Ruff Housing

Pricey, but this was my go-​to place to board my husky when I lived in Winston Salem.
Very friendly staff. I always added the grooming service for my husky, and it’s the best! My dog always smelled wonderful and looked very handsome with his ruff housing bandana.
My husky is super energetic. I always select ½ daycare ½ crate, and he would always come home extremely tired from playing with other dogs.
Webcam feature is a plus when you miss your fur baby.

I’d first like to say that I’ve boarded my dog many times at the Country Club Road location, and have always been very pleased with the condition of my dog upon picking him up. Five stars to that location
…however, after my experience with this location, and seeing the condition of my beloved furry friend after only 10 days of boarding, I have to seriously question what the hell happened to him over there. Upon picking him up he smelt like chemicals (no bath was given to him during his stay, nor did they inform me of any topical medication he may have received), his fur was pressed together into dreads in several areas, and most importantly he just seemed all jacked up and weird. It’s now been two days and he is reminiscent of someone who’s gone through a traumatizing experience, or had some kind of lobotomy. He’s not himself. It’s like the light in his eyes has been stolen, his innocence robbed, and his hope eliminated. He’s truly not himself. Although it may seem completely over the top to say, that’s the only way I can accurately describe it. Today, I was petting his forearms, and he pulled his arm away as if something hurt, I started to part his hair (he’s a long haired golden mix) and at this point I realized that his hair is all matted together by blood, which led me to finding a series of deep scabs on his left arm caused by bite marks, that were clearly untreated and quite significant. I’m totally fine with the fact that sometimes animals get into fights when playing with each other, but the fact that his wounds received no form of care comes off as irresponsible and negligent. If there was a fight during playtime one of the supervising staff should have heard it, identified the dogs involved, and checked on their wellbeing afterwards. I realize that there are many more dogs than there are pairs of eyes during playtime, but I’m still pretty upset with the way my dog is now, versus when I dropped him off completely shampooed, conditioned, and groomed. In only ten days he went from super happy, tail wagging clean guy, to a chemically smelling, greasy, slobber covered, shadow of himself. I don’t think he was deliberately mistreated, or foul play was involved (because everyone that works here seems super nice and appears to genuinely like providing care to our pups), but it’s safe to say he will never be going back to this location. And although the location on Country Club road has provided a great boarding service at least 5 times, the apparent psychological/​physical state of my dog after staying here has raised concerns over boarding him at this facility, or anywhere else, ever again.

This place is okay. My dog loves it but the prices and hours of availability for grooming means we will probably try out a few places in greensboro that are cheaper next time.
The pros
–My dog loves it. The web cam, when I see my dog’s tail wagging, I know I’m getting my money’s worth
The negatives
–The price, similar places in greensboro are cheaper. We go through greensboro on our way out of town so next time we will try them. Ruff housing will say they are the same price but only offer ½ day daycare for boarding for that price — means your dog spends an extra 6 hours alone ina crate here at ruff housing versus the places in greensboro.
–The web cam is down a lot, makes me question if I really am getting my money’s worth. Web cams are so cheap these days, really isn’t an excuse
–My dog comes back smelly and we have to give him a bath when he gets back. We try to schedule a bath with them but they have terrible hours for grooming.
The so so
My dog is now scared of white dogs with bull dog/​pit bull faces after a stay at ruff housing. This probably isn’t their fault but good to know there is a downside to keeping your pet in a play group environment.

My dog has been going here for a year now as they are really sweet to dogs. But after this last visit, I was really disappointed on how they handled my dog getting sick in their care.
I had dropped my dog off on a Friday and picked her up on Monday. When I did, she was covered in mucus and looked homeless. Turns out from the vet, she had gotten conjunctivitis. Whether she had gotten it from another dog during her group play, or her allergies got out of control, the most disappointing part is that I WAS NOT contacted, letting me know there was a problem. And to make matters worst, they are all certified to recognized minor illnesses in dogs, which is one of the reasons I depended on them to take care of my dog.
While this was a minor problem, I was disgruntled by the approach they had to take care of my dog, especially for the prices you pay.
I would be cautious taking you dog there, while they may have a good time, can they really handle a problem when it arises for our babies?

Meh. Their prices are INSANE for boarding. My dogs get much more space and attention at an inexpensive facility on the other side of town. Ruff house is good for doggie daycare when my dogs need socialization, but for the price I could install my own dog park at my house after 1 year!

