The Pooch Pad

I’ve takin my baby here twice. The people here are really nice and take care of her very well. She came for full hair cut, bath, etc. for the price is good. Just make appointment before you come.

I’ve been taking my pup here for the last two years. I love this place as they are always friendly and clean. My pup comes home tired and wore out as he’s been playing all day.

Love this place! They let the dogs play all day long, and at night they go in their individual kennels. They also get comfy, freshly washed bedding at night and plenty of toys. When I’ve boarded my dog at other places (even the ones where I’ve bought the extra expensive playtimes), she’s weird when I pick her up. All of you who’ve boarded your animals know what I’m talking about! But when I pick her up after boarding her at The Pooch Pad, she’s just my regular ol’ Maya Papaya. Well, except for the fact that she’s exhausted from all the fun she’s had, and she sleeps for about 2 days straight after she gets home (which is a GOOD thing). They’ve also been super accommodating with my crazy schedule and having to change pick-​up and drop-​off times.

They love my dog and I love them for that. Very hospitable people here and great pricing. Tip* discounts for using cash.

Love this place. My pup goes here weekly for doggy day care. She gets so excited when we pull up and she knows where we are. The staff is always very nice. Pickup and drop off are quick and easy. The staff knew my dog by name after just a couple visits and my dog loves all the staff members. Pay cash go get a bit of a discount on day car costs!

My shih-​poo came outta this place grinning like the cheshire cat. She seemed to have had a good time while we were out of town. She gulped down a ton of water when we got home and threw up twice, but i think she was just really excited. She tends to yak when she over-​exerts herself. I have boarded her at a different place before and i’m pretty sure she was pissed at me for it, because they brought her out and she barely wagged her tail. «F you mom» or something. She was very happy when I got her today, I like how they spend very little time being kenneled and are given staff attention (my girl was shaky and nervous at first).

Unfortunately this is another no for me as far as dog grooming in Houston. I recently moved to Midtown and was hoping to find a groomer close by (since I was not able to get in touch with Keeley from Paw Spa Galleria for a while who was anything but great). I was happy to be able to get an appointment the next day since Ari’s hair started to get long and I wanted to shorten it to 1 ¼ — 1 ½ «but he ended up with a ½ «uneven hair which looks horrible on a tiny maltipoo. If I wanted his hair to be cut with clippers I would take him to PetSmart and it would cost me half of what I paid. In fact I took him to PetSmart on Sheppard seven weeks ago and William gave him the best cut, besides Keeley, out of six groomers I tried in Houston with a hair length I wanted. It is my bad that I thought my dog will be more pampered at some place other than PetSmart. I have to point out that I was expecting more as far as the interior of The Pooch Pad based on pictures. It did not small so good either. Also the fact that they put my dog in the yard while they brought all other dogs inside and left him there by himself made me feel unsettled. He was still there when I passed by 15 – 20 minutes later. I almost went in to take him and after seeing his haircut I wish I have had listened to my gut feeling and did it. The groomer also nicked him deep, more than anyone ever, but she at least told me about it which does not make it less painful. One last thing to point out is that I do not appreciate any place that my dog comes from after being there for hours and can’t stop drinking water. He stayed there for 6 ½ hours and obviously did not drink any. See pictures of Ari from the last night and today and decide for yourself. I think I will stop looking for a better groomer and go back to William.

I’ve brought my Pomeranian as well as my old black lab here multiple times for grooming. They always do great on my pom’s lion cut and my old man lab has been happy after leaving with a bath and blueberry facial. I didn’t give it 5 stars because sometimes it takes a little longer than the quoted time to get the grooming done.

