Canine Cove

Love this place! I know they’re always taking GREAT care of my dog for short or long stints!!!

This place is the best. Our dog, Lolita, is very social, but it often takes her a second to find her routine and feel 100% comfortable in a new environment. So as tended to be the case in her situation most dog day care places weren’t willing to give her the time she needed to fully accommodate herself. But Canine Cove was different, they went out of their way to work with her to make sure she was totally happy and well adjusted. And now she is one of the favorite dogs there, with staff and dogs alike! And whether that’s true or not, it’s just one of the many reasons why we didn’t think twice about moving with them when they went from from Mill Valley to Sausalito.
As a side note, when my wife and I had our first kid this month Paul, the owner, texted me and told me that Lolita could stay for free while we were at the hospital and even for a couple of days after we were out, while we adjusted to our new home life and schedsule. Totally unexpected, but super appreciated and infinitely helpful.

This place is great for dogs who are mellow or small or even both! Canine Cove just recently moved to Sausalito after the landlord decided not renew their lease in Mill Valley. Their new place is much smaller than their old one. So it’s not the best place to bring in an high energetic dog. It’s too small to release all that energy. Trust me, I’ve seen it. Keep in mind for that.
They also just started doing leashed walks around the marina! Awesome! It is at an additional cost but it’s reasonable and affordable so if you feel your pup deserves a walk just let the lovely ladies up front know!
The staff definitely cares about the dogs that come in. There are regular cuddle puddles that happen on a daily basis. Even the receptionists love going down to the play area to get to know the dogs, which I think is great!
Dogs love familiarity and routines so seeing the same people everyday makes them feel comfortable.
Another great thing about Canine Cove is their leniency on dropping off your pup for daycare. No need to call, just arrive and they will take her. BUT if you are new, YOU MUST CALL TO SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW. Canine Cove wants to ensure that your dog will get along with others and people. They do not have room for dogs that do not get along with pups and people or room for high energy dogs. Like I said the new place is too small.
Since they just moved there, a lot of stuff is under construction. Though, in time, Canine Cove is going to look great, be great and feel great!
Take your small or mellow pups here! THEY WILL LOVE IT.

This was a great place for our puppy. They would take him when other places wouldn’t, and were very caring, loving and attentive to him. Not only was he mad to get in the door as quickly as possible, he didn’t want to leave. Unfortunately they are in smaller quarters now and don’t have room for puppies.

I love the staff but have to say Paul the owner has checked out. Unresponsive, never there, but somehow this underpaid staff just makes it work. Last spring a bunch of them quite at the same time, if this happens again I am out. I think my dog is taken care of but the human owner who pays the bills is not.

If you are looking to get some stitches, staples and holes put in your dog then this is the place for you!
I’ve been taking my 4 year old lab to Canine Cove for 4 years and have finally had enough.
He has come home with cuts requiring stitches twice, a cut require staples once and has had punctures to the snout and ears more times that I can count. Best part is the staff didn’t even notice the injuries (including the last one which was a huge bloody puncture on his snout) which were all fairly obvious and had no explanation as to how they occurred.
Paul’s model of charging you an arm and a leg for daycare or boarding and then paying untrained high school students minimum wage to run the place and mind the dogs is an absolute disaster.
Oh, and on numerous occasions they have tried to give me the wrong dog back.
I could go on and on here but I hope what I’ve written is enough to convince any conscientious dog owner that leaving your dog in their care is a VERY bad idea.

I’m so glad I met Paul! I wanted to drop my dog as drop in basis.
Paul is definitely not a dog lover. I actually think he does not care about dogs at all. He seemed very insensitive and cold. While I was visiting the place I noticed the dogs were yield at and they were barking and fighting. There were clear sign of frustration in this place.
The first question he asked was where do I take my dog to vet. It’s like he is trying to find what status I fit in. My dogs looks perfectly healthy and clean. He said it directly to my face that he does not allow Pitt Bull because it is bad for business. I told him to be a little more sensitive when he is making comments about people’s pet and he shacked his head like he does not give a damn.
I love my dog. I take him to dog park everyday and he is a well behaved dog. I adopted my Pitt Bull and I have never been happier.
It was very disappointing but I’m very glad that I met Paul and I would never take my dog to this dungeon.
Paul, do you really think all Pitt Bulls should be sent to death row? You should be more cautious about your discriminatory comments about dogs’ breed.

