Barks 5th Avenue

id like to comment on "krovang" great dane review. i AM considering barks for boarding & other services & based on your review, i am going to gladly give them my business & refer ALL my dog friends to help keep them in biz. seriously lady, did u even READ what u wrote? hellooo..nutcase, 1st of all, i hardly think these people r going to bring your dog out to u with all this blood coming from his feet so bad he couldnt walk, what did they do, piggy back your 150# dane? "stricken demeanor"?? oh my..HE WOULDNT LOOK AT U ? are u in drama class at school? i think so ! call 911,my 150# dane has 2 little scratches on his bigas! legs from playing "like a dog" in "daycare" that HIS OWNER ENROLLED HIM IN,your vet ruled negligence? really?hmm lets see, the mgr her/his self gave personal service,they could have sent min wage kennel staff to deal w u,they "gave" u antibiotics!,WRAPPED his pads! (bet that was fun 4 them)and only charged u for 4 days instead of 10! so what does it cost to brd a horse of 150 these days? id guess a min $25 a day, so they "ate" 150 bucks to try & make u happy. "THEY" didnt "ruin"your dog lady "he was ruined by you before they ever saw dukkie" they went WAY over & above what they had to, i only hope they take such good care of my "dane" yes, i have a dane too. here we come barks 5th avenue

I WILL NEVER come back again with my dog!!! My dog was such a happy dog until he spent one day at their day care!!! As soon as I picked him up I saw he was not happy. I ran to me and hid behind my legs. I always take my dog to the petsmart doggie day care and have never had a problem LOVE IT THERE. But I decided to try out bark??s 5th ave because of the outdoor space. That by the way once I had my dog I asked to go see it again and it looks so nasty!! Dog S*** all over the yard and the 2 little pools they had out looked so nasty the water was brown brown brown. Please if you love your pets do not take them here!!!

We have been coming here over a year, as long as we had become dog owners. After going to other groomers now, Im not sure why closing time was the pick up time after dropping off before 10am, like requested. Our dogs didnt stay there less than 8-10 hours a day. Our new services have yet to be over 4 hours.This day was not even different, we picked up our dogs at closing time, to notice one of our dogs eyes were so bloodshot red, she looked like she had been choked so hard, the eyes almost popped out. I had never seen this before. The employees didnt seem to notice, until we pointed it out. My dog jumped into my arms and I could not speak. My husband asked most of the questions to the owner, we were told it was hemotoma of the eyes, caused possibly by pulling on a leash. I felt there was some negligence on their part, but nothing was admitted to us. I lost sleep thinking of what possibly could have caused this, certainly not pulling on a leash (10 pound pup) dont want to think of what really happened. How long do you have to pull on a leash for your eyes to become bloodshot red? I was practically in tears when we walked out of there, and to this day never recd a phone call to follow up on how our dog was doing. I want to make people aware, our dog is good after weeks of recovery. I dont want this to happen to anyone else. And yet to have anything like this happen again at the groomers. They lost our loyalty and trust and therefore we moved on.

I boarded my dog here June of 2010 when I went to Mexico. I wasn't going to write a review about how traumatizing this experience was for my dog and I, but I just want people considering this place to understand that now almost a year later I am still feeling repercussions from our terrible experience. When I picked up my dog last year, he had the stricken demeanor of being beaten. He would not look at me, like he had been punished. As well, his pads were torn and bleeding inhibiting him from walking for a few days, pimples covered his face, both of his elbows were swollen with scabs, and two small puncture looking lesions were on his back legs. Although the manager gave me antibiotics, wrapped his pads, and only charged me for 4 of the 10 days, I felt none of this should have happened. My vet even ruled the next day as the negligence as the cause. I almost denied the charge on my credit card. Even to this day, Duke refuses to get into my car, because he believes he is going back to this place. Duke is a 150lb. Great Dane. There is no picking him up and putting him in the car. They ruined his fun-loving eager attitude. He loved riding in the car and was in perfect health before he was brought here. He now has scars on his elbows and face marring his Merle coat and I just wrestled with him for almost 30 min. trying to get him in the car to go to the dog park. I want people to consider my experience and think carefully about paying money to these people.

My wife and I have used Barks 5th Avenue on several occassions.....so you think we would be considered as loyal customers.....WRONG! We left our yorkie there for boarding ONLY.....no grooming. The groomer mistakes our dog with someone else's dog.....shaved off half the hair on his back before she realized it was the wrong dog. Yes...you are thinking just like me....dont the dogs have on name tags.....yes they do! So my wife talked to the MANAGER about the incident and she said she would comp a 50% grooming for the next visit....if you are thinking like me..mmmmmm NEXT GROMMING....NO...DIDN'T REQUEST THE FIRST ONE! SHE WAS VERY RUDE TO MY WIFE ON THE PHONE AND TOLD HER TO COME GET THE DOG, NEVER COME BACK AND HUNG THE PHONE UP IN HER FACE. I spoke with the OWNER... SHE TAKES UP FOR HER MANAGER.....NO ONE IS HELD ACCOUNTABLE AND SHE CLEARLY STATES "YOU AND YOUR WIFE ARE OVER REACTING...THE HAIR WILL GROW BACK?. What about your POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. I am not a complaining customer, but I must warn you DONT BE FOOLED BY BARKS 5TH AVE. You may have a few good experiences, but you will experience BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE, RUDE MANAGEMENT, and AND A RUDE OWNER.