They got me! I Dropped off my 8 lbs dog on Saturday at 3:30 pm for a night stay. I was not allowed to pick her up until 5 pm on Sunday due to the fact that they are closed on Sunday. In order to pick her up on Sunday, they charge an additional $ 25.00. This was disclosed to me prior to the drop off so all is good. So I show up at 5 pm on Sunday and the attendant tells me that I need to pay for two nights plus the $ 25 charge for Sunday pick up! Now I’m a simple man but a nights stay is a nights stay. Charging an extra day is just stealing. They do not allow you to pick up any earlier than 5 pm and if they are closed, what is the additional day’s charge for.
So attendant called what I can only assume is the owner. He handed me the phone where she starts off in a indignant tone, «you were explained the terms before you dropped off». Ah, no! only the $ 25 charge for Sunday pickup. I told this person that «they got me» and that I would never be back. She then called back and told the attendant to give me a $ 25.00 discount which I refused. My thought is if your gonna steal, than the world needs to know you’re a thief.
The bottom line is this. The total charge for a nights stay was $ 95.00! Total time was 25.5 hours which was mandated by the facility. A morning pickup should have been available unless nobody is there on Sunday morning which leads to more questions like who is feeding the animals in the morning. The price if I waited a day and picked up on Monday would have been $ 70.00 ($ 60.00 if they charged the price on their website). For $ 95.00, my dog could have got a room at Hotel Derek without being left in a wire cage for about 20 hours!
Too many choices in the Midtown/​Montrose area to get jacked by this place. Your pet deserves better.

I was in Houston for a funeral this time last year. I needed overnight kenneling desperately & Pooch Pad was available to take my medium puppy overnight from Saturday through Sunday. I read the reviews, like you’re reading this now, and I disregarded the negative ones as disgruntled primadonnas :)
They let me know the Sunday pickup would cost an extra $ 25 from the boarding fee, which was $ 35. Cool. $ 60/​night is a bit much, but for emergency services, I wasn’t going to gripe.
To my surprise, I greeted a very frantic dog and a $ 92 bill. Both delivered by a chick who apparently rolled right out of a halfway house! I understand that Sundays aren’t open to the public, but I half expected this woman (?) to take a freshly rolled *ahem* from behind her ear and light up while she was divvying up the bill. When I went over price she said «No, it’s $ 92. Flat.» No explanation. No «oh you missed the fine print here». Normally I do not play around with my money. I believe in fairness, and that’s not the price I was quoted. But seeing as though I could get prison shanked at any moment, I took the hit like a b*tch. Yeah I said it. It’s not worth my life, LOL.

From this link you can find their pricing. For pick-​up outside of normal working hours, it’s a $ 25 fee. Nightly for a medium sized dog is $ 35. Sundays (which are OBVIOUSLY outside of normal working hours, I shouldn’t be charged this fee twice) pick-​up charge is $ 25. Even IF they double charged me because it was a Sunday and also out of their business hours (which is disingenuous) the total would still only be $ 85! Where the *bleep* did she get $ 92? Where the *bleep* did she even come from? Is this a business or a Sober Living Facility? Why is my dog whining and crying and anxious to get away?
So many unanswered questions.
PASS on this place. Seems like the only people who left good reviews and get treated well are regulars. The randoms folks in emergency situations are easy prey for the chick who will shank them if they don’t pay up.

I really, really wanted to like the Pooch Pad. It was the only place that had no bad reviews and my normal places to take my pup were all booked up.
I boarded my dog over labor day when I was out of town and had a friend pick her up for me since I was getting home late. I picked her up from my friend late at night so I didn’t notice the gash on her nose until I got home. My puppy came home to me in terrible shape — she had tiny scabs all over her body, a big gash in her nose where it looked like some dog had persumably attacked her, and she had 100% liquid stools.
I called the pooch pad the next day to ask what had happened during her stay and it took awhile to get a hold of them. They finally got back to me and said there wasn’t any particular event they recall that would leave a wound like that on her. They asked if I could bring her by so that they could examine her, but I was already on my way to the vet and heading out of town the following day again and just did not have time to take her all the way over there. They said without examining her themselves they wouldn’t be able to help pay for the vet bills. Understandable, but I didn’t have time.
It turns out the liquid stools were unrelated to her stay there (it was her food), and I understand dogs play rough so the scabs were somewhat explainable, although there were A LOT. But the gash on her nose (I regret not taking a picture of it) was certainly NOT from playing rough. It was very clear that some dog had taken a bite out of her. I understand that this can happen, I really do, especially if there are a lot of dogs around like on a holiday weekend. But if you pick up your kid from day care and they have a cut on their face you’re going to want to know at least what happened. The Pooch Pad wasn’t able to provide a reasonable explanation, which is so disappointing.
They said to have the vet call them to let them know her status, but I never followed up on that as there’s not much a vet can do for some scabs, and the diarrhea was not their fault. Is this a reason to not take your pooch there? Probably not, but I won’t be back.