My dog was a regular at Canine Cove for a couple of years, attending nearly every day. He has severe separation anxiety and barks non-​stop when left alone, hence the need for dog daycare and human companionship. At the time, Paul (the owner) asserted that «the dogs are not left unattended»; this appealed to me since my dog needs the company of a human to keep him happy.
Subsequently, I received reports that he was barking and became such a «nuisance barker» that Paul informed me that my dog would no longer allowed to attend daycare or board. When pressed as to why he was barking, (was he being left unattended?) Paul responded in an email that I «take my dog to the vet and get some prescription medication to sedate him daily».
If Paul were the dog lover that he professes to be he wouldn’t leave dogs unattended to become so anxious they bark incessantly, and he certainly wouldn’t recommend using daily sedatives to get them through life.

Just don’t take your dog here, PERIOD! We have only taken our pup here a handful of times this past month and decided we needed to pull her. One time she came home with a couple deep lacerations on her inner thighs and we can understand that she is a pup and likes to play rough but the cuts were quite deep. Then when we had to board her for the night (which we regret doing) she came home from that with what seems to be a swollen puncture wound on her back. She was also very skittish and would not sit down. When we examined her we saw that her «lady part» was swollen. Since we were not there we cannot confirm any inappropriate animal acts but we are quite sure something happened. So we pulled her to protect her from future incidents.
When we called the front desk to explain what happened, we were just told our pup plays too rough. That could be true but she has never gotta bite or puncture wounds when we watch over her at dog parks playing with much bigger dogs.
Needless to say we are mad and disappointed we placed our dog in such a horrible environment. If you love your dog, please look elsewhere to place them in doggie day care.

We highly recommend Canine Cove for all your boarding and Day Care needs. Its a Great place and Paul is a great owner who loves all his puppy dogs who stay with them.

We have nothing but great things to say about Canine Cove! I never imagined myself as someone that would put his dog in «daycare,» but after we adopted our little Crimson from the Milo Foundation, we soon found ourselves looking for a place that could help transition our anxious little beast into our world.
We looked at several different places in Marin, most of which were insanely self-​assured and full of attitude. Crimson was welcomed right-​in to CC with no fussy procedural BS. The original intent was for her to go get some socialization and exercise a couple times a week but we soon found ourselves taking her at every opportunity.
Every morning we would be greeted by a friendly face at the check-​in counter. Sometimes it was hard to tell who was more excited — the dog or the staff? A couple of the staff members would text us the cutest photos when the moment was too good to pass up. At the evening pick-​up, again greeted with a smiling, friendly team, each of whom somehow magically knows which dog belongs to which human. You walk in and the dog is swiftly brought to you. We’d receive a brief, anecdotal report of the goings-​on of the day and overall thoughts on her progress in socialization.
The dog played so hard everyday that she fell into a routine of napping the whole drive home, eating dinner as soon as she got home, then enjoying a lazy quiet evening at home with us. Her personality has developed into a bright, cheerful little girl with much more confidence, and we attribute this fast, positive growth wholly to the work that the CC team did with Crimson — and we didn’t even request special treatment; the staff is genuinely caring and skilled.
If we ever had special requests for the day, all were fulfilled. If it was too cold outside, Crimson would stay inside with the other little guys for the day — we never brought home a cold, grumpy, or sick dog.
We recently moved away from Marin so it’s no longer feasible for us to utilize Canine Cove. The last two days Crimson stayed there were heartbreaking, knowing she would no longer have these people in her life. We already miss her butt-​wiggling happy dance when told she was going to CC, and the loving faces that cared for her several times a week. So grateful for the service we received with Canine Cove — truly good people.

Very cool place most of the dogs love it!

Paul and his business have been a blessing for my family and I. I’ve read the reviews here and most don’t reflect my 4 years of experience at Canine Cove at all.
It’s been almost 4 years since I’ve written a review and my opinion of Canine Cove has not changed. It’s a home away from home for my pup, and she continues to be excited about her visits and return home exhausted.
Through the years the staff has changed but the level of care my pup has received has not. In an emergency, I have always been able to count on Paul to squeeze my puppy in. For instance, when my mother was unexpectedly admitted to the hospital for 6 days, they made room so that I could stay at the hospital with her. They’ve also been extremely accommodating when I’ve needed daycare to take her to chemo in SF.
Last time I picked my puppy up early, she turned around to run back into the water she’d been playing in. Not unusual for our lab to choose water over us, but it’s telling when your puppy doesn’t want to go home where she is spoiled rotten.
I haven’t been outback but my guess is that some dogs are wearing out there paws playing on cement. My pups paws have never had a problem here. But she’s young, active and must run a lot there to come home exhausted.
Lastly, i don’t know if my pup got into something or they were being nice but she was given a bath before my mom was discharged from the hospital. That was what really motivated me to write this second review today. The staff at Canine Cove have really been amazing in making our recent difficult times easier and I just want to give them the recognition they deserve.
Thanks for going above and beyond.