I first heard about Barks 5th Avenue 7 from my vet's staff 7 years ago when looking for last minue boarding for my Golden Retriever mix. I was happy that Barks 5th Ave not only had room for Jesse's last minute boarding but they were cheaper then places I had used in the past. Jesse was treated like family and now long term staff know her by sight and greet her by name.. I was surprised to find a thunder shirt for sell there yesterday. I had been researching this product on line. The price was the same as the on line price. I purchased it and immediately placed it on Jesse. I was shocked at Jesse behavior because she instantly became calmer and sat down which she never does when out in public. Barks 5tth avenue has continue to grow offering all kinds of services. I will never use any other pet care business for Jesse's grooming and boarding needs.

I boarded my pet at Braks 5th avenue for 5 days in November. When I picked up my doggie i walked him on the grassy area and he had bloody stool , I went back inside and asked if something happened to my doggie while boarded and the girl in the front said "oh he's just stressed out ask your vet". When we arrived at home I knew there was clearly something wrong with my doggie. He was gasping for air and gagging. I immediately took him to my Vet and was informed that he caught hookworms and Kennel Caugh from the kennel. When I called BARKS 5TH AVENUE and spoke with the owner Penny, she gladly informed me that they had a case of Kennel Caugh in June, however that was a chance I was taking when boarding my pet and that the hookworms were not from her facility and that the ONLY thing she WORRIED ABOUT was that the holidays were around the corner and she had a lot of bookings. I When I asked her about certain regulations and inspections SHE LAUGHED, she said (exact words) we as human can not get any thing regulated what makes you think animals can. She said ANY FLY BY NIGHT CAN BECOME A KENNEL OR GROOMER NO EDUCATION OR PRIOR EXPERIENCE NEEDED! NOW, IS THIS SOMEONE YOU WOULD TRUST YOUR PET WITH????? THEY DONT CARE ABOUT YOUR PET......and IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR PET DO NOT TAKE HIM/HER THERE...THIS PLACE IS INFESTED.

Used Barks for the first (and last) time new years eve. I have used another facility for years and never experienced doubling a QUOTED fee. Good businesses will work to satisfy the customer but not this one. The owner was very defensive and told me the additional fees were my fault and that i should have read her website. I guess her staff is not capable of explaining their services. I explained I never had an issue with the facility I had previously used and she told me I could not compare a McDonalds to her steak house. Lastly she said it did not matter if I told others about my experience bc she had enough business. Money aside, I have never been treated so rudely by a business owner. How can she claim she will treat my dog with professionalism when she was so unprofessional with me?

I have been using Barks 5th Avenue for about 9 years--since they were even at another location. Penny and her staff have always made my animals happy to be there.

Tedi, my more recent dog, went through Barks' training as a young pup. I was very happy with the results. A year and a half later Tedi still does a great job following her commands--too bad I don't do a better job working with her. Although she knows her commands, she still can hardly do the "right thing" when she sees that we are at the facility. She just can't wait to go see her friends at Doggie Day Care. Patty, Roxanna, Michael and the others know us by sight and Tedi can't wait to show them her affection by wanting to lick--and they tolerate it! lol

Both of my dogs have had double coats and trimming them is complicated and labor intensive, but that has never daunted the groomers from doing what I thought would look good. And, the dogs seem happy to look so pretty.

I have always recommended not only their facility and services to others, but I also mention all the great types of food they have, including raw products. Tedi likes the different treats that they sell.

Don't hesitate to visit Barks 5th Avenue and the great staff. They are very helpful and will answer any of your questions.

We are within a 10 minute drive to Barks 5th Avenue and thought we'd give them a try. We could't be happier, the entire staff knows Pudge on a first name basis. He has a little fan club and they look forward to his visits. He gladly walks through the door and no change in his personality when he returns home. I've had pets lose weight while boarding, not with Barks. We have been very happy with their boarding services. He will be visiting next week and we may try their doggie day care. I am also very happy with their hours of operation, being open Sunday is very convenient for us.

Also in reference to the review on fleas you should ALWAYS have some sort of flea prevention on your pet while broading.

This place is right around the corner from my house which is super convenient. They have also always been able to take my dogs with or without a reservation.

If I'm going out of town for several days I get doggie day care. My mutt loves it and is worn out from playing whenever I pick him up.

If you've read the review that talks about the lady who's dog came home with ticks and fleas, don't be fooled. If you let your dog go anywhere in houston that is outside and has a lot of other dogs (like a kennel, dog park, regular park, etc), then you are going to get fleas and ticks if you don't have proper protection.