Elaine is awesome with my rescue dog, Dodger. It’s only walking distance from the house and they are open after 5p M-​Th. So far, we’ve only been here for nail trimming and expressing glands. Never a wait. it only takes a few minutes and we’re on our way. I want to try doggie daycare next!

I love the Pooch Pad!
When my little family (me, husband, and pup) moved to Houston, we left all of our family and friends behind. We knew that this meant no one would be able to watch our pup when we went out of town, and we’d have to find a kennel of some sort where she could stay, which I hate. A couple months before Christmas, I started calling around to find out the rates/​availability for her to stay at a kennel while we were out of town for the holidays. I started to get really worried after I talked to a couple places who were already fully booked. Then, I called Pooch Pad. They let me know that they don’t typically take reservations, but will do so for the holidays. They said they were nowhere near booked, and I had time to make a decision about if they were the right place for my pup. They explained that their boarding is $ 35 a night, and is semi-​cage-​free, meaning that during the day, the pups are in doggie day care (free to roam!) and then kenneled at night. What a steal! Most places cost more than this, and the dogs are kenneled almost the entire day. My only hesitation was that my pup, while fine with other dogs, had never gone to doggie day care before. No problem, they said. They had me bring her in for a day of doggie day care to see if it was a good fit. Bonus: first day of day care is free!!! So exciting.
As it turns out, my pup did great at doggie day care, and she actually seemed to really like it. We made reservations for her for 6 days for Christmas, and although she was not happy when we dropped her off, she seemed to be in good spirits when we picked her up. We called to check on her, and the staff was great – gave us a funny story about her jumping up in a reclining chair when it was time to head to the kennel – and never gave me a feeling like we were bothering them by calling. About a month later, we left her again for 6 days while we went on vacation, and this time my pup was excited to head into the day care when we dropped her off! Again, we called once to check on her and they happily gave us an update that she was doing great. She will end up going back for a few days a couple more times, and although I still hate the idea of leaving her with someone who isn’t family, I feel so much better knowing that she is at Pooch Pad. She seems to have fun, gets great staff reports, and comes home happy and dirty from playing with all the other doggies.
I highly recommend pooch pad if your dog is socialized and would enjoy a doggie day care style boarding! They are great and make me feel that my baby is well-​taken care of, which is priceless.
Other bonuses: 5% off if you pay cash (which is like $ 10 of savings when they stay for a week!); they separate small dogs and big dogs; they’re great about following your instructions for feeding schedules, even when it’s a little complicated (ie: ½ can of wet food mixed with one baggie of dry food twice daily).

I called Thursday and set up an appointment for my dog to stay next week. My flight leaves at 6am tomorrow (Monday) and I was in a bit of a bind finding a place for him as my normal first and second choices were going out of town. They agreed to let me drop him off Sunday between 5−6pm, and everything seemed settled.
They called me Friday evening around 6:30pm to confirm my reservation and time, but I missed their call. I called back Saturday morning around 10:30am after having my vet fax over his records. I talked to a young lady, and let her know I missed a call the night before confirming my dog’s stay for the following week. I SPECIFICALLY stated that I would be dropping him off between 5−6pm on Sunday, and she confirmed that was okay. She was short with me, didn’t ask my name or my dog’s name and I had to tell her my name quick because she almost hung up on me.
Fast forward to Sunday at 5:15pm. I pull up and the building is dark inside, no dog’s anywhere, and the gate up to the house is padlocked, and dead bolted. I called multiple times, and left two messages between 5:15pm and 5:45pm, but no one answered.
You have NO IDEA how much this inconvenienced me. If you are UNWILLING/​UNABLE to show up during a specific time, DO NOT advise someone you will be there. I cannot express the panic I felt, knowing I had less than 12 hours to find a place for my dog to stay for the week, or potentially lose my job.
I don’t know if it’s due to a lack of communication on the part of the girl working Saturday, the end of Daylight Savings, or just a complete disregard for my time, but whatever it was is COMPLETELY unacceptable.