Great place to take a dog! The staff was so friendly and welcoming to me and pup. I thought the evaluation process was a little long (2 hrs), but I understand they need to perform that to make sure it is a good fit for their business, other client’s safety, and for my dog. Athens spent the weekend there and just did a ½ day of play each day, which was enough as she slept very hard for 2 days after — she had so much fun! Her tails was waging so much! We will definitely take her back and recommend this place to other dog owners. (The price was a little much for a long weekend, but we are willing to pay for such great service!)

True dog lovers wouldn’t run their business this way. Upscale and classy are not the same. My schedule is different than the regimented one they have and there’s no flexibility and only 15% discount for multiple dogs. Packages with more reasonable pricing have to be used consecutively. That’s crazy! Military feel-​have a heart!

My dogs love this place! When I drive down the street with them in the car, they go nuts and get really excited. They usually drag me inside the building once they jump out of the car.
I have been brining my dog, Jazzy here since we moved here in 2010 and she has always loved going here, if I say «want to go play?» She goes nuts until I drop her off. I also have always only boarded her here. I like knowing that she is going to a familiar place for her own vacation when I’m on mine. I also like that I can watch her via webcam. Our second dog, Veda, has greatly benefitted from coming here as she was adopted and was very timid from her previous life. Since coming to Ruff Housing, her confidence with other dogs and people has grown.
I like Ruff Housing because
1.the dogs can get a bath (or grooming) after a day of play or week of boarding.
2. The webcams
3. They really try to match up dogs play personalities, sometimes my dogs are together sometimes they are not and they are in small or medium rooms depending on what other dogs are there.
4. They give you a report after the doggies stay.

Very Expensive to Board Dogs. We wanted to board our dogs before our trip and called to get a price. Well the first time we called they gave us a reasonable price. The next time we called to set everything up we got a outrageous price of 60.00 a night/​day. In my opinion this is very expensive and persuaded us to look some where else. As far as their other services I cannot rate since we have not used them before. I will say the staff was friendly.

Our dog seemed to love staying at Ruff Housing while we were on vacation. He did a half day of doggie daycare. We loved the webcam feature that allowed us to watch him play. We got him back healthy, happy, and exhausted! Staff was very friendly at the Country Club Rd. location.

Was told to bring JUST a copy of rabies vaccination. When I get there just for a grooming they tell me they need ALL vaccinations. And wasn’t going to go through with it because of this. They decided to make an exception this one time. I go to pick up my dog and I could have done a better job! HORRIBLE cut! Nothing but gaps and chops all around my white poms face! I’m SO mad as this is my dog and I have family coming to visit. Rude young girls who work there. DO NOT have your animal groomed here!!!

The owner has messaged me twice to request that I change my review, so here you go, Kim!
It’s convenient as can be, but you really pay for it! It is twice what we were paying at a wonderful, family run kennel before moving here. Also, it just smells. My previous review talked about how overpowering the stink was. It’s still not fresh as a daisy (or my vet’s waiting room), but I don’t have to hold my breath anymore. The grooming and communication has gotten better, but isn’t «boutique» for sure. I get my dog buzzed, and they consistently miss spots around the legs/​hips. We go to our vet for a kennel now instead as it’s less money and the same level of care. We still use them for grooming when it doesn’t line up with another trip out to Hanes Mall Rd. for a PetSmart buzz cut or a trip to the vet kennel.

We’ve used Ruff Housing for both day care and grooming for our wheaten terrier. Overall, the daycare has been great, the staff is friendly and seems happy to be working there, and our pup is always happy and tired when we pick him up.
I docked them one star because of our experience with the grooming. We talked with the groomer beforehand, agreed on a gameplan, and the end result was a total disaster. In fear of having the job botched further, we ended up having to take him elsewhere for damage control. This is not a huge deal (after all, we’re talking about a dog’s haircut), but it meant taking the time to take him to another groomer and dropping another $ 50, which is suboptimal.
In the end, their daycare service is great, and their grooming service. .. has room for improvement.

My dog actually tries to get in my car at inappropriate times because he thinks that it will take him to doggie daycare at ruff housing and he loves it that much! He drags me in the door once we get there and basically forgets I exist :) one less star because he typically comes home with a scab/​cut or two, and one significant wound on his head wasn’t noticed or brought to my attention by the staff. He doesn’t seem worse for the wear, so I’ll keep bringing him. Staff is generally pretty nice