So as i was Searching Barks 5th Avenue i was good and bad comment but there was a comment that really cought my eye. I saw it here on City Search and yahoo and other places talking horrible stuff about Barks 5th Avenue but i put no mind to it and STILL took my dog to Barks 5th Avenue. I boarded my dog there for a few day and when i came back to get my dog i saw there was something wrong with him he was acting very funny and i was told by the lady up front "hes acting as if hes not happy to see you" i took him home and let him outside to go potty before we went inside and he was acting nothing like himself FWI my dog acts like he has ADD so i took him inside he just lay there he look so unhappy so i bend down to pet him i notice that he was cover in fleas and ticks and i also notice hes eye was red and smaller i took him a bath right at that moment and the water came out RED my dog was infested in fleas and ticks it scare me to see him in that condition i try to take the tick of him but he was cover in them. My dog has fleas from time to time he is a dog and he goes out side but i never seen him cover in fleas like when i pick him up from Bark 5th avenue in hes 8 year of life he has never never been infested in fleas. I took him to the vet the next day and they where in shock when they saw all the fleas and ticks they gave him a bath i also told them about him eye and the doctor look at it and say it was a pucture to hes eye ball and that he had a cut inside his eye lid. I was so mad at myself for taking him there knowing that i had reed the mesage warning me about Barks 5th Avenue. I will never ever take my dog there so take all the messages you reed on line in to consideration.

Well let's face it....we became customers because they had the best price. They do however exceed our expectations in every way. They offer every service you could ask for and I think the facility looks very nice. They always remember our pup ( a 7 yr old lab) and are very tolerant of his vocal personality. ;)
We have had him shaved and groomed at other places that are closer to our house but he never comes home looking as nice as when Barks does the grooming!! They are VERY detailed with his cuts and he always smells SO good for a long time after!
We have never had any issues that I could even mention.
They offer quality food for boarding or allow you to bring your own.
Drop off and pick up is always very easy....the paper work is already done and the folder is set aside by the time I get there.
Thanks Barks 5th Avenue for offering a wonderful and thorough service to dog owners!!

my boss has a bichon and recommended barks 5th avenue to me because im a freak about my dogs nutrition and very picky about my dogs haircut, i have 3 dogs, a bichon, a lab and a shihtzu. so i did make an appt and i must say i really liked the atmosphere, although it seemed very busy when i dropped 2 of my dogs off for grooming in the morning time, the people behind the counter was very nice to me and to "puffy" and "sheshe", one of the girls asked if my dogs could have a grain-free biscuit treat, i liked the fact that they asked before giving my dog something to eat. and after getting my dogs checked in, i asked about the dog foods they offer, one of the girls gave me samples and literature for the instinct raw food, i have been interested in changing over to a raw diet and now with all the information the girl shared with me, all 3 of my dogs will start tonight, im excited. i know that sounds silly but its important to me and it was very obvious to me that nutrition for dogs is important to barks 5th avenue as well. they have a store full of premium dog foods and they dont mind discussing it with their customers. also, the groomer came out and spoke with me about the haircut for my dog which i thought that was nice of her. they are very family like there, its comfortable, oh yea, and i will be bringing jethro, my big goofy lab for doggie daycare, they have tons of room for him to run and play. im so glad my boss told me about this place. finally, a place we all love.

My very first thought when I entered the front door was wow, this place is big , and it smells good, how does one have this many dogs and it smell so good? I am a clean freak so that is the first thing i look for. when i made the appt for a training consult, the receptionist gave me an idea of what the 3 wk boot camp was like and that my dog (lerch)would be boarding for 3 weeks. i remember thinking ...my dog is not staying in a stinky kennel for 3 weeks but i had heard so many great things about the boot camp that i decided id at least give the place a look, i knew it would take even the best trainer to train my Lerch in AT LEAST 3 weeks, lets be realistic right? a dog cannot be properly trained over night. so when they showed me the kennel, i thought...well..its not the fanciest ive ever seen but it sure was the CLEANEST i'd seen, and i really did like that, that says alot in its own self...it told me that the kennel staff is on top of their job. so i sat down with the trainer, pennie, for my consult, i felt like i had known this person for a long time, in other words, she made me feel very comfortable, she was sincere, extremely knowledgable on the topic of dog training and dog behavior, she explained things in terms i could understand. lerch is a 2 yr old 80 lb aussie with issues on how to greet people, how to greet other dogs, how to NOT chew holes in my sheetrock when im away at work. and he recently started pooping in the house, (i later found out that that had everything to do with the diet he was on, thx to pennie and kristen for educating me on the importance of knowing exactly what you are feeding your pet and how it affects everything about the dog, RAW DIET BY INSTINCT IS DEFINATELY the way to go, anyway, its amazing how much pennie teaches you, and the patience she maintains even throughout all of my ridiculous questions. Lerch used to drive me crazy at our family dinner time, no matter how many times i yelled at him to go away, he would stand there and drool excessively, yuk! not anymore..after attending pennies boot camp i have a new dog ! its amazing! he acually has manners now, no more jumping on people and knocking them over, other dogs acually like being around him now, and the droolin............well, the boot camp involves a "what they call a place command" at dinner time, i can now have lerch place on his pet cot while the family enjoys dinner, he stays there until i give the command to get off. wow! i SOOOOOOOOOOO recommend barks for training. they were the best < the whole staff is great ! check this place out ! trust me, you will be so glad you did !!!!!!

