Happy Hound Play & Daycare, Inc. 2101 Mandela Parkway, Oakland, CA 94607

"My dog Reio loved the board and train! The trainers Psalm, Sid, and Dale are amazing! Before training, my dog would freak out whenever he saw another dog. On walks, he would pull on the leash the entire time and was reactive to dogs and people walking nearby. That all changed after graduating from training at happy hound! Now he’s a pleasure to walk on leash and he greets dogs and people on walks with excitement instead of fear. My dog is so much happier now because he goes on more walks AND gets to play with other dogs! I take him here for daycare too and he’s always excited to get in the door to see all his friends (humans and dogs)!"

"tldr; The daycare attendants seem to have not enough training on how to manage dogs or dog groups particularly in the large volume they care for the animals. However, the training services are 5 star. Get your dog trained by them, but if your dog is high energy daycare might be a bad fit. I want to start by saying the training at Happy Hound is top tier amazing. I got started with them a few years ago because of the training and my dog is amazing. The trainers are all so professional and effective. On the other hand there is a complete disconnect with the daycare. While many of the front end staff are kind and frankly happy to see my dog there are a couple who are openly hostile. I've stayed quiet about it because my experience has been echoed back to me numerous times by former employees and clients. But this week I think I've just had enough. My last straw (which will seem stupid) was watching an attendant snapping and pointing at my dog who was just standing around. I was was so confused about what I happening I kept watching and realized they were trying to make my dog sit. Then they started forcing my dog's butt to the ground which aggravated her and sent her on a zoomies. This is from the place that I paid to teach my dog how to sit, then they had me come in to learn the verbal and hand commands for my dog to sit, and do reinforcement trainings with those commands. Why on earth to the daycare people not know what the hand commands for sit are. It made me reassess every strange thing I have ever seen an attendant do on camera and I'm completely convinced they are not trained enough to handle dogs. Full disclosure my relationship has been deteriorating with them for about 2 years ever since I called to say my dog came home bleeding. I wasn't really mad, my dog plays hard but my concern about her having a visible bite mark was completely brushed off. I was upset because my dog doesn't alert when injured and I wanted them to be aware of it. After that I started getting calls that my dog was having behavior issues. When I asked for more information I was given none and was at a loss because she is fine on our daily trip to the park to play with other dogs. I went from bringing my dog in a few times a week to maybe once a month. I got her refresher trainings and stayed on top of her behavior. Every time I brought her in it seemed to be something. In retrospect her going from playing with 6-8 dogs in the morning to being in a room with 20 dogs probably got her real activated. Now I just can't stop wondering how much of it is her and how much of it is the attendants activating her. Either way it's obviously the wrong fit and I've been trying to make it work because the drop in model is so convenient. I'm the kind of person who reads the worst reviews from a place to see if that would be a problem for me, or to see if the reviewers are just unhinged and the place is fine. Happy Hound daycare might work for you and your dog. I think it is probably great for chill low energy dogs. But if you are trying to find a place to send you dog to play and get a little extra energy out, Happy Hound is probably going to overstimulate your dog and you won't be able to figure out where you are failing. It's not you, find somewhere with smaller play groups. I wish they were the ones who could've had the chat with me themselves but the cynic in me supposes the more the merrier for profit margins."

"We had our first training session with Psalm and we learned so many tips just in this first meeting. We are actively implementing these tips after the training and already seeing a major change in the was our 3 month old mini schnauzer Georgi responds to us and her play pen. Really excited for the next 3 sessions and to introduce Georgie to Happy Hound"

"Happy Hound took great care of Piero! They were flexible with my schedule when I needed to drop him off a little early, and coordinated with a local vet to make sure he could get his Canine Flu shot in time for his grooming appointment. His haircut looks beautiful!"

"Amazing facility and super friendly and welcoming staff. My dog has moderate to severe separation anxiety, and after just two days of daycare now LOVES going to Happy Hound. The first day, she barked and jumped at the door awhile, and the second day she relaxed and even made a friend! The webcams are such a thoughtful and fun addition to the experience so that the humans can see how much fun their dogs are having. I am so grateful for the attentive staff who assured me and my husband that our fur baby would do well and thrive at daycare. So happy we found this incredible place!"