The Common Dog

My dog Daisy was in desperate need of training (and so was I!). I had heard about The Common Dog and decided to give it a try. Within 5 minutes of meeting the owner Laura, she recommended board & train. I decided to give it a shot knowing there was no guarantee. I was very sad to leave Daisy for 2 weeks but I knew she was in good hands. Needless to say it has been 4 months since her training and Daisy is a different dog! She never pulls on her leash or «freaks out» when she sees other dogs. She can calmly say hello to them and keep walking. She listens to me (for the most part) but is overall a calmer dog. I believe bringing her to training and also 3 days a week in daycare at The Common Dog was the best decision I’ve ever made. Not only is Laura an amazing dog trainer but the rest of the staff too. They are all so nice and it’s obvious they love their jobs and all their furry friends!

Had my Goldendoodle groomed for the first time here. This can be a challenging breed to groom, because most of the time the come out looking all poodle-​y. But this groomer listened to what I asked for and did an excellent job. Especially considering he was all matted. Cost was $ 80. Which was about $ 20 less than our old place in NYC. We will be back to check out the day care.

My groomer recently got transferred over an hour away, and my dog desperately needed a good bath. I decided to try The Common Dog, as it seems to come highly recommended and I have dealt with them professionally as a veterinary employee – they are always pleasant and easy to deal with; I even recommend them to my own clients for boarding and daycare.
The facility is beautiful and clean, and when I called for an appointment the receptionist was very receptive and kind. However, despite giving VERY specific instructions to «trim» my dogs feathers, bum, and tail, my double coated dog – a very fluffy corgi/​chow mix – was shaved down. He looks horrible. They even shaved his «mane» around his face when I asked for a clean up. I understand the current trend of owners requesting puppy cuts for poodley-​breeds and small dogs, but you simply do not shave a double coated dog, especially when an owner says, «he mostly needs a brush out and bath». My mother picked him up from his appointment, and while she is not the type to complain, I think it was obvious she was disappointed. They did end up giving us a discount, which is greatly appreciated; however, I’m still very disappointed, just because I tried to give specific instructions to avoid this. I do know they treated my dog with great care, and we’re not bad to him by any means which is the most important thing. I will continue to recommend for boarding/​daycare, and again, the staff is great, personality wise. However, I probably won’t go back for grooming.

I’ve been taking my dog here for almost a year. I usually board him for anywhere between a night and a week. From reading other reviews, they got new ownership a while back, but I’ve only known the current management. They are great! Every person in there is so happy to see my dog when I walk in. My dog is afraid of people, and he will great everyone there, which means they’ve taken the time to get to know him. He can’t wait to get in to the play area.
They have a live video feed (watch out, it’s addictive!!) and there’s usually quite a few staff in with the dogs, and I’ve never seen any bad behavior, from the dogs or the staff.
In addition, I can pick up and drop off almost any time of day, they even have after hours pick up till midnight.

This (long) review if for all the dog owners who are in need of help! I got my silly, goofy Boxer at just 8 weeks old. Life for him and me changed when he hit adolescence. At about a year old he started showing stranger aggression. He was uncontrollable… he would lunge, growl, bark, (among other things) to people he did not know. I was heartbroken and confused… I thought, there had to be something medically wrong. I took him to two different vets and a medical phd behaviorist out of Boston. The behaviorist gave me 3 different anti-​anxiety pills and sent me on my way after one 45 min visit… Suggested I force treats down my dogs throat whenever I see a strange human– Let me tell you how great this worked (NOT). I was out thousands of dollars and my dog progessively got worse. Neighbors began talking and friends suggested «putting him down.» I was embarassed, I could not even enjoy a walk with my dog without feeling such shame and fear.
I finally enlisted in help from The Common Dog and Laura D. (owner/​operator). Laura spent endless days and hours to help both my dog and myself. She would work with my dog while he was at daycare there (which I also highly recommend), on weekends, and even took him for a few days to see the exact problem we were dealing with. She accompanied us on walks, and even brought us to mall parking lots to be able to encounter all sorts of strange people. She showed me exactly what to do to manage his behavior. But, most importantly she showed me how to control my nervous energy and how to form a more trusted, respectful relationship between us.
It has been a little over a month now, and I could not be happier with the progress my dog (and myself) have made. The other day, for the first time, I was able to walk him through a semi-​crowded park without issues. He listened to me and remained calm, he focused his attention on me completely. I even had a neighbor ask me «Is that the same dog?»
Laura is the true dog whisperer. She has changed our lives, and I will forever be grateful. Don’t waste your time, money, or energy with any other trainers or those so called behaviorists. If you need some help with your pooch (or in my case a lot of help), go to The Common Dog! You will not be disappointed.