Well one thing is obvious for sure... and that is the customers of Barks 5th Avenue, I mean did you see how that one guy was taking up for Barks? He even mentioned how wrong it was for City Search to allow that mean guy to carry on about Barks. And the other person saying how shes been taking her schnauzers to Barks for all those years, you dont keep going back to a place for YEARS if they are bad. And get a load of how many of the different reviews mention Pennie, the owner and trainer....you'd think the woman walked on water or something. lol Look, Mr mean, hateful, pit guy, at least the trainer TRIED to help you, alot of places would have just turned you away, sounds like to me that Pennie is a very compassionate person that loves what she does.......HELP PEOPLE AND THEIR PETS ! personally, i can hardly wait to meet this lady and the rest of the staff there, sounds like a fantastic place. I have two pits myself and ive been searching all over for just the right place to help with their obedience training, I FOUND IT! The reviews are outstanding, See you tomorrow Barks 5th Avenue, looks like it was your loss Mr. mean guy, and your "poor dog" is right...its a shame that its human mom and dad was so un-coachable, the dog is who is having to pay the price. Well, like they say..."live and learn"

FROM:
Barks 5th Avenue takes any and all concerns or allegations serious. We feel that City Search is a wonderful avenue to reach potential customers and give patrons a forum to express or relate their experiences. However when facts are left out the story becomes inaccurate and purpose for this forum is not achieved. This forum then becomes a place for people to ??vent? or ??get even? thus no real intent to inform others so they can make educated decisions. So, we would like all existing and potential customers to hear the facts and events that took place with ??Pit-bull? i.e. Mr. Nguyen so you can make an informed decision, please read all of the reviews - of 106
reviews, only 10 are negative - WE THINK THAT IS AMAZING! First and foremost, we are family owned and operated; our business has been built on integrity and honesty. We stand apart from our competition by providing outstanding customer service with the integrity and honesty we bring to the pet care industry. We have two declarations at Barks that we live by, number one: Animal Safety, number two: Owner Education. Animals are living, breathing, creatures, not machines - we cannot and do not presume to think that we can avoid challenges and dangers when handling animals. Pennie is the Owner and Master Trainer here at Barks...in fact our training program is built on her 30 plus years of training animals, dogs, cats and horses. I would like to directly address Mr. Nguyen who has written the below negative/slanderous comments against Barks. He and his wife brought Bumble here for training, we were honest and up front about our processes and the success we COULD or COULD NOT have with Bumble. Mr. Nguyen and his wife are first time dog owners and we took on the opportunity to help them live a fuller life with Bumble through training AND OWNER EDUCATION. We believe that when you enroll your pet in our training program, and solicit professional knowledge, and make the investment of paying for training - you would follow our recommendations and let us teach you what we know. Pennie says "Bumble is a 9 month old Pit Bull mix who is extremely dominant and exhibits the potential for serious aggression. I told them the dog bit me and another trainer (my sister) here during the two weeks she was in our program. During one of my conversations with Mr. Nguyen I was educating him and expressing my deep concern for their safety and for others who may come into contact with this dog. Mr. Nguyen asked me two weeks into the three week program how the dog was doing and if he could handle or walk his dog on a leash and I told him no, not yet, that part of our program was education and he had not competed HIS part of the training.
(He took that out of context in the review) He did not want to hear anything else I had to say, got extremely angry and belligerent on the phone...because of his ignorance of animal behavior and not trusting the person he has invested in to give him the knowledge he needs with this dog. It is at that time we did ask that they pick up Bumble and take her home." It is that simple. We accept all clients with open arms however it became very clear that we did not want to do business with these people once we realized how unreasonable and ignorant they are, therefore we asked that they come pick up their dog. If you have questions about this review or any other reviews, please feel free to contact us directly. Sincerely, Barks 5th Avenue Management.

Barks 5th Avenue has been a godsend for us and our dog. We have a 2-year old puggle that was totally out of control when it came to minding. If he was not my daughter's dog, I would have given him away because I couldn't stand having him around. I had heard about dog boot camps from others so I did some checking online. (I had taken another dog to a well-known training center in Houston and the experience was a complete waste of money.) I read theoverwhelmingly positive reviews about Barks and decided that we would go with the 3-week training. The result of the training was off-the-charts! Pennie did an absolutely incredible job. When we went to pick him up and watch Pennie put him through his paces, I could not believe that this was the same dog that we had dropped off 3 weeks before. I even commented to my wife that the dog must have been drugged because he was calm, obedient and very attentive to Pennie and her instructions. He has become a welcome member of our family and when we walk him through the neighborhood, he gets compliments from strangers about how disciplined he is. I assure you that I never heard compliments about him prior to his training at Barks. We have also boarded him at Barks on numerous occasions since his training and have been very pleased with that experience.

