Central Bark Doggy Day Care

Everyone at Central Bark is super nice and they always show my pooch lots of love, but lets face it, everyone does because he’s super adorable. The service is always prompt and professional and they even agreed to give my shall we say snarky kitty a bath and haircut. You can’t go wrong with Central Bark!

They always do an amazing job with my 10yr old dogs grooming. They treat her like family and they never let us down!

Love this place. We used to frequent Dogtopia when we lived in California so I’m basing my past experiences on that. They have grooming services which are half the price of our vet (nail trim, butt squeeze). It’s fantastic that they are literally 500 feet from home. I only wish their hours were a little later, I’m sure 7pm works for most but 10pm would be awesome for me. Everyone is super nice and our puggle is always happy.

My dogs love this place. All it takes is me picking up their doggy beds (which I only do if I’m bringing them to dog boarding) for both of them to prance around the apartment (literally, paws can barely stay on the ground) with big doggy smiles on their faces. When I drop them off, they dash to greet the owners and then dash back to the other dogs. While difficult to accept that they aren’t sad about seeing me go, I’m, of course, truly delighted. How wonderful to be able to leave your dogs somewhere they love, with people who adore them, and have peace of mind that they are well taken care of, well-​loved, and happy while you are gone.
(My dogs have stayed at other boarding places and at friends’ places, repeating nights at certain places, and they have never, never, never been gleeful about my departure… Central Bark makes them wish I was always gone. :))

I used to take my dog to get groomed at a different place. The last two times we took him there we noticed he wasn’t as clean. We really were disappointed with the service, so I went to Unilocal and found a groomer who was highly rated, but she had moved far from my location. She referred me to Central Bark and I made the appointment. I was very impressed, I received a call the day before confirming our appointment. I was also very impressed with the level of service I received when I got there and with their concern in making sure I was very happy with his grooming. Needless to say, I was very happy, and he smelled GREAT. Highly recommend taking your dog to be groomed here.

Central Bark was recommended to me by a close friend when we moved to this neighborhood. Bonnie, Christine and all the staff at Central Bark are awesome and it is obvious that they love my pup, Ginger. And, even more importantly, Ginger equally loves it at Central Bark! As soon as we get in the door, Ginger wants to race to the play room so she can hang out with all her doggy friends. The facility is great — space for bigger and smaller dogs, and a wonderful outside area as well. I highly recommend Central Bark if you live in the area!

Our boys have been receiving fabulous day care from Bonnie, Christine and the phenomenal staff at Central Bark for almost a year now. The pups also get their grooming done here. The facilities are beautiful, spacious and spotless. The care they receive is top notch. Our boys love going and we love knowing that they are in a safe, loving and affordable environment. I cannot imagine a better place for our beloved boys.

We’ve been going here for 6+ months and love it. Our golden retriever gets great exercise, makes other pup friends, and gets plenty of treats and love from Central Bark. Bonnie and the rest of the staff are extremely friendly and care a great deal about the dogs. Couldn’t ask for a better place for our dog to get to run around and play while I’m at work. I can’t recommend this place enough!

Central Bark in Grayslake is an absolutely amazing facility – physically, emotionally and personnel wise. The owners, Kevin & Laura Bloss are adamant dog lovers themselves and would personally adopt every needy dog if they could! They are completely «hands on». My Golden Retriever, Cayman, went to Central Bark regularly from the day they opened until we lost her at 14 years old last October. Cayman HATED to walk into the Vet for any reason – but she literally pulled me into Central Bark like a child going on a play date. If you want your dog to have fun and be well cared for and loved when you are not around then Central Bark is the place to investigate. Every person I have referred comes back and thanks me. Sincerely, Jan Leasure, President, Diamond Residential Mortgage, 60 048

Can I give Central Bark 7 stars? Because if I could, I would! We started taking Foster to Central Bark almost 2 years ago and Bonnie and the CB staff have become like family during that time.
Here are some of the reasons Foster and I love Central Bark:
–Smaller, more structured playgroups
–More people playing with the dogs and supervising activity time, more than I’ve seen at some of the other, larger facilities in Chicago
–One of the BEST things for Foster is the 2 hour nap from 12−2pm each day. Some dogs have a hard time playing all day without a break and will act out or behave badly as a result. Foster is one of those dogs so naptime is fantastic!
–Reasonable prices
–Customer service. I can’t say enough about the customer service!
Truly, the people at Central Bark know and love my dog as if he was their own. They know him (and my boyfriend and I) by name when we come in the door, they know Foster’s nuances and can always tell me how his day was and who he played with when I pick him up. It seems like a small thing but this 1:1 personalized service is hard to find at other daycares.
I also love the pictures! On most days, Bonnie takes pictures of the dogs and posts them to Facebook so the doggie parents can see what they’ve been up to. It regularly provides a much needed afternon laugh.
Central Bark is a stand out place for dogs and Foster is lucky to have Bonnie as a fairy God mother. I highly recommend them for your 4 legged buddy!

