Wagtime

When we’re about a block away, our dog starts wagging her tail and gradually progresses into a trot that is more wiggling than walking. I like to think that’s a good sign that our dog loves doggy daycare, even if she can be reluctant to leave us. When we pick her up at the end of the day, she’s amped up from playing with all her dog friends, and then crashes right when we get her home.
We use Wagtime for daily weekday walks as well as the day of daycare each week. Our walkers have been very reliable, and were helpful in introducing us to the front-​leading harness to address some pulling issues.
Matt has been excellent at handling any schedule changes, billing is straightforward, and we appreciate the discounts with the packages. The front staff are friendly, and more importantly seem to genuinely enjoy working with dogs. Ultimately we know that we can rely on Wagtime’s services to help us keep up with our young and energetic dog. I’m really not sure what else one can expect.
Also, one thing that sets Wagtime apart to me is their commitment to fostering homeless dogs. We adopted our dog in DC, and learned that she was fostered at the other Wagtime location when one of the staff recognized her. It’s nice to bring her back as a paying customer and keep that cycle going.

Eek! Methinks not indeed. This place went downhill and remains in the valley. We brought our dog here for over a year for occasional boarding, daycare, and obedience classes. Everything was great until she started getting sick after having been there. At first, we chalked it up to her being a puppy, but it was every single time, whether or not she was there for 2 hours or 2 days. After a handful of times, we stopped taking her there and she hasn’t been sick once at her new daycare/​boarding facility. I don’t think it’s coincidence. Additionally, she used to love going to Wagtime, but her excitement lessened over time, dwindling at the end there to pure dread. The last time she went for daycare, she whined and just refused to go up the stairs. I’ll never forget the «please no, Dad!» look in her eyes. Run like the wind from this place.

Lola has been going to Wagtime for daycare and boarding for almost 2 years and LOVES it. As soon as we get within a block of the entrance, Lola wags her tail and runs to the door and can’t wait to get in. The staff knows her and clearly loves her. All of my friends bring their dogs to Wagtime and we all love it there. I have never had anything but a positive experience and my dog couldn’t be more excited or happier to be there.

my french bulldog has been going there for years and LOVES it. everyone there is super friendly and sam loves them all. dropping her off in the morning is super easy because someone (Matt) is always there to grab her. every time i pick her up she’s exhausted, falling asleep in the car on our short ride home. we’ve boarded her there a few times and she always comes home happy and sleeps for a day. we also use them as our dogwalker and again, they’re great. i can email matt before 10 am to cancel for the day and, unlike some places, i know she gets her full walk.

We brought our dog here for a year or so and thought everything was great. It was convenient to drop her off before work and pick her up on the way home, living in Logan Circle and working in Chinatown. She came home with a couple of parasites and an upset stomach a few times but figured that was just what happens at a daycare where there are lots of other dogs around (that may or may not be showing symptoms). She’d also smell like a public bathroom from whatever cleaning solution they use.
After about six months or so, she started exhibiting some anxiety around men, mostly tall men. Chalked it up to her growing up and becoming more protective, but then she started really hating going to wagtime. She’d get stressed out the second we’d turn the corner to 9^th street and very reluctantly enter the wagtime building. The last time I took her, she refused to go up the stairs into the daycare area. I wish I had seen the red flags sooner. I have no specific proof that her anxiety issues stem from her stays at wagtime, but based on my own (and my partner’s) experiences there, I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised.
I now work from home (thankfully) and found a great place for boarding where she is ecstatic to go to each time.

After years of taking my Pug to Wagtime they have done an excellent job of ensuring I never patronize this establishment again. 1^st they couldn’t find my records so I have to re register my dog, OK, no big deal. Then after I scheduled an appointment on Wednesday, I get an email on Friday saying I needed to update vaccinations. I called Saturday @ 10:50am to reschedule my appt due to the need for an update of vaccinations. I was notified that not only am I unable to bring my dog in but I will be charged for a no show?!!
So I’m charged $ 45 for a no-​show, that would be impossible for me to show. Based on recent reviews clearly this place has gone down hill. They just lost yet another lifetime customer. Congrats Wagtime!