My boyfriend and I have a 7 month old husky we adopted from a shelter. Her name is Hera. From what we were told she was abused in her last home. She had an embedded collar in her neck. She was skittish when we first got her, but now its just around new people. We also had trouble walking her, because she hates collars and leashes around her neck. She bites and nearly does a crocodile roll when we put stuff around her neck. We talked to several training places but didn't feel anyone could help our poor baby. My boyfriend was looking online and found Barks 5th Avenue. We didn't expect anything great, but decided to give it a try anyway. Well, what can I say, Penny is a God-send. We talked to her for over an hour in our free consultation that she set up for us. We immediately made an appointment to bring her in and do the doggie boot camp. We were so sad the day we dropped her off, but we knew she was in good hands.. The staff told us we can call anytime to check up on her, which of course we did, and to our surprise she was doing well. After one and a half weeks we went to visit her and Penny showed us how well she was doing with the collar and leash around her neck. It was a miracle, we felt so relieved. After the 3 weeks we went for our meeting with Penny to pick up our baby and it was like getting a new dog. She was so calm when we put the collar and leash on and we could walk her, it was wonderful. She also had made friends with the whole staff and even greeted a person who walked into the lobby as we were leaving. She never would have done that before, she would have just hid behind us. The staff also told us about the numerous doggie friends she made in their daycare program. With that being said we decided to bring her here a couple times a week so she can play and get some of that puppy energy worked off. I want to personally thank Penny and the whole staff for helping us with our puppy and helping us give her the life she so desperately longed for .

My husband and I had tried to train our dog Lily, but it was without any success. We tried other training techniques, other trainers, we tried everything ?? but still nothing worked. We thought all hope was lost, until we found Barks 5th Avenue. From the moment we walked into the door we knew we were in the right place. The trainer took the time to really speak with us, and made us feel confident that we could do it too. Lily has made a complete change, and it??s all thanks to Barks 5th Avenue! They not only trained Lily, they??ve changed our lives. We now have the perfect dog we always dreamed about. Thank you so much Barks 5th Avenue!

We have a Jack Russell Terrier that was hell on wheels! We had no idea how to train our Rascal! We have taken Rascal to Barks 5th Avenue for Boarding and Doggie Day Care when we had company coming for the weekends! He would jump on everyone just to get noticed..

Because we live with my ailing parents and have grandchildren coming over, we knew that if we could not get a handle on him, we thought we might have to find Rascal another home!! He was jumping and growling and if you continued advancing he would BITE!

We had the first consultation with Pennie and she had him leaving treats and bones just with this first visit. She uses possive re-enforcement and said we could come for our transfer in 3 weeks.
She called us before our time was up to let us know how Rascal was doing. He is very hard headed, but she was having great success with him!! We went to the transfer of us getting him back and saw a completely different dog!! He "placed" where Pennie told him to and although he hadn't seen us in a couple of weeks, he didn't stray from where he was commanded to stay! This would have never worked for us!!
Pennie "trained us" on how to get Rascal to obey our commands. She helped us understand how Rascal was thinking before we brought him there.
We know that we have to continue to work with Rascal because he is used to how little control we had over him before. But he has been home a week and is doing very well!
I know that if we have any questions about how to do something with Rascal, Pennie is more than happy to talk to us about anything!!

A Big THANK YOU TO PENNIE for letting us keep our dog!! Rascal is a joy to have in our house again!! And Thank You to the crew there as they have always treated Rascal great!!

We will continue to take Rascal there for Boarding and Doggie Day Care!! If we need refresher courses for Rascal's behavior, we know Pennie will help us!!
Absolutely Love Barks 5th Avenue!!

I have taken my miniature schnauzers to Barks 5th Avenue for the last 9 years. Penni and eveyone has been great with them. When they have something wrong Penni calls and let you know so that it can be taken care of immediately. I WOULD NOT take them any place else. They are treated as if they are their own pets. The girls ( as we call them) have a great time going there. We go once a month fro grooming.

When you first call in to ask about any dog service Barks 5th Avenue provide, of course they were very enthusiastic. I wanted to ask about dog training. The trainer wasn't in when I called, the receptionist said leave my phone number and Penny will call me back. Till this day, there are no return calls at all!!! My friend leave her dog at Barks 5th for boot-camp, sheesh, her dog came home with ticks, fleas, laceration, and more aggressive. The poor dog was so depressed it looks really sad when I visited her. If you love your dogs, please do not leave them here. My friend's dog looks awful when she came home.

I have visit this place 3 times trying to get a good feeling about it to leave my pets. so first i talk to a young lady about a diet for my dog and they wanted to put me on this one brand and even gave me a sample. A young man gave me a tour aof the kennel and let me tell you this place smelled and the kennels are like the ones in your own home. One of the kennel helps were in the break room and was arguing with her boyfriend whom i was told letter on that the he was the outside doggie daycare manager and when we went outside to see the ground i see dogs with little to no shad and 2 dirt kiddy pools and no one watching the dogs. The person who gave me the tour apologized excused himself dumped the pool water and refreshed it. When we went back in. i got the prices and left. a few months later i noticed a Parking lot event so i wanted to see what was going on. so i visited and they were raising money for a dog park and i noticed that they were auctioning off this basket with free stuff that the vendor gave them...because it was some of the same samples they gave me. . This place is totally gross. They have no professional trainer. DONT NOT TAKE YOUR DOGS HERE IF YOU LOVE YOUR DOGS.