I am writing to respond to Bonnie’s comments. Bonnie, I am sorry but you never called me. No voicemails and no one called me, period. That is the reason I wrote the review. There would never had been an issue if you all had done just that… called to check on him! I did indeed speak with someone about a week later but it was because I CALLED to inform you all of Stanley’s condition and to let you know he was feeling better. It was NOT because anyone called me. I want that to be clear. That is the whole reason I wrote the review I wrote. Lack of concern and professionalism. I am sure things are better there (I hope) and I wish you all well. But the truth is the truth and the facts are the facts. I want to be sure you are aware of that.

My girlfriend took her Samoyed here for a deskunking and groom. (haha on the skunking)
Anyhow, the groomer was very knowledgeable and helped her decide the proper way to trim him down for the heat.
Her pooch, Samson, came back fresh and with a beautiful groom. He looked like a slimmer and very neat, brand new dog.
We will go here again.
Prices were par for the groom and nails.

I take my pup to the Animal Sense training at Central Bark’s facility. I’ve met the owner and some of her staff, they seem caring with a genuine love for dogs! The facility is always clean, well taken care of, and they seem to have a nice selection of treats and gear for all dogs.
Next time we go out of town, our baby will be in good hands at Central Bark!

I was really impressed with the place overall and how friendly and understanding Bonnie was.
Unfortunately, my dog did not pass the test and was unable to stay.
If things would have been different I would have definitely planned on using Central Bark.

We wouldn’t take our dog anywhere else in Chicago!!! Bonnie has been so accommodating with our schedule and our mutt always comes home happy and tired. We think that if he could stay here round-​the-​clock, he probably would. The staff also takes photos of the dogs playing and creates a new album every month on their website so all the owners can see their dogs playing with everyone else! It’s fun to see who our dog hangs out with.
Our dog is easy to bath, so we haven’t used these services, but CB trims his nails occasionally and they do a great job, for a reasonable price. There is also a nice selection of high-​quality dog toys, treats, and dog food.
Thanks Central Bark!!!

The staff here are so friendly, helpful and very attentive. The times I have called to make grooming appointments and have gotten voicemail… I get a call back right away. Bonnie has also been accomodating when I’ve had to drop of Duke early to an appointment.
My 4 legged friend is on the shy side since he was rescued from a puppy mill. When it came to handing over my dog, the groomer did a fantastic job of helping us start right in his new home. She offered to clean his teeth and ears, which normally would have been extra, but she wanted to make sure he had a good start in his furever home. I was so appreciative of such a kind gesture.
The only thing I wish they’d do is give doggies a bandana after a grooming. ;P My brother takes his dogs elsewhere and they simply look adorable with their clean coats and neck accessory. :)

Best dog place EVER.
Three lines is not enough room
to express my joy :-)

I’ve never had my little angel groomed before but with the changing weather she was in bad shape and needed something quick! I picked Central Bark from the many positive Unilocal reviews, and couldn’t be happier.
From the moment I called for an appointment until I picked up my sweetly scented, shiny dog, everything was perfect! The owner is extremely friendly and the groomer took the time to listen to what I wanted and explained what was best for my girl’s fur type. She’s never looked or smelled better and was completely happy when I picked her up.

Central Bark is awesome!!! I adopted a very odorifous, matted pup over Memorial Day weekend, and he needed grooming like no one’s business! Everyone in the city was booked. I thought I’d give Central Bark a try based on the Unilocal reviews. As it turned out, the reviews were well-​earned.
I spoke with Bonnie on the phone and explained the situation. Initially, she didn’t think she had any availability, but she took my number and aksed to call me back. Within ten minutes she called and said she spoke with her groomer, and he agreed to do a late afternoon appointment for us. Wonderful!
When I arrived for the appointment, Bonnie and the groomer (George??) were very friendly and handled my pooch very well. I got a phone call 15 mintues before he was done, and when I arrived he was all done! He was beautifully groomed, smelling great, and very happy!
Thank you, Bonnie! I would definitely recommend this business.

Full disclosure: Bonnie, the owner, is a Unilocal friend, and we had bonded over our mutual love of dogs. I went here today with my two dogs to meet her two for a play date.
It’s a fantastic facility! Plenty of indoor and outdoor space for dogs to romp and exercise. It’s very clean with no obvious doggy smell. The best thing about it is that you can tell how passionate Bonnie is about dogs and their well-​being. She truly cares about animals and it shows in every aspect of her business — from the people that work there, to how much the dogs love her.
Four paws up for Central Bark!