Today I called to confirm their hours, was told they would be open until 8, walked my dog (decently far) and arrived at 7:20 to find them closed notwithstanding the hours posted on the door confirmed they should have been open until 8. Still, I was randomly buzzed in (along with a couple of other confused would-​be customers) and was told that it «looked like they decided to leave early», though the guy seemed uncertain. I asked why someone couldn’t just ring me up for the one thing I came for and was told, completely unapologetically, that I should try again tomorrow. As an aside, during the ten minutes I was there I witnessed complete chaos with drop offs and pickups.
Will not be going back.

I started to bring my dog here about a year ago because it is close to my office. I paid for a package ($ 500 — not cheap) to get cheaper daycare rates and take advantage of the late pickup for days that I would need to work later than usual. I stopped bringing my dog here because every time I picked him up he would smell strongly of urine and feces and have random cuts/​bites on him. At first, I figured the dogs were just playing and nipped each other. But I switched to a daycare near my home in Arlington and my dog has never once smelled or had a single scratch on him. I would have to bathe him after a day at Wagtime and at the new place, he doesn’t smell at all when I pick him up.
They do not have any sort of reservation system, which leads me to believe they will just take as many dogs as possible with no regard to overcrowding. Perhaps this is why my dog was getting bitten/​nicked and coming home smelly. The new place I bring my dog to is a much more controlled environment and has a reservation system so you will know when they are full. I would not recommend Wagtime because their place is chaotic and unclean. In addition, I have a credit of several hundred dollars now that I have to use on overpriced toys or treats or forfeit.

I’ve used Wagtime for boarding and obedience training. Despite all the negative reviews, I’m generally satisfied with the boarding. I like that the dogs can run around and play/​socialize to their hearts’ content. My dog loves it, too. As soon as I street park near here, his tail wags so hard his whole butt wags along with it! Obedience training offered here through Anytime K9 was great, too. My dog finished Puppy Preschool with Toni, and she genuinely seemed to enjoy working with us.
I would NOT recommend Wagtime for walks and grooming. Given the area and the reviews, I would not take the risk of having your dog walked during boarding. My one experience with grooming here was a let down. Because my dog has dark nails, I agreed to let Wagtime clip his nails for me. They called and said they wanted to charge double to grind instead of trim, which was fine with me… But when I picked my dog up, his nails still looked way too long and had obviously been barely touched with the grinder. $ 20 for a NON nail trim is too much!

I used Wagtime for cat-​sitting for almost a year. Over that time, my cat became withdrawn and would urinate on the bed while I was out of town and yowl when I returned home, something he’d never done before. Finally my downstairs neighbor told me that the Wagtime sitter was staying for less than 5 minutes per visit — often just 2 – 3 minutes — in which he scooped and set out food, no petting or visiting or playing with my cat. I immediately changed sitters and am grateful I finally found out about this mistreatment of my animal and scamming by Wagtime. My cat is healthy and back to normal now that we’ve found new petsitting.

Once again their customer service is terrible. I’ve asked multiple times even placing a specific order for Stella and Chewys food (Rabbit frozen patties) only to show up and the food is not present. I’ve spoke with Lisa the manager who turns around to blame the customer, rather than just admitting she forgot or someone did. I’ve tried multiple times to be a customer at this location but they are giving me every reason to not be one.

It’s been a couple of years since I last boarded Gollum at Wagtime and had no complaints then. I was looking to board him again, but saw all the recent negative reviews and started to worry because I did not really have time to get him registered elsewhere. So, I booked two weekend nights for him at Wagtime and again, I’m happy I did. Service was good setting it up on the phone, at drop off and pick up. Staff was courteous and easy to talk to. I also got him a new fancy harness/​leash and they were really good about showing me the different options for using it. Gollum must have gotten a good workout there because when we got home, he took a nice power nap. Thanks Wagtime!

