Animal Crackers

My second visit to Animal Crackers today. Had me drop off my scared little cockapoo at 9:30 AM. Finally at 2:30 we called. She hadn’t been done yet. One more dog ahead of her. Really? Why didn’t they tell me to bring her in at 2:00? Why sit in a cage all day? Would humans be willing to all show up at 8 AM for a haircut if it meant sitting there all day waiting for your turn? Of course not. That is why there are different appointment times. When she got home, she ran for her water dish and drank it dry. Sorry –that is animal abuse. 6 hours in a cage with no water?
It would be simple to make appointments for a time reasonably close to when they will get to your pet. We were very unhappy and will not return.

I have been taking my golden’s here for 11 years. We moved a few years ago to Berkeley and have tried places that were closer to us. Nobody does as good of a job as Dustin. He is the best groomer and loves my pets. It may take awhile but it’s worth the wait.

Extremely poor customer service. Ignoring customers and taking others who come in after as I was waiting for a simple nail clipping. It looks like they are going out of business and by the reviews here, they may be headed there quicker than I think. I think if the owners took the time train their employees on common customer service, they may have a hope.

I’ve got a shy poochie who always hated going to PetSmart for her bath. She would pant and pace and I always hated to leave her there. Then one day, I stayed a while and found out why my dog freaks out when I take her to that dump. I vowed to never go there again (this happened the day before Thanksgiving and I was desperate to find a groomer). I needed a groomer fast but everybody was booked solid. I thought I was out of luck.
Then we called Animal Crackers and Tim squeezed us in, even though they were totally booked. What luck! We dropped both of our dogs off at about 11am and got them back at about 5pm.
I didn’t mind the long time because he did us a huge favor by taking our dogs in. I had our house cleaned, ran errands, took care of laundry and was back in time to have my two beautifully bathed & groomed cabbages back in time to look good for Thanksgiving! My pitbull’s coat looked shiny and clean, her ears were clean and she had a paw-​dicure and her toes looked great! My lab-​shepherd mix — her coat was neatly cut and groomed with her signature «poofies» around her neck sticking out just the way they always do, her paw-​dicure looked great, but more importantly, and especially being at a new place, she was not anxious, she was enjoying «hanging out», she was calm and she was happy.
Thank you, Animal Crackers — we’ve been going back to your poochie salon ever since. My shy girl likes your staff and you & your staff are able to put her at ease. Keep up the good work! See you on Friday!

My Shih Tzu’s grooming appointment was at 8 am. I checked in with them at 12:00 pm and they still hadn’t begun working on him. In fact, there were still two dogs ahead of him. They did not finish until 5 pm… no grooming appointment should take 9 hours! So basically my dog just sat in a cage all day. What most upset me is that I did not see any water dishes in the cages, and the cages are up against the window where the sun shines in (I have looked for water dishes in those cages since while doing other shopping in Palos Verdes to make sure I was reporting accurate info, and have never seen one) So basically my dog baked in the sun all day with no access to water. When we got home he went straight to his water dish and gulped for several minutes which makes me wonder if he was given any water at all. When I picked him up the woman at the front desk was complaining of back pain and how she couldn’t wait to go home, eat, and go to bed. No acknowledgment or apology for the 9 hour appointment.

My dog was never afraid of going to the groomer. I started to notice that she was very scared when I pulled up to the parking lot. They also do not make appointments its first come first serve. I would drop her off before 8am and wouldn’t get a call that she’s ready until after 1:00pm. I have noticed a huge improve since I have changed groomers.

My dog loves going to Animal Crackers and they take great care of him! I’ve been taking him there for several years and am very pleased with the haircuts but most of all how they care for him.

I waited 10 days for an appt. to shave my dog and when i made the appt i told them i wanted to make sure they don’t lift him onto a table because of his back. I brought him in (and they have groomed him before) I told him he had a bad back and didn’t want him lifted on a table. They called me 2 hours later refusing to shave him because of his back. I told them they can lift him as long as they picked up both front legs and back legs together. The girl said that one of the guys lifts the big dogs up under their stomachs. I said that was fine please do my dog. They refused. I had to come back and get my dog!

We have a Labradoodle and she comes back silky smooth and beautiful. They have a blue card on file, on which we list how we want our dog detailed (keep eyelashes, longer hair on tail and around face).

I don’t think they know how to groom poodles. I can’t wait for her fur to grow back. Will never take her back there.

I really Love to come this place to Groom my dogs ,
I have 2 Pomeranian dogs (They have a lot of hair !!!) .
They always doing a great job !

TRAUMATIZED OUR BABY — STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!!!
THEY NEED NEW MANAGERS.
We have the most loving multipoo ever. He loves everyone and everything. He loves going to doggie daycare and even loves going to the vet. He loves baths and loves being pampered.
We have taken him to Animal Crackers 4 times for grooming and will never take him there again even though it is right across the street and very convenient. With each visit he became more resistant to going. This last time, I had to pick him up and carry him in because he didn’t want to go in. When we picked him up after the visit he was very depressed and didn’t want to go on walks for 2 days (since we live nearby we walked there).
I can’t say what happens when we aren’t around, but I could never recommend this place to anyone.

