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The Dog Haus Reviews (1)

Review: My dog contracted hookworms, almost certainly from Dog Haus day care. The employee's and owner failed to report a key symptom of poop eating for a month. When confronted with hookworm results, the failure to report symptoms, the poor cleanup practices as photographically documented, and lack of parasite screening requirements for day care, [redacted] was evasive and tried to blame us.

From second visit, we had ongoing dialogue about how our dog came home with diarrhea after day care. Every time we would go in we would ask about his poops as the symptom started shortly after first attending, and asked about treats or other things that might be contributing to the sudden diarrhea. [redacted] suggested that it was probably drinking too much water. Our vet informed us that this is not possible based on Dog physiology and suggested maybe stress as the diarrhea was the only symptom and intermittent. Little did we know the Dog Haus employees were hiding the fact that our dog was eating poop at day care.

We found out about the poop eating accidentally when my wife asked if he had eaten his lunch, since after a month of untreated parasites, he was losing his appetite. The employee said "yup, he gobbled it right up." To which, my wife responded with a surprised "really?" since his appetite was starting to get very sketchy. After a little back and forth, it turns out the employee thought my wife said POOP, not FOOD! And more digging revealed that apparently our dog was an avid poop eater at day care. They assumed we just knew. Of course this had never happened at home since we clean up immediately and take him out on a lead for bathroom breaks. And since poop eating is a symptom of parasites which he did not have before attending day care.

We had a meeting with [redacted]. She suggested that poop eating is fairly common and around 10% of there dogs eat poop. She suggested that her staff might not have communicated it well because of shift changes and because poop eating is so common at The Dog Haus. Note that we had the diarrhea conversations both at drop off and pick up with both shifts of employees many times over during the month. She did try to appease us, then left us with a comment that made me feel uneasy due to the cynicism of it. She said her and here employees frequently joke about whether they would rather have a poop eating dog, or one that rolls in poop?

Anecdotally, by way of conversation with other day care providers, 10% is very high, and likely due to a parasite being passed around at The Dog Haus. It also begs the question, why is there so much opportunity to eat poop at the facility. And are other pet owners informed when their dog eats poop at daycare?

After finding out about the poop eating we promptly had our pet tested for parasites. The result came back positive for hookworm. We immediately pulled our pet from daycare and informed [redacted], passing along our vet’s opinion that the most likely place of exposure was day care.

[redacted] responded evasively. She pointed to various different behavioral causes of poop eating in dogs ignoring the fact that it is a symptom of parasites. She also suggested our dog got it at home from sniffing while on walks, in spite of the fact that symptoms started when there was still a foot of snow on the ground. She also pointed out that the our pet sometimes had fiber in his poop from a toy or something which is likely given that our dog was a teething 8 month old puppy when he started day care. This ignores the fact that no amount of fiber causes HOOKWORM.

Looking back, it was a mistake to choose Dog Haus. It is noteworthy that top tier doggy day care providers require regular negative fecal exam results before taking on a pet unlike Dog Haus. They also give full tours. We were never given a tour of the back where they let the dogs out. We did walk through to see it from the back parking lot on the last day of care and took photos of feces collected within the pen, and streaks of feces leading from the pen to the storm drain in the parking lot. There was feces strewn about outside of the run and along the edge of the run as well.

A direct quote from one of [redacted]’s defensive email:

“In regards to the fecal exams, we do not require them for several reasons:

*because they don't always show a true result (as noted in the article I listed below)

*each dog is followed by a vet (as shown by the vaccine requirements) and each vet has their own thoughts on fecal testing and will discuss that with [redacted]s

*we use thorough cleaning processes inside and outside to address all health concerns associated with having dogs interact and having humans and dogs interact”

I do not trust Dog Haus, and believe their problems are systemic starting with [redacted] who lacks the character and professionalism to take ownership and lead a team. She also shows an appalling lack of concern for the pets in her care, all of which were exposed to hookworm in here environment. I do not have faith that the issues will be resolved. I strongly advise against trusting them with your pet.

Our pet is recovering quite well and has his normal energy back, his appetite back, and his poops are normal. This is good news considering the long term damage and even death that can be caused by untreated parasites.

As an aside, no refund was offered for the unused portion of our day care package, which when compared to the well being of my pet, is not such a big deal. It is just one more fact supporting [redacted]'s lack of professionalism.Desired Settlement: I would settle for an apology and refund for unprovided services. We have four unused days on a five day package.

Business

Response:

We addressed all concerns with this customer via professional and thorough verbal and written communication, and put a refund in the mail the next business day after their email complaint was received (this was mailed today 4/7/14). We do not feel this review is accurate or truthful. We stand by our policies and the experience that all of the dogs have here at The Dog Haus. We do give complete tours of all areas, including a visual tour of areas where dogs are loose and customers cannot be allowed in the area for insurance purposes. We welcome all feedback and continue to strive for an even better experience for all customers and dogs.

Business

Response:

I attempted to resolve concerns that the person had via a verbal conversation, and we put plans in place that go above and beyond our normal procedures to accommodate their concerns and they continued to bring their dog in to daycare at our facility.

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Description: Pet Day Care, Pet Services, Pet Kenneling Services, Pet Boarding & Kennels, Pet Grooming, Pet Training, Pet Transporting, Pet Sitting Services, Pet Boarding - Dogs, Pet Training - Dog, Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services (NAICS: 812910)

Address: 410 Atlas Ave, Madison, Wisconsin, United States, 53714-3106

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www.thedoghaus.biz

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Shady, yet now dead: once upon a time this website was reported to be associated with The Dog Haus, but after several inspections we’ve come to the conclusion that this domain is no longer active.



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