This review is long overdue. I have been taking my dog to The Common Dog since I rescued her in July of 2013. I have nothing but praise for the Owner Laura and her entire Staff. I can’t say one bad thing about the place. It slightly more expensive than other competitors but I know my dog is safe with people who care and I can’t put a price on that.
A few Highlights of why the Common Dog is amazing:
* My dog NEVER has that «kennel «smell after daycare.
* She is uncontrollable and excited when she gets to The Common Dog. She acts like she doesn’t know me and can’t wait to be with the «pack».
* The Common Dog has really helped with my shy, abused, rescue. She has certainly gained confidence after «joining the pack».
* She is completely exhausted when I pick her up. She has dinner and goes to bed for 12 hours!
* The entire Common Dog Facility is spotless.
* The staff is cheerful and enthusiastic.
* The live video feed of the facility is comfort and fun to watch.
* On line tools for billing and sign up/​check in.
* Groomer Acacia is amazing. It is great to have daycare and grooming in one place.
* Drop off is fast. There is usually someone available to take your dog once you enter the facility.
* Open 6:30AM-7:30PM.
* They know my dog’s name and truly love her.
* Great place to take your dog especially when it is super hot, snowing, or during those short days in Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, when outside exercise options are limited. I don’t know how we would have made it through February of 2015 without having them as an option for stimulation and play.
* The use social media to communicate and post pics of our babies.
* I have not used their training options but they do have training for dogs.
* Free coffee and snacks at drop off.

I would NOT RECOMMEND!!! this place to people who have other things to do besides wait. If I could give negative stars, I would.
Apparently, it takes 6 HOURS TO GROOM a maltese.
When I made the appointment (about a week prior) the lady said it would take 2 hours. I thought even that was a little long but the Common Dog does have a big facility so I went ahead and brought my puppy, Charlie, in for a grooming.
The appointment time was 9am so when I went to pick him up at 11, I was a little annoyed to be told he won’t be done until noon. What can they possibly be doing for 3 hours? Little did I know that was only the beginning. I called before I went to pick him up at noon. NOPE he’s going to be done at 1… what the heck!!! at this point 1. I’m frustrated 2. I just want my dog back 3. I have other things to do besides check-​in every hour. At 1, I’m determined to get my dog back because it has been 4 hours. The person who picks up the phone says he won’t be done until 2… yea right he’ll be done by 2… so I ask to pick him up which she won’t let me. She so KINDLY explained that although I had an appointment at 9, I was onE of the last people to drop him off so it’ll actually take close to 5 hours. THEN WHATS THE POINT OF AN APPOINTMENT!!! She tells me that he has been bathed and therefore, I have to pay the ENTIRE fee even if they haven’t started clipping him because they’ve sprayed some water on him. When we finally got him back, they charged an extra $ 10 to untangle his hair and he looks worse than the time I tried to clip his hair.
I hate this place, will never go back.
They wasted my time, were not honest with me and Charlie doesn’t even look good.
WORST EXPERIENCE!!!

I have had a couple of horrible experiences bordering my dog, he has separation anxiety. A friend recommended The Common Dog. I was a little apprehensive at first but once I met them and toured the facility I knew I had to give it a try. I planned on leaving him for the weekend but ended up adding an extra day. You can view the park via webcam from anywhere and see how your dog is doing. My dog was running around an playing every time I checked on him, and believe me it was a lot. They gave him a bath and shed reduction too, he looks amazing. I wish I had heard of them years ago.
This is the best place you will ever find for your dog!

