pretty busy, every time I felt like I was their only client, Stephanie is the sweetest person, you can tell that the dogs don’t fear her but respect her, it’s pretty amazing to see her work.

I will not engage in an online battle with you any further. It is slightly demeaning that you suggest that my dog’s parasitic illness was a «cold», and not understood as the serious infliction that it was given she was only 6mo old. I read through your other reviews, and found that at least one other had the same experience, thus pointing to a less than clean, or responsible facility. Parasites are not colds, they are serious, and do in fact require medical intervention.
During our private phone exchange you said that you would «understand» if I didn’t change my review despite your offer of paying our dog’s bills. I suppose that was not true. At most I offered to submit a new comment which would be a positive reflection of OUR conversation, but would probably not change the original review because it reflected my experience at the time. My experiences with Echo over the course of more than two months was always unpleasant. She was not equipped to deal with the situation at hand, and instead of being a responsible manager, and escalating the problem to a higher level, she resulted to being rude, dismissive, and wholly unprofessional. I believe we discussed this at length during our call, and you replied that perhaps when she was promoted she was brought along too quickly, and perhaps there were gaps in her training. Again, I reiterate that your trainers Manny and Stephanie were lovely, professional, caring and courteous. I cannot say the same for Echo, who was the person that I was consistently dealing with.
As far as vet bills, I have requested them several times, and am still waiting. Your suggesting that my dog was not treated was an outright lie and maliciously contrived, as you are not legally allowed access to my dog’s medical records without my authorized consent, which was NEVER requested of me. To date, the vet’s office has promised to mail them to me, and I have followed up each week.
I had no idea that your offer had an expiration date.

We took our great uncle’s German Shepherd «Sam» out for a few weeks stay that turned into 2 ½ months due to family health problems. Our experience was nothing like the one star and two star people’s experiences.
We would drop by at various times throughout the stay and Sam was always clean, healthy and notably playing with the others.
We also paid for obedience training to see if Canyon could «teach an old dog new tricks or behaviors» and 4 weeks of training proved so; Sam didn’t lead the leash any longer, he didn’t chase after small creatures. We the family also received training on how to best handle Sam.
Unfortunately we had to admit our uncle to long term care and had to find a home for Sam; which ended up being a posh estate nestled in the Bel Air area complete with two other alpha German Shepherds. Canyon once again took the main alpha and over a week’s time, introduced him to Sam and the crowd. This proved very successful when it came time for Sam to go into the new home of the other two. It’s been some time now and they all get along.
I’m not sure about the other comments and the lack of communication, but we did not have that experience. The kennels are for the night time sleeping arrangements. You want your dog safe and among a large group, dogs are not only safe from others, but also have their own den where they can sleep in safety. Although not a law by any means, it is rather common among boarding places, including your own vet. It’s about protection of your pet and obviously protection from another owner’s pet that might become aggressive and ultimately on the liability for the facility.
And no, I’m not an owner, a friend of the owners here, and was not asked in any way to post a glowing commentary. I did read the comments by people here and yes, they are free to post them and their views just as I am doing with mine.

In the past, I’ve had only minor problems with Canyon View Ranch, but this past experience has prompted me to express my feelings to fellow Unilocalers and dog owners.
I posted a review one week ago that brought up specifics as to why I was unhappy with Canyon View Ranch. I’ve since deleted it, but it dealt with the issue of lack of communication between the ranch employees and the dog owners. I assumed, since it was 1pm when our dogs were dropped off at home, that our dogs had been given their breakfast and meds. Turns out they hadn’t eaten. It’s certainly not difficult to pass on that info. Also, our dog got kennel cough while staying at the ranch and they never told us we needed to refrigerate the remaining Amoxicilion they dropped off with the leftover dog food. It sat outside our house for 8 hours before we even knew there was medication needing refrigeration, so I had to get more from the vet. Lastly, while our dogs were at Canyon View for 3 weeks, we called 3 days in a row to ask for a photo of our dogs to be texted to us, posted to Facebook or emailed, and that never happened. However, the person we asked to take the picture had time to post comments on the Canyon View Facebook page during the time we asked them to snap a photo of our dogs.
The owner called to apologize and to tell us they were fixing these issues. They also dropped off a box of doggie treats and a letter of apology. Very sweet and we appreciate their efforts.
Unilocal is an open forum to express your experiences with companies. When a company doesn’t make the grade, I think it’s important to keep them in check and Unilocal makes them strive to run a better operation. I am confident that if they make the necessary changes, they will keep the dogs, as well as the owners, happy.