I moved to DC after living in another community where my doggy loved his daycare. I am a busy dog mom and I adopted my rescue two years ago. Daycare in my previous community was a great way to build socialization skills, which my (small) doggy needed. Given this success, I was anxious that he have a good experience at daycare when I relocated to DC.
Wagtime has been GREAT. The daycare organizes dogs by size and temperament. When little man hears my keys jingling, he is ready to GO. There is something quite special and tangibly great about the vibe of the place — maybe it’s everyone’s love of dogs, the extensive selection of goods, or maybe it’s the Valet Barking.
Whatever it is, my doggy is happy to go there. At the end of the day, he has a big doofus smile. The bonus for me is the availability of late pickup. I work late and it’s invaluable to have the convenience of picking up my doggy after 8pm. The only reason I have reserved one star is that we haven’t yet used boarding or grooming services.
Bravo, Wagtime!

I will never take my dog here for doggy daycare again. We used to take our dog here for daycare while we were at work about once a week so he could socialize, get some exercise, etc. However, after only 2 – 3 visits, it became clear something was wrong. When walking to the daycare, right before even rounding the corner to get to Wagtime, he would realize where we were, turn around, and start pawing at us in distress. He clearly did not want to come here. Also, every time we would pick him up from Wagtime at the end of the day, he would urgently need to go to the bathroom as soon as we got outside. Wagtime obviously wasn’t giving the dogs enough opportunities to relieve themselves during the day (and my dog wasn’t even a puppy at the time — he could last several hours and be OK). The last red flag for us was that Wagtime only had puppy cam coverage for a couple hours during the day — what are they doing with the dogs the rest of the day that they don’t want us to see?
Finally, we stopped taking our dog here for good, and months later, he seems so much happier! And I’m SO glad he won’t go back here. A couple weeks ago, I was walking him to my friend’s house, and we were passing Wagtime on the way there. Once we were within a block of the daycare, our dog started whining, whimpering, and pulling on the leash HARD to get us far away from Wagtime. If a daycare is so bad that it incites fear and anxiety in your dog even months afterwards, something is wrong. Stay away.

If there was an option for no stars, I would check that. We had taken my dog there for a few months for their daycare services. He would come home smelling of pee, had cuts and scabs on the back of his neck and he got this awful infection on his paw. He used to fight not to go in there but I thought it was just because he didn’t want to leave me, now I know better. My friend just took her dog there and her poor baby was attached by the owners dogs running loose. Stay away from this place!

We had used Wagtime multiple times in the past without incident, but the last experience was enough to make me swear off the place, and suggest you look elsewhere if you love your pets as much as we do.
We had booked Wagtime’s home pet-​sitting service to watch our three cats and one beta fish while we were on a two-​and-​half week vacation. Our cats – two of whom are big, fluffy, sweet Maine Coons – are incredibly affectionate, and demand lots of affection from whomever is watching them, because they love to be petted, scratched and rubbed. We also had an agreement for them to water our plants, which they had done in the past.
When we returned from the trip, it was pretty obvious from the smell when we walked into the door that something was very, very wrong. Turns out the fish was dead, as were most of the plants having never been watered.
Most importantly, though, all three cats were practically in a state of panic. It was very clear from their behavior that nobody had spent any time loving on them, and it took a week for them to get anywhere close to something like a normal routine. In the past, while they’re always thrilled to see us return, they were never freaking out like they did on this last trip.
Furious, we contacted Wagtime for some answers. Despite promises to call us back, they never did, and eventually, the manager just stopped taking our calls. I left another one-​star review on their Facebook page, to which there was no response until 40 days later – when someone else complained about a similar terrible experience with his dog. Suddenly, Jason, the pet-​sitter, was there calling me a liar, saying not only that I’d never told him to water the plants on this last trip, but that I’d never asked him on any previous trip, which simply is NOT true. He also claimed that he had given the cats enough attention, but I know my cats better than I know many of my blood relatives, and that is simply not the case.
It’s infuriating to me that Wagtime takes your money and doesn’t treat your furry family members the way they should be. It’s even worse when they lie about their customers to try and escape their own incompetence. I suspect that, you’re like me, and want the best treatment possible for your four-​legged friends. Let me tell you – Wagtime is NOT the place where you’re going to get that.