I went to The Common Dog for the first time today to have my dog groomed. My little buddy came out looking so great and smelled like a spring garden. They do absolute wonders there! Highly recommend you try them out. Can’t go wrong! Plan on trying out their daycare.

We happened to start at the Common Dog at the same time there was new ownership/​management (no kidding, on the same day!) We met the new owner and she seemed great– spent a lot of time talking to us about the changes and what they could offer to our new puppy and told us about her impressive background. Things have only gotten better from there.
As soon as we turn down the street to the Common Dog, our dog knows exactly where we are and he gets really excited! When we pick him up, he’s always as happy as can be– and EXHAUSTED! The staff are great and able to update us on his day– everyone appears to know him very well. They are great about calling/​emailing back in a very timely manner. Also, they open everything up in the summer so the dogs get to play outside and splash around in small pools!
My only slight concern or suggestion to the wonderful new owner is the exposed concrete. Our dog plays from the moment he walks in until the moment we pick him up (he’s about 90#). With all of this play and on concrete, his nails tend to naturally grind down. One day they ground down to the point one of his nails bled. In saying that, they immediately to care of it and separated him from the group until we were able to get there. We were truly impressed with the time the staff took to explain what happened, tell us how she addressed it, and let us know what to do if it happens again.
Overall, I would recommend the Common Dog to any and everyone! We hope to get a second puppy soon and look forward to bringing him/​her there as well. I would give 4.5 stars, but can’t seem to do it from my phone!

This is a great place! My dog is always excited to get here. The staff is wonderful and seem to really enjoy the dogs. There is a webcam so you can check in and see what your pup is up to. I bring my dog here for daycare, boarding and grooming and couldn’t be happier. Highest possible recommendation. Also recommend the groomer, she does a great job!

I have been bringing my dog to the Common Dog for 5+ years now, since he was 12 weeks old. The Common Dog fulfills all of my dogs needs; day care (5x a week), boarding, grooming, and even a massage once! The staff has always been incredibly friendly, and seem to genuinely enjoy being around the dogs — and my dog is always excited to see the staff. There are webcams in a few of the boarding suites so I can even spy on my dog when I’m on vacation! I highly recommend the Common Dog for any kind of boarding, training, or doggy daycare needs.

I’m surprised to see these reviews so mixed, but it seems like most of the low reviews are pretty old. We’ve been bringing our dog to The Common Dog for almost 2 years for daycare (after 5 years at a different daycare in Boston) and are very happy with the service and care of our little guy. The staff seems to really care about the dogs and takes the time to get to know them — which dogs they get along with best, play styles, eating habits, they can tell when they aren’t feeling well. They’ll tell me how his day was when I pick him up. It’s adorable, and you can tell they’re paying attention to the animals.
It’s also clean and big. There’s enough room for the dogs to really run and play all day. And when the weather is warm enough they have a nice outdoor area as well so your dog gets some nice time in the sun during the day.
Our dog is always happy when we walk in and eager to get in the yard and see the staff and the dogs. We’re happy to have found The Common Dog.