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I took my dog here for 5 days. When I picked her up, they had a sign posted that there were confirmed cases of kennel cough going around. This really bothered me. I called my vet and he said it is admirable that this kennel is risking business by saying this, because most of them just deny it. He said ALL kennels have a case or two going around & that they are to be commended for being proactive. Ok, I'll go with that. My dog never showed any symptoms by the way.
The other thing is, my dog apparently had a nervous itch or something and had rubbed herself raw and had a huge spot from the top of her tail down her back leg. They had to have seen it because they groomed her the day I picked her up. But no one said a word to me about it, they just let me leave & figure it out on my own. I had to take her to the vet that very day, because it was raw, red, & seemingly painful to her.
So I am not sure what to think about this place.
They are expensive and I thought this meant better, more attentive care. I'm not sure if it does or not. I am not sure if I will go back, especially after reading how they weren't paying attention when dogs got out. I would absolute die if my dog escaped from the kennel & was not there when I came to pick her up.
I don't think a notice about kennel cough is enough to win my trust back.

'Alfie' loves this place, he doesn't stick his pores in the ground like the last groomers !!! I have always found the staff very friendly and accommodating to every need..
'Alfie' is a large golden doodle with a lot of allergies, some groomers are not sure what cut to give this breed, but 'Karen' knows the perfect teddy bear cut for this dog, 'Alfie'
always comes home a handsome, happy dog...and smells a lot better too....

After visiting other grooming salons in my area and having bad experiences with nearly ALL of them, I gave up on hope of finding the right groomer. My dog would come home dehydrated and stressed out. I recently stumbled upon Barks 5th Avenue, read the reviews and decided to give professional grooming another try. The staff was friendly, professional and made me feel very comfortable leaving my baby in a new place. I met the groomer, Merial (not sure of the spelling) and she was very nice, professional, and very detailed. When I picked up my dog I couldn't BELIEVE how good he looked! He literally looked like he could be in a magazine! He was so happy...Merial took such good care of my pup. I will definitely return to Barks 5th Avenue and tell everyone I know about this great facility! If anyone has lost hope like I did, this place is for you!

We've been going to Bark's 5th Avenue for a number of years now and we've never had any issues. Very friendly staff and good location. We've recomended Bark's 5th Avenue to many friends and they've all become loyal customers.

We dropped our dog off for daycare right after the incident mentioned below. It's sad to me that one could make a judgement based on what was obviously an unusual and stressful situation for the staff due to the facility being broken into and the fence torn down. What you didn't know, aluker, was that the dogs were so attached to the facility and to the trainers that when one of them thought to turn back an hpoe the dogs followed, they did. You had 2 major streets on either side and there were no injuries. All dogs came back to the facility. My dogs have been to this facility for 8 years and will continue to do so for this very reason. I would urge you to re-consider!

Pros: Great staff, owner involved and passionate

6/1/2010 Just showed up to drop off my dog for his first day at Bark's 5th Avenue and while I was filling out my paper work 3 dogs wandered up to the front door. There was shock in the lady's eyes when I told her that they were not mine. She ran around back to the other attendant who was clueless of the situation....finally they checked out back (where the bigger dogs play) and noticed that a WHOLE SECTION of fence was pulled down and somebody had stolen their riding lawn mower and some other minor things. The escapee's ran around the whole perimeter of the strip mall to get to the front door! So, in reality, they just let the dogs out the door in the mornings and walk back in without checking. We were assured that someone was watching the dogs at ALL times. NEVER AGAIN.....I hope everyone got their dogs back.

Cons: apparent poor security

I love this place! They have raw food diets for your pet and they acually take the the time to educate you on the health benefits of feeding raw! They have boarding, which I felt very comfortable with, they have grooming, my dog looked and smelled great after getting her haircut, AND...omg! An awesome training program! I now have a balanced, happy dog and not a little scarety cat! Just try them once! That's all it takes and you are hooked!

We have 2 dogs, one weighing in at 120lbs and can be a handful. We have trained both our dogs at Barks with excellent results and we continue to board there when ever we go out of town. All Barks personnel seem friendly and good with our dogs and they never seem to have a problem handling the big guy.

Both of our dogs seem very happy when ever they get to go to Barks and are always returned in good health. Barks has a huge field out back for the daycare that our dogs love to run around in and get some good exercise.

Pros: Good facility and good people

I was at the end of my wits with my "untrainable Yorkie" when I saw a sign for Dog Training. I decided as a last resort to call and let Barks 5th Avenue have a try with Snickers.

After 3 weeks, I picked-up my Snickers and what a change! He is now a joy for me. Neighbors and friends all comment on the change. Such a joy to walk with him and see how well-mannered he is around friends when they visit. No longer jumping on them, jumping in their laps licking their faces! Snickers and I were walking one afternoon and one of my neighbors commented that he used to be the terror of the neighborhood. I am so proud of him and myself for making the decision to invest in training my Snickers.

Pros: A Stress Relief

Cons: None

I'm glad I waited although I arrived 10 minutes late for my appointment for a dog obedience consultation. I was required to fill out paperwork prior to my meeting with the trainer and I found that to be rather difficult since my dog, Coco is so rambunctious. However, a young lady stopped doing her job after other workers walked by to lend me some assistance. Thank goodness. I found her disposition and attitude to be most helpful and kind.