After going to this business for six years the service has gone way downhill. Today, I dropped off my dogs just after 8:00am, there were only a couple of other dogs checked in. I became concerned when I hadn’t heard from them by 3:30pm, much later than usual, so I called and got the answering machine. I left to pick the dogs up (they say they must be picked up by 4:00pm). When I arrived it was dark, one women was sweeping, one clerk there, and only my two dogs left — obviously they had forgotten to make the call for me to pick them up.
That would have been OK if they’d owned up to it, apologized, things happen — but instead as I was walking through the door, before getting to the counter, the clerk was telling me it would be $ 80 and how much of a gratuity did I want to leave! I asked if they’d been busier than usual and received a curt «yes» as she gave me the receipt. The other women was getting the dogs (and telling the little one to be quiet, she was barking).
There are better, closer, alternatives for me – the rudeness and lack of customer service was enough — we won’t be back.

This place gave my dog a terrible haircut, split nails and itchy skin … and charged me $ 135 for the «privilege»! When I first called to complain, they were apologetic and said that the next grooming would be on them. So I called today to take them up on their offer and was told I had waited too long. When I said that I was never told there was an expiration date on their offer, the owner (an insincere snotty lady named Julie Westcott) then suddenly added — waaay too conveniently — that they no longer groom Chows (mine is a sweet small mix; not sure why the breed is an issue … this is a DOG groomers, right?!). No offer of a refund or store credit to use on pet treats and other (overpriced) items they sell. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Not even an insincere «sorry».
So now I am screwed out of $ 135.
The place is overpriced, overcrowded, and the dogs are locked in stacked up small cages for the entire day since it’s first in, first out with your dog. If you bring your dog in at 8:30 am, they might not be done with him until 5 pm if other owners got there before you.
Stay away from this awful overpriced, under-​delivering place. Find another groomer — I sure as hell am.

I have called to make an appointment on two occassions and both time my call has been placed on hold upon answering. The first hold time was over 3 minutes. The second time I was on hold for 7 mins. Yes, 7. I nearly hung up but I thought I would time it so I could Unilocal about it. I didn’t make an appointment becuase I felt if they can’t even answer a business phone correctly how can I trust them with my dog?! LOL!
Animal Crackers — If you are sooooo busy that you have 3 and 7 minute hold times invest in an online booking system! Just a piece of advice! :)

We have been going here since the pups were puppies. Loved this place… until our recent visit. Yesterday, I saunter in with my two furballs, tell them that they’re needing a good washing and I let them know that they’re a bit matted. They say fine, it will be a nominal charge. I walk out thinking, «great, I will have clean dogs in a few hours!»
Come back in the afternoon, dogs are shaved down (we call it their summer cut)…and the gal at the front says, «that will be $ 90…per dog».
WTF. $ 90 per dog? I don’t freaking spend that kind of money on myself… much less my dogs.
«umm…$ 90 PER dog? Why so much?»
«because they were matted so there was an extra fee involved»
«Um…the last time they were shaved, you only charged us $ 45. So basically, you’ve bumped up your prices 100%. That’s awesome.»
«yeah, $ 180 please.»
I hand her $ 200 because, let’s face it, expressing anal glands is not my cup of tea… she writes down $ 10 next to my dogs’ names…
I wonder if she pocketed the other $ 10?
Either way, we are not going back. Whoever heard of jacking prices 100% ?!

I love Animal Crackers! We have a labradoodle puppy who gets fantastic hair cuts here. They are very kind, and loving with him, and I really appreciate the open window, where I can walk in and see him being groomed, or waiting to be picked up. You can’t not like a place, where the groomers actually greet the dogs! Priceless!

what? can’t belive there are no reviews! woo hoo i get to be the first???
they love our dog — we love them for taking care of her.

Friendly groomers. They know what the dog is suppose to look like when it is all done.
My pup seems to have a good time (who really knows what is going on in his head?). I especially like the dog boxes that are in the main window. The song, «How Much is that Doggie in the Window» goes through my head every time I pull up and see it. Most of the dogs seem to enjoy the view of people walking by, but a fair number choose to nap (uh, meaning the dogs nap, not the people!).

Horrible!!! I’ve taken my dog there on several occations and the very last time that I went to animal crackers one of the men had a very potent smell of alcohol on their breath like he had a can of beer before he started grooming animals, I haven’t a clue of what happened to my dog as people where drinking on the job. There is also an older lady that grooms as well and it is very clear to see that she is unpleasant and rude. Thanks to Julie she made my dogs stay there great, she is the only reason that I wanted to continue to go however on this particular visit I felt that I should flee to a better environment for my dogs safety. I will never return and have informed plenty to stay away.