I love this place… My dog actually stayed the night here for a few nights… but they are pretty expensive…
I love the fact that they have the water pond in the back… but my dog is scared of water lol … so guess that doesn’t help
Plus we went a little over a year ago and the small dog area was not 100% done… so we paid full price and she didn’t get to play in areas that dogs can now.
But they are in a kennel here. and i HATE that… thats the only bad part…

We just got our dog back from Canyon View Ranch where she stayed for over a week. Though it’s pricey, this place is worth it for the dog’s sake. These guys aren’t pulling any tricks, some other places I’ve tried out seem better at marketing than actually caring for the dogs.
I almost got the sense that they didn’t really care what I thought about the place, in a good way — like they were really secure with their product and their own competence, and nothing changes when a customer is around. When we walked up to the front office, unnoticed by staff, a staff member was out with the little dogs happily playing and talking in an adorable voice. I just get the best feeling from everyone there. The staff members are experienced trainers and all seem to love animals.
It is pretty expensive though. Also the dogs are crated for a pretty significant portion of the day, according to the schedule that they send. Also I wish that there was a live webcam or updates like some of the other places have. But I think that those are just minor issues, I am still very happy. My dog came back happy and exhausted from running for 7 days.

Within the first 5 minutes of being here for the interview for our dog, my boyfriend was bite by one of the dogs. The front office staff allowed him to use the restroom while there was a very nervous dog in there. They did not warn him about the state of this dog and when he walked in and closed the dog, the dog bite him out of fear. This wasn’t the dogs fault, strictly the fault of the front office staff who put my boyfriend and this obviously scared dog in a small room together. They didn’t seem to have any idea of how to correctly monitor a dog who had special needs.
That said, the facilities are very nice in comparison to any where else we have seen. We took two dogs there and both came back with some health issues. One with a hot spot and the other with some type of intestinal problem. Obviously I have no idea how this happened and given the number of dogs there I’m not surprised. Given the waiver you sign, I did not expect CVR to take care of this in anyway… however it would make me think twice before bringing my dogs back, BUT if I had to board my dogs, they would come here.

There’s nowhere else in Los Angeles that I would board little Joey when I need to go on a trip. The only downer is that the Ranch is two miles up an unpaved road AFTER you’ve done the couple of miles of winding Topanga Canyon Road. But the place is a marvel, acres upon acres of beautiful nature somewhere between high desert and wooded paradise.
Joe is the owner and he’s usually there, watching over things. The trainers are the best. Dustin is Joey’s trainer and he loves him. The little dogs get a bit of a bad deal, because their enclosure is quite a bit smaller than the big dogs, but it’s sufficient, and there is always someone outside with the little dogs, making sure no one gets humped or injured. Joey is a traumatized rescue dog but he adapts very well to the Ranch, and comes home much calmer and more socialized.
The little dog enclosure has a tunnel, and two levels, and they give them naps in their cages. Most of the time they run free. If your dog eats special food, they’ll take care of it, and also administer medication.
The big dogs really get the good deal. The big dog enclosure is huge, with multi leveled play ground, dog pools, hills, runs, landscaping. You can look down on the big dog place from the top where you park, and it’s great to see the big boys enjoying themselves.
It’s a little pricey, $ 50/​day or $ 80/​day if you want training, but it’s worth it. You can be sure your dog is being well taken care of. Charlie Sheen brings his dog here, as do many other entertainment types. They will pick your dog up if you want, but I don’t like sending Joey off caged in a van, so I always drive him up.
Woof.