Let's get to the consultation. I'm not the easiest person to please and definitely does her research. Penny is awesome!!!!! I believe she was a dog in a past life. She immediately observed Coco and calmed her quickly without force. I knew Coco had issues she needed to work through and Penny displayed the confidence and knowledge to insure me that she was the person that could help me get Coco to where she needed to be. The consultation was very thorough and concise. Unlike other dog training facilities I had visited, Penny's style and attitude was in tune with what I felt dog training should be. I never felt like she was trying to hard sale me on anything that her establishment offered.

Barks 5th Ave. had the full picture with training, nutrition, grooming, daycare and boarding. They are my choice for all of the above. I can??t wait to get Coco into training.

Oh yeah, Jimmy was awesome also!!!!

BARKS 5TH AVENUE = THE PYSCHOLOGY OF A DOG

Pros: Penny really understands the psychology of a dog

Cons: Had to wait 40 minutes

Puppies will be puppies, but when I got an adorable teacup Maltese for Christmas, I had no idea what I was in store for.
Moxie is my sweet little girl however, I had no idea how much time and attention it took to train and housebreak a puppy (as I haven't had a true puppy since I was very young.) My husband and I were close to then end of our rope when we happened upon Penny at the CyFair Home and Garden Show. Gabe, her Blue Heeler, first got our attention and then we began bragging about our animals. My husband mentioned the housebreaking issue and Penny didn't hesitate in offering suggestions. When we told her that we had tried everything but that we simply couldn't offer the structure and consistency Moxie needed, Penny told us about Puppy Preschool. Moxie was enrolled six days later.
At the consultation, I carefully observed how the staff interacted with the dogs, and how the parents reacted to, well, everything. I immediately noticed that all the employees clearly loved their job, cared for the dogs, and respected the parents. The dogs were happy, clean, and well-attended.
Of course when I dropped my baby off, I was a blubbering mess however; when I visited her four days later, she was well-adjusted and happy. That made all the difference to me, knowing that Moxie was happy and safe.
I highly recommend Penny and Barks 5th Avenue. There is no doubt that I would do the three week training all over again, but I won't have to because Moxie is a completely different dog.
She will now begin daycare on Monday and I know she will love it!

Thank you so much for helping us to communicate better with our precious Moxie!

Pros: Location, price, attention to animals

Cons: could find no cons

Renee, my Jack Russell, has boarded at Barks for many years. We use them at least twice a year. Rates are great. Staff is very concerned and friendly. When we go there Renee is very excited to stay and does really well for a hyper dog. I am very pleased with the care that she gets. They call to remind me to bring her in at the right time. if I need to change the date or time, that I am picking her up I just call them and adjust.
Cannot comment on the grooming, since we don't use it. She went to Doggie Day Care for the 1st time last month. We were concerned about her being agressive toward other dogs and they were very careful to watch her to make sure that she did fine. Renee and I have been very pleased with the care and attention that we receive.

Pros: Very Friendly and Concerned Staff

Cons: None

When we first rescued our high-energy BostonAuzer (Boston Terrier / Std. Schnauzer mix) I took her to four different places to look for a good boarding kennel. Three of the places she didn't even want to go in the door. When we got to Barks she was excited from the start. All the dogs were out front playing and she couldn't wait to get out there.

It is now a year and a half later and Hailey goes for daycare at least once a week and boards there about once a month. The big dogs are separate from the small ones, and they pay special attention as necessary. I have never had any concerns about Hailey's well being and she still loves to go. The staff always makes us both feel very welcome. I highly recommend this place to anyone wanting a place where they can be assured their furry friend is well cared for.

Pros: a great doggie daycare that wears my high energy dog out!

Cons: none!

Since moving to Houston, Barks 5th Ave. has been our choice for grooming and boarding. The facility is very animal friendly and the staff is always extremely polite and welcoming (when we tell Coko and Frankee they are going to see Ms. Patty their ears perk up...LOL).

I have and will continue to recommend Barks 5th Ave. to all who will listen.

Thanks to the Penny, Roxanne and the entire staff for the care given to our additional family members...

We've been taking our boxers to Barks for the last couple of years and they have been consistently awesome. Barks 5th Avenue has every quality you look for in a boarding facility; super clean and a super friendly staff. We know our dogs are well taken care of while we are out of town and that they are having a good time at doggy day care.

Pros: friendly staff, clean

Cons: none

The staff members are very friendly and know you and your pet by name. The facilities are well maintained--in other words, clean and smells nice upon entering the building. The building is ample for both large and small dogs.

I have been taking my dog to Barks 5th Avenue, for several years now, and feel I made a good choice for my pet, a Dalmatian.

C. Williams

Pros: Great Staff & facilities

Cons: Not off major freeway

Have used this place many times. The last time we used them for boarding, they brought my dog out for me to take home COVERED IN URINE. I was so upset- not knowing how long he had been like that. This was the THIRD CHANCE that I gave this place. Several months ago, I was TALKED TO HORRIBLY by the owner of Barks (PENNY). She talked to me in such a rude way about my using the coupons that SHE made available. I couldn't ever figure out how I was abusive using coupons that she had available online and also in mail outs. I was the only customer that had ever been abusive with the coupons-per Penny??? I did not feel very appreciated as a customer and was so upset that she used such strong words with me and never tried to understand my point of view. I was completely blown away by this. Before that, there was a time that they called to let me know my dog was ready to be picked up from grooming but they had the wrong dog so I had to wait for a while. I live too far to go home. They were not apologetic at all for their mistake. So these three situations put together have made me lose all confidence in this place-NO MORE CHANCES. I now use Paws on Jackrabbit. No complaints there.