So this is really a tale of 2 reviews, which takes into account the past 1.5 years.
When we first starting taking out pup here, spring of 2012, it was great. The people were friendly, the facility was clean, they have both an inside and outside section which is nice. We used them for daycare and for boarding.
Honestly, they were great for us, for quite awhile. Our pup loved going here, we couldn’t even turn on the street and she’d be bouncing around the car in excitement, and then pull us on the leash the entire way into the facility. Things were really great, for about 6 – 8 months.
Over time, we started to notice little things that didn’t sit well with us. Each of them, on their own, aren’t a huge deal, but when you pile them together, it becomes a serious problem.
First, we noticed that staffing seemed to have trimmed down a bit. While there was almost always someone at the front desk upon arrival, suddenly, there was never anyone there. That means the phone calls were also going unanswered. I would say only 1 out of 10 calls would I actually have someone pick up the phone. When we’d walk our dog to the back to drop her off, I often saw only a single person, and she’d often be so disengaged, I couldn’t get her attention for at least 5 minutes to tell her I was there to drop off. If I couldn’t get her attention, how good was she caring for the dogs?
Next, the whole facility was covered in dog friendly puppy turf. Great! Good for the dogs. Then one day we come in, and 95% of the turf is gone, and it’s just exposed concrete everywhere. Surely I thought, they are just doing maintenance or replacing the aging turf. Week after week, I saw no change, so I finally decided to ask about it. I was told it’s just too expensive to upkeep and they had to take it out for good. So now my dog has to run around and play on hard concrete all day? You have to be joking. Dogs fall and tussle all the time. How long until a serious injury?
Around the same time, I get an email from the owner, stating that rising costs have made them make a few changes. Staff is going to be «optimized» (I’ve already seen the reduction) and there will no longer have a staff member onsite 24 hours a day, for the boarders. The latter is a big issue for us. You have a warehouse full of dogs on their own all night, what if one of them gets loose? What if god forbid, a fire or something were to happen? I just am not comfortable leaving my dog overnight at a place where there is zero supervision. That was one of the main reasons I chose them as a boarding facility in the first place.
Next, something strange happened. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, when we’d arrive at the facility, my dog refused to get out of the car. She would back up as far as she could, and make it clear she did not want to go. This happened for 2 – 3 times in a row, and we knew something was up. Our dog’s behavior told us all we needed to know. Something happened there, that makes her afraid to even go in. Now I don’t know what happened, and honestly I don’t want to know, but that was enough for us to find a new place. She told us what to do with her behavior.
We haven’t been back since.
Lastly, just a week ago, I get an email from them saying that they have sold the company, and the long time manager is also leaving. Sounds like people jumping off a sinking ship to me.
We had such good experiences with them in the beginning, it’s a shame that it had to go downhill so fast. Maybe new management will help turn things around, but I won’t be there to find out.

The incident referred to in my first review still stands, however, I would like to write that the manager of The Common Dog (Chris) did take my concerns seriously and took action against the employees who mistreated my dog. I appreciate the attention to this matter and hope that The Common Dog has changed for the better.

Had high hopes for this place, because we had heard good things, but unfortunately, we didn’t have a great experience. Dropped our pooch off around 10:30AM and we were able to get a tour of the place. While we were under impressed with the kennels the play yard looked nice enough, and there seemed to be a lot of dogs to play with. We left hoping for the best, but had already decided that this probably wasn’t the place for us to leave our pup over night, probably just do day care every now and then.
Fast forward to 6:30 when we picked her up… we were told that she did good, and that she played a lot and would be tired. Fast forward again to 10:30 at night when she got super sick from both ends. She couldn’t stop pooping and puking… eventually we decided to take her to the vet ER, and after getting a poked and prodded and under the skin fluids, we were able to take her back home. The vet wasn’t able to diagnose anything, but figured that maybe she ate or drank something that she shouldn’t have or something along those lines. In addition to our pup being so sick, we also found fleas on her, which she most certainly didn’t have before.
On Sunday, we called The Common Dog to just let them know that she had gotten really sick and to see if anything weird happened or if she got into something. We didn’t hear from them… I called again on Monday and finally on Monday night, I got a call back from a girl who was flat out rude. Basically said that our dog was fine during the day, but that since it was her first time there, they don’t know how she usually acts. Proceeded to tell me that no dogs there are sick and that it was just our dog. She ignored me mentioning the fleas as well as my question as to why they hadn’t called back sooner. I wasn’t really expecting an apology or anything as I wasn’t blaming The Common Dog for her getting sick, but i was looking for for them to care, even just a little bit, as we had trusted them with our much loved puppy. I can only compare the conversation to one you might have at the DMV…
I know that this reads as very negative, but please remember that this was only our experience, and I have to assume that there are plenty of happy dog owners that use The Common Dog’s services… we are just not one of them.
We will continue our search to find a Doggie Day Care that works for us and our pup.