Terrible! I found my dog actually pulling at the leash to NOT go into Canine Cove. He used to love going there and recently, not only has he not wanted to go in, but he’s come home still full of energy and smelling odd, like he’d been laying in filth. We also would pull up hearing him Unilocaling, which is not like him at all. This is a happy dog who has always loved running and adventure and going to doggie daycare.
I started to question if they were just simply putting him in a cage and not letting him run. That seemed more to be the case after taking him to a different doggie daycare that was much smaller — and he came home exhausted and happy after a much shorter amount of time too. (And not filthy like he’d been left to lay in who knows what w/​o the ability to exercise.)
The owner has also shown no interest in the dogs whatsoever and more interested in processing transactions. Can’t say I’m in any way a fan of a place that is more interested in turning a profit than in the welfare of the animals. Yes, it’s a «business» that needs to make money, but it’s a dog SERVICE — with the primary service being to keep dogs healthy and happy — - — not fearful and put at any risk.

You know, my dog goes here a lot. This last time, last minute, they could not accomodate me. Sure, it was Thanksgiving. I understand. But my dog stays here A LOT. For long long periods of time. I should be a regular. I was sent into a frenzy trying to find a place. I found one, Black Nose Trading CO on Divis (Which, is excellent BTW)
The funny thing is, other places i called that could not accomodate me over Thanksgiving, that my dog has never been to, sent me apologies, gift cards, and discounts. Paul and Canine Cove? Nothing. Paul wouldn’t even get on the phone to talk to me about it. Had one of the high school girls who work there do it. Discount? Nah. Apology? Nothing. Are they evil? No. But maybe they are a lot better with dogs than customer service. Will i be back? Maybe. But now i am super motivated to try one of those discount cards.
Also, lately, she comes back with dog bites. Feet worn to the point of bloody. Sigh.

Okay, it has been 3 full years since I wrote about Canine Cove. They are still the VERY VERY BEST. Since I last wrote, I am cancer free, adopted another rescue dog and adopted a baby boy with my husband. Life is great but still filled with doctor appointments and I most recently broke my back.
Guess what place has been there for us through all of it? CANINE COVE! There is no way ever that our family would be able to function without the help, amazing care, pool days for the poochies on hot days, love, structure, organization, and cleanliness of Canine Cove.
Canine Cover personally gets to know each dog and their behaviors, food/​meds, and adjusts the day to each dogs needs. You will not find a better place to leave your fur babies.
My dogs love Canine Cove so much that my husband and I have to talk in «code» and call it «CC» or they start getting so excited and think they are going there.
Paul, the owner is a super star and hires people who are well trained and love dogs. My dogs are happy, healthy, and cared for when I pick them up. Plus, they get a great workout and usually tired for the rest of the day in the best way possible.
This place deserves 10 gold stars on Unilocal!
You gotta check it out!

We used to bring our dogs here all the time, but stopped after finding far superior options.
The contrast between Canine Cove and the infinitely more professional places that are available just a short drive away is frankly shocking.
No more dogs returning home with nails worn to the quick and beyond. No more dogs coming home with conjunctivitis, weight loss, or dog bites.
No more Canine Cove.

not sure the dogs are treated well here. We stopped going after two years because of some very scary stories I heard form others who had taken their dogs to canine cove.
NO excuse for mistreatment of animals!
Staff young and stupid.

Unfortunately I had to delete my raving review with «2 paws up». Recently it has seemed as though they are extremely disorganized. A little while ago they weren’t sure if they had fed my dog his lunch or not and couldn’t find his container and then most recently they returned his lunch to me and the kid said that he would not eat. We have a four month old pug beagle mix who will eat ANYTHING at all times of the day, I am pretty sure he would even eat his food while sleeping.
Also and most upsetting, the last time we came to pick him up he was in his travel crate, all alone in a separate room, which we leave there so either my fiancé or I can put him in it for his ride home. I wouldn’t mind if they put him in there for just a few minutes or even a half hour if he needed to sleep or calm down but they weren’t even sure how long he had been in there. From speaking to several of them we determined it had been over 2 hours. If we wanted to have him in a crate all day we would just leave him at home in it. Our dog does absolutely love Amy who works there and is very helpful and caring of the dogs there.

It doesn’t have a sign. They keep the lobby kind of janky looking. They don’t video cam your dog. They don’t have swimming pools or astro turf. Or flat screen TVs. It’s how they keep the riff-​raff out. And that’s how we like it.
The owner’s there most of the time. And everyone there is super nice and low-​key. And my dog, who’s afraid of everything (buses, plastic bags, men, power cords, swiffers…), absolutely loves it there.
Because they don’t put them in cages. Because they screen the crazy dogs out. Because instead of taking them for a daily walk, they just play all day. Or sleep in the office with the people.
And because Porter loves it, I love it too.