I like this place. I don’t love this place. I can’t quite put my finger on it. I will use it again but maybe its just that I think its not the perfect fit for my dog but here is my assessment:
PRO’s:
— convenient, flexible pick-​up/​drop-​off especially their late pick-​ups which last until 9pm!
— great location near WFUBMC
— extra nice facility with segregated areas for small, med and large dogs – both inside and outside
— doggy web-​cam to check-​in on what your dog is doing while she/​he is there
— they offer the coolest thing for overnight stays – a doggy SLUMBER party where a staff member sleeps in the common room with the dogs who all pile up – and have a slumber party – which is much nicer than being stuck in a crate alone. :)
–nice, friendly staff
CON’s:
— everything is ala carte — I found it a bit pricey and I’m not a super price-​sensitive shopper example, ~$ 50/​night for a full day/​night of boarding+day care. I found their pricing model slightly complicated.
— although I found the staff friendly, I didn’t feel as though they were expert dog people – this is a very subtle criticism, though.
— after a two day+night stay, my dog came home with an upset stomach. I’m not holding ruff housing responsible but it did affect my view of things
So, remember I’m giving this place 3.5 to 4 stars. I will definitely use them again but it just not my favorite place in the area. Its my second favorite place. :)

My Aussie loves this place. She always comes home worn out and sleeps like a log all of the rest of the day and through the night. She is so excited to go and loves the staff. I love watching her barrel around on the webcams.

My dog attends every Saturday to socialize with other dogs. He always enjoys going there. These people really love pets and it shows. You can’t go wrong here. We also use them for extended stays when we go out of town.

The only reason this review gets 5 stars is because they won’t let me give them 6.
Just to update from my previous review 6 months ago: We are now taking Charlie 2 – 3 times a week (we work out of the home, and the lil’ fella, as much as we love him, really prevents us from getting work done!). We could not be any happier with Ruff Housing.
Give them a shot — you won’t be sorry!

This place is wonderful!
I want to give it five stars, but I have to knock off a star over the cost, which, I will give you, the breakdown and misunderstanding of said costs is entirely my fault, as I did not request a copy of the services provided prior to paying. Instead, I paid, left, then saw the receipt later and was all like, Doh! Now I know for next time. :)
That said, the first thing I noticed (aside from the über cute blue paw prints leading you from the parking lot to the front door), was that the floor in the building was a type of (synthetic i believe) wooden style paneling. In other words, it’s not the type of flooring you will find at the vet’s office, pet smart, hospital, etc. so if you bring your pup here from the start, she/​he will not immediately freeze in fear thinking a thermometer up their butt is in their near future.
The customer service in setting up a reservation was superb (friendly, and easy!), and since I planned on having my little girl stay in an individual kennel, I could simply drop her off without needing to come early for a behavior assessment. I did, however, need to bring proof of her Rabies vaccinations being up to date. This is standard for most (if not all) dog care facilities (even pet smart requires it for nail clippings!). The bonus? I was coming from out of state, and my access to a scanner and/​or a fax machine was limited, so I was able to bring the records with me (instead of needing to send them ahead of time like many places have required).
WOW Factor Super Mega Points:
Someone is at the front desk (or at least available to come to the front door) ²⁴⁄₇. ²⁴⁄₇ I tell you!
Web cams! And not the Chatroullete type either. The inclusion of this feature is becoming more popular with dog day cares, and it is something that Ruff Housing offers. I was unable to take advantage of this, but love that it’s an option.
Late pick up! I’m assuming this has to do with someone being at the facility ²⁴⁄₇ — but the fact that this place even allows it (even if for an extra charge) is fantastic. Flexible times, great for dog moms on the go.
Cubbies! Yep, your dog gets his/​her own cubby while staying here. I brought her own food, as well as toys and a blanket with familiar smell from home.
COST: Well, this is sort of a downer (and as the theme of my reviews will show, the general expenditure of –any– funds makes my stomach turn and teeth clench), as it cost $ 90 for the whole weekend (on the phone I was told $ 12 each day and $ 19 each night — so a whole weekend in my brain = at most $ 80), BUT all in all, $ 90 is still a very good deal for all that you get. It is comparable to other places, and still much cheaper than the D.C. area’s doggy day care prices (here, day care alone is generally $ 25 – 30 a day for decent places, NOT including overnight costs). The only thing I would change about this is to ask for a written break down/​estimate of the costs prior to the stay. The receipt only showed the cost, but didn’t display a breakdown of the services provided.
The cherry on top for me, was when I went to pick up my dog, I saw her walking around behind the front desk — so even though I had paid for her to stay in her own room (cheaper than the group play, not because she is anti-​social), they (and this is pure conjecture on my part) loved Lucy so much that she could hang out at the front desk with the workers. :-)
It took Lucy a minute to realize it was me, and when she did she howled and howled. I translated this as: «Thank YOUUUUUU for sending me to Ruff Housing!»
Overall, I recommend locals as well as out of towners try this place, and I will surely come here again the next time I visit my cousins in Winston-​Salem.