I was SO nervous about leaving my 6lb chihuahua with a kennel. She is an only dog and has never been left with anyone that wasn’t family. Like most small dogs, she’s a little anxious in social situations. She’s so small I can understand why she’s intimidated.
But Panama was given a ton of love and attention at The Common Dog. I loved their web cam app and they were patient when I called to check up on her. They always knew what dog I was talking about and could tell me in detail what her day and behavior had been like.
We returned home to a happy, healthy (but exhausted!) pet. They even emailed me her «report card» a day later. It was unexpected and cute and let me know how she held up throughout the week. It was clear to me that they’re dog people who enjoyed having her stay with them.

Very unprofessional at best.
I contacted CD to see if they could put together a monthly package deal for late night pick-​ups. I was given the owners email and told to ask him. I didn’t hear back for a week so I sent him another email. A few days later I heard back. What the owner told me was that his manager would be in contact with me, and he cc’ed him/​her on the email. I never heard back and it’s been well over a month.
If you don’t or can’t do something, just say so. Do not tell someone you will contact them several times and repeatedly not follow-​up.
If a business is unprofessional in one area, what else is going on? Where else are they lacking? It’s never just one thing. A place is either polished or not — and I vote not.

This is to follow up to the owner’s note-​Thank you for taking the time to write a response in a public forum. I called to discuss this issue as you suggested, but that call went unreturned. I am going to address your response here–
Your holiday newsletter reported giardia in December. I alerted your staff about it in May 2010. I’m totally appalled that no one thought to report it sooner, because I discussed this with 2 staff members 7 months before your newsletter. Is there a reason they couldn’t be bothered to alert the other owners over the summer? Was it too much trouble to print a memo– or do you only alert owners of problems once a year? How many dogs were infected by December due to the negligence of your staff?
I suggest you accept responsibility for your business rather than attempting to shift the blame onto me and asking me to reexamine my review. My review was more than fair-​I didn’t go into detail about how the Common Dog *reeks* of animal waste, which FYI, is not the norm and is symptomatic of a space that is not cleaned as often as it needs to be. Let me point out that dogs contract giardia through water that has been contaminated with FECES, which means that your staff wasn’t cleaning up poop for so long that the dogs had time to eat it (which mine doesn’t), or the water was changed so infrequently that it was contaminated by a dog that had eaten poop that was sitting around until one of your workers felt like dealing with it. Your staff is painfully uneducated about dogs, and they are rude to boot. I came to pick my dog up one day and they had left the prong collar on for the full 8 hours. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? The prong is only for walking them-​if another dog had yanked on it, it could have been fatal. They seemed confused when I asked why it was on-«Isn’t that supposed to stay on?» No. It’s not. Anyone who has *any* knowledge about how to care for dogs would have known that.
The girl I mentioned in my earlier review was «having a bad day» every time I went in there, and it clearly translated in her attitude. Telling patrons to exercise their dogs before they bring them in – which another reviewer commented on as well – and how my failure to do so «makes her job that much harder» is totally unacceptable.
Best of luck to you in the future, I hope that you address these issues and improve your business rather than asking me to change my rating to make you look better.

I wanted to have a few options for where my new pup could play for the day or get boarded if I needed it. I met a woman who worked at Common Dog while shopping at petsmart — which was how I ended up trying them.
The people working there are very nice and from what I saw good with the dogs (and definitely nice to mine). She came home tired and happy. She’s a pup so a bit on the wild side and they knew how to deal with her well & said she had a great time playing with all the pups.
My negatives are that’s it’s located in a kind of crappy — hard to get to neighborhood, they don’t do pick up for Somerville, and the hours are a bit difficult for me (6:30 pm is the latest pickup — vs. Pet Companions that will allow me to pick up till 8:30pm).