I heart the Pooch Pad.
My sweet lab is not the most social dog (with other animals). The Pooch pad has found a way to not only take care of her happily and without complaint, but sends her back smelling sweet and clean each time.
Ive used their day care service, boarder for several days at a time as well as get them groomed here. shaving a super heavy coated lab, makes for a happy lab during the summer. They are always super friendly, offer Cash discounts and take excellent care of your pets!
Highly recommend. Thank you pooch Pad.

Took my dog here 3 – 4 times and was generally pleased with the service. But the last time (month ago), was the LAST time I go back. Picked up my dog, paid, got in the car and noticed blood on my shirt. Yes, they cut her (accidents happen), but they not only didn’t try to stop the bleeding, they didn’t even notify me of it. The cut also bled freely so it was not old. White dog, pretty hard to miss. Really loved the blood in my car and shirt before I saw the cut.
I got home and called back to tell them what they did but of course they didn’t answer. Not telling me about this was so pathetic, I would recommend NOBODY take their dog there. Who knows what will happen?
And to the owner… before you get into a word war with customers on Unilocal,showing what a jackass you are, you might just put more effort into taking care of the animals, as opposed to arguing with dissatisfied customers online. Nothing like a permanent record to show someone’s true colors.

I assume this is like if you don’t want to move because your child [the kind with opposable thumbs] would have to go to a different [read: worse] school district. That’s why I wouldn’t move. I’ve been taking my four-​legged, furry kiddo to Pooch Pad since he was around 8 weeks old — for the last 9 months. Anywhere from 1 — 3 x week.
I’ve been told it’s the cheapest place in town [pay cash and it’s only $ 20/​day]. Either way, this is definitely the best place for my 50 lb monster. They don’t baby him … but they do spoil him. He gets to run around with lots of other playful monsters, play in the pool, climb in plastic castles … and make new friends. He also is taught not to jump, how to share and nap time means nap time. He comes home exhausted and whines everytime we pass the house.
It’s disheartening to see negative reviews about a ‘rude owner.’ The only light I can shine on that is … it’s usually her and maybe 1 or 2 other staff looking after 10+ dogs, while attending to their owners, her business and answering the phone. Her first priority is making sure the dogs are safe and taken care of … so she may have been distracted. The only time she seemed distant to me was when she lost her best friend and Pooch Pad welcome committee, Max — but when I came back that eve to pick up Waylon we cried together sharing memories of how wonderful Max was … and I’d only met him months before.
She — and her staff — are in this business because they genuinely love dogs.
And if anyone would like to sponsor my man … I’d take him there everyday.
Also, I’ve only ever taken my monster to Petco for grooming but … seriously … Pooch Pad is WAY better and cheaper.

I am truly disturbed and disheartened by what my fiancé saw today at the Pooch Pad. Our two dogs have been frequenting doggie day care for several weeks now, but not after today. My fiancé and 3 other customers witnessed the owner kicking, stomping and shaking a tan colored dachsund. When one of the customers told her to stop she cussed them out and told them not to bring their dogs back. The workers looked equally distressed. Apparently she had been bitten, but that does not excuse her behavior. I have no reason to believe that my dogs have ever been abused, however, they will not be going back!!!

Rude customer service. Emailed to get questions answered and she only replied with one word answers. Took my dog there for the first time and introduced my lab to her and she completely ignored my dog. Asked to look around and she replied she was too busy. I ended up leaving with my dog and told her I didn’t feel comfortable leaving my pet. Go to midtown doggie daycare, excellent customer service and the owner actually offered to show me around !!! This lady at the pooch pad needs a customer service class !!

After the initial experience with Pooch Pad, we brought our dog back for a day. We were packing and moving our apartment and didn’t want him to a) freak out or b) be in the way.
So we brought him just for doggie day care and he was fine and we have no complaints!