I will never bring my dog back here again.
I brought him in a couple weeks ago for a furmination grooming to blow out his undercoat. I got him back and noticed he still had hair coming off of him, but thought maybe it was just a result of being in daycare. A few days later, he’s still shedding like crazy so my boyfriend brings him back in to the shop to ask them what was going on. We’ve brought him there previously and once he had the treatment his undercoat was gloriously gone and not all over our floor. When he gets there, he’s met with extremely rude staff who eventually begrudgingly agree that, yes, it didn’t appear that he had been properly groomed. He gets the actual groomer, Tiffany, on the phone who ADMITS she didn’t actually do the furmination treatment. HOWEVER, I was charged the full $ 80 for the service. She claims that she didn’t do it because he could have a stroke since he’s old — where was this concern the other 10 times I’ve brought him here? Or were you just feeling lazy? Why didn’t you tell the front desk you didn’t think he should have the extra brushing (also what kind of brushing are you doing that would ever cause a stroke)? Instead I was charged $ 30 extra for a service I didn’t receive and nobody said a thing to me. I would’ve been none the wiser if my boyfriend hadn’t gotten her confession. The front desk staff dismissed my boyfriend and said to bring my dog back the following day for the groomer to try again. As if I’m letting that woman put her hands on my dog after that. He always tries to run the other direction when I bring him there, which I initially thought was an aversion to grooming, but now am wondering if it’s an aversion to the groomers. He’s not even afraid of the vet and they jab him with needles. On top of that, the front desk staff had the gall to act as though THEY were being extremely inconvenienced. I’m not sorry I’m asking you to do your job. If you don’t want disgruntled customers coming in, do the job right the first time and hold your staff accountable for jobs poorly done. This is a business.
Ultimately I was never offered compensation for the services that were NOT provided. And I was blatantly lied to about said services. I do not recommend this place.

Not sure what’s going on with this place. Twice now I have left off my dog there and both times he either comes back totally famished or so thirsty that the second they give him to me the first thing he does is drink an entire bowl of water sitting at the front of the store. He has also been acting completely crazy ever since I picked him up a few hours ago despite the fact that he was completely fine before I dropped him off earlier in the day. When I did drop him off he immediately tried to stop the handler from taking him. I thought this just meant that he didn’t want to be separated from me but I’m starting to think he has bad memories of the place similar to how it is when I bring him to the vet.
I would avoid this place like the plague and pay attention to what some of the other reviewers are saying. I rarely write Unilocal reviews but felt that I needed to this time.

How many dogs must die?
My dog died at Wagtime on Monday after a weekend of boarding and before a grooming appointment. He was perfectly healthy, 10 years old. Maybe it is just one of those things. But I learned during a phone call when the owner screamed at me, lied to me and then dumped the news of my dog’s death in the most brutal possible tone. Do not touch this place. Do not even walk your dog on their side of the street.
Read the many other negative reviews from people who, luckily, did not end of with dead dogs.

I work in the DC area, but live about an hour away. I love that I can bring my dog, Charlie, in for doggy day care and the hours are a little later than most places. Charlie seems to have a good time when he’s there because he’s exhausted on the way home and sleeps through the night.
I would like to see the facility that they actually play in and see if he’s playing with dogs that are possibly to big for his comfort zone, but overall I really do like the place and the location,