Pros: Do not have any confidence in this place.

Cons: Will not use this place ever again.

i love this place and have been coming here for years. I recommend this establishment to all of my friends. If you want to go to a place with a friendly atmosphere and a warm staff then this is the place for you and your pets

Pros: best place in town

Cons: they care to much

My vet recommended Barks 5th Avenue for grooming my very sensitive large breed dog. We have been very pleased with the care and attention given. The results were fantastic!

Highly recommend both the grooming and training services. When we adopted 2 rescued Great Pyranees, we began having trouble with the female, Sasha, our son's dog. She had been returned by 2 previous owners for discipline problems as we soon learned first hand. After 3 weeks in Training Boot Camp the difference has been astounding. She no longer jumps up or charges going into the house but waits until we tell her she can come in.

We really appreciate the excellent care they have taken with our pets. All the staff have been patient and helpful.

Pros: Experience trainers, special attention grooming

Cons: None

We adopted our dog from the SPCA about 4 months ago. She is a very sweet, medium-sized, 1 year old terrier mix but was really much more than we could handle. No matter how many books I read and dog training shows I watched, I could not control her. She jumped on people - especially small children, barked incessantly, escaped from her crate on a regular basis, chewed on things she wasn't supposed to, went absolutely wild at the sight of other dogs, crept upstairs when she knew she wasn't allowed, and was an absolute nightmare on a leash. Although we loved her and knew she had a lot of potential, her chaotic behavior caused us to realize that we needed to seek professional help.

Although, admittedly, I was skeptical about ANYBODY's ability to help our dog (many families had told me that other obedience classes didn't really work for their dogs) , we left her in Wendy's very capable hands for the three week bootcamp. I have had her home for two days now and have to say that I impressed beyond belief with what Wendy has done with her! She no longer jumps on my kids, she doesn't seem to bark as much, she now sleeps quietly in her crate with the door closed, she is much more confident and relaxed around other dogs, she stays downstairs in her "place" while I'm upstairs, and she walks just beautifully on a leash! She does test me occasionally (she is still a puppy and just got home), but Wendy has given me the tools to immediately stop the unwanted behavior and my dog now listens to and obeys me.

Wendy and Barks 5th Avenue have allowed us to have the best of both worlds.....a peaceful home with a sweet, obedient dog! Thank You!!!

Laura - Spring, TX

Pros: Great results, kind staff, experienced trainers

Cons: Strip Center location - but don't let it stop you!

My dog had been in daycare on a daily basis for years and when I moved to Houston I tried several but was unhappy with all daycare centers I tried. I came to Barks 5th Avenue on the recommedation of a friend.

I am extremely happy with the staff . They treat Spike like he was their own. I can tell he is happy there because he will go to certain staff members when I hand him over to them and kiss them in front of me (not like him at all!!) It is a great relief to know he is well taken care of and loved when I need to be out of town or just need help taking care of him for a few hours a day. The facility is clean and spacious.

I would higly recommend Barks 5t Avenue to anyone! I would not take him anywhere else even though there are probably a dozen closer to my home.

Judy Johnson

Pros: Caring Staff

Cons: None

We were initially referred to Barks 5th Avenue for grooming our new puppy by our vet. With that recommendation, we took our puppy, Dixie, to Barks for grooming. When we got there we observed Penny Mahon in a training session. We had been taking Dixie to another trainer, but were not satisfied with her/our progress. So we waited around until the training session was finished and visited with Penny about training and her philosophy of training. Immediately we sensed her love of dogs and passion for their care. We believe she really has a ??gift? when it comes to caring for dogs, any dog.

Not only did we leave Dixie to be groomed, we signed up for training. When we went for our first training session, we observed people picking up their dogs from Doggie Day Care. Being a talker, I began to ask the people picking up their dogs why they used Doggie Day Care. It did not take too many conversations to begin to see the benefits its benefits. Dixie loves Doggie Day Care; just the mention of Doggie Day Care and she gets excited. We believe the greatest benefit of Doggie Day Care is the social interaction with a variety of other dogs. Dixie has her own pack at Doggie Day Care and it is just one big party when they all get together. She also has NO trouble or anxiety when she meets a new dog.

When we travel we have no concerns with boarding Dixie at Barks 5th Avenue. We feed Dixie a ??raw? diet; so when we board her we take her frozen meals to Barks and they make the extra effort to meet that need for us. We utilize the combination of boarding and Doggie Day Care, and come home to a happy, but tired dog.

The staff is friendly, professional, courteous, and most important to us, CARING. Every time we take Dixie to Barks 5th Avenue, the staff makes a big fuss over her as soon as she walks in, and that only adds to her excitement about being there.

We highly recommend every service Barks 5th Avenue has to offer. In the 2 years we have been taking Dixie to Barks 5th Avenue we have never been disappointed.

John & Kitty Montgomery

Pros: Great Service, Trustworthy, Caring Staff

Cons: None