Dogma Dog Care

If you have small dogs like I do, DON’T LEAVE YOUR BABIES HERE! I tried this place out in December of 2015 before Christmas, and the fact that they weren’t already booked should have been a red flag for me. I chose this place because my regular place K-​9 Coach was booked. I have a 4lb and 10lb Yorkie. The main criteria in me choosing a place was I did NOT want my boys to be crated especially since they were staying several nights. The small dog area does not actually exist. Don’t be fooled by the advertising and what they tell you over the phone. They have rented out the small dog area to a training company, so this room is not currently used as a play area for the small dogs. Instead, the small dogs are either put in the large dog area or crated. If I knew that the small dog area was not actually used for the daycare or boarding clients but the small dogs are just thrown in crates, I would have boarded my babies at their vet and saved some money. I didn’t find out until after dropping my boys off and calling several times inquiring as to why I hadn’t seen in small dogs on the webcam, that they don’t actually use the small dog area anymore. You would think that since I was so interested in accessing the webcams and confirming that they had working webcams, they someone would have been upfront with me to let me know that unless in the small dog outside area, my dogs would be crated the entire stay. I will say, the staff was very friendly and they even called me about my 4lb Yorkie’s «little red rocket» that kept making an appearance. The facility is also extremely cute.

Poor Customer Service!!!
Was looking for a groomer after my regular groomer at Petsmart transferred to another store farther away. Called Dogma to set up an appointment. Talked to a girl at the front desk and she took down my information and said she would have the groomer to call me… Never Happened!!! Several days went by and I called them to let them know they lost a new customer… Call people back if you want new customers and good reviews!!!

Great day care! über good grooming !
Friendly staff and always a cute puppy behind the counter to greet the customers!
A «huge !» (as Donald Trump says) selection of doggie treats and toys!
Our dogs come home smelling like roses! Which is good cause when she brought them to the groomers at Dogma they smelled like «Rose Plant Fertilizer «
Keep you precious pet happy and Dogma-​ize them!
:)

I had to go on a business trip so I decided to board my dog with Dogma Day Care. When I dropped him off, he had 2 working eyes. When I picked him up, he had 1 working eye and one red, stolen eye. After 24 hours and no improvement, I took him to the vet for the small price of $ 250.
Turns out his eye was scratched and he developed an ulcer in the 72 hours that he was in their care. When I called, they explained that they aren’t responsible for anything that happens to my dog in their care and I can call the next day and speak to someone else. I called the next day and they said they spoke with the handlers but apparently nobody knew anything about anything. (of course) The owner says they can’t be liable because I can’t prove they did it. Yet they offered me 2 free day care days and a bath. Why in the world would I allow them to care for my dog if they’re ruining his eyes???
If you love your pet, find another place to board them.

I have been bringing my large dog here for a few years and have been satisfied with her care. Each time I bring her, she eagerly runs into the building which I think is a good indication that she doesn’t mind being there.
Do I wish there was a Doggie Palace she could go to and get 1 on 1 pampering when I’m away? — Sure I do. But until that day arrives, Dogma is great for my beloved dog.

This place is truly awful. My 7 month old puppy began going once my boyfriend and I were both working full-​time, refusing to leave him in a crate all day. The temperament test went fine. The next day he stayed for a full day. When I picked him up, he was not only incredibly hot– almost as though he had been sitting outside in the sun for at least the last two hours– but he didn’t cool down until we got home (20 min drive + blasting A/​C). When we got home he was clearly dehydrated, as he drank two full bowls consecutively. We didn’t have many options for our little guy so he continued to go. Biggest. Mistake. Ever.
One day shortly after I went to pick him up, as normal. When I went to put him in the car, I noticed an OPEN WOUND on his face. I immediately marched back in and demanded to know why my sweet, sweet puppy had an open and fresh wound on his face. The lady at the desk had no idea what I was talking about (!!!). To me, this was indicative of how clueless the staff can be. How does an incident like that go unreported? Paying for day care, you assume your dog’s safety is absolutely guaranteed– especially after the temperament testing policy. He was also groomed that day. He smelled great, but his paws were almost as though he had a pedicure. All calluses and roughness was removed, which anyone who knows anything about dogs knows that the roughness protects the sensitive paws underneath. A couple days later, his paws were absolutely burned to pieces. Skin was hanging off. They were cracking. His paws were absolutely raw and red. Another day I picked him up and he smelled like he had rolled in urine, so I requested to have him bathed again the next day. When I came to pick him up at the time I listed on the sign in sheet– he was OUTSIDE after I had specifically requested to limit his outdoor activity due to his paws AND they had not even started bathing him. Not cool. I said I would wait because I knew he needed a bath and didn’t want him stinky over the weekend. When I FINALLY got him home, he had a terrible reaction to whatever they used. This didn’t happen the first time he was groomed, so it was indicative that something new had happened. This go around, the cologne smelled like it was straight from the mouth of a Bath and Body Works clad baby prostitute. Clearly, they had applied scented lotion to him that was NOT meant for dogs.
I don’t doubt that the people who work here like dogs, but I question their knowledge of how to actually properly care for the dog. Won’t be going back. Looking for new places closer to home.
I would NOT recommend this place to anyone looking for a place where they can rest assured their pup is in good hands.

What a traumatizing experience for me and my dog– well mainly for myself because I am aware of what horrible care they provided. I took my almost-​6 month puppy for a temperament test and from what was reported, she did pretty well. She stayed at the facility for about 8 hours. A few days later I took her in for 2 nights, 3 days for memorial weekend AND WHAT A NIGHTMARE.
1. I was told she would sleep in a kennel at night. On both, Friday and Saturday night she was in a room full of big and little dogs. I was checking out the websites webcam at around 11:30pm and 12:30 am just seeing how she was sleeping and she was not! She was roaming in a room with other dogs– ALL NIGHT. she is a puppy and if she isn’t given a kennel and separation from other dogs SHE WILL NOT SLEEP! It broke my heart to watch her wander around in the middle of the night and always be vigilant of surroundings.
2. When I picked her up I asked the young lady at the desk if my puppy was given her heartworm and flea meds that day– as requested and payed for. The young lady said, «well it’s not in her box so I assume it was given to her.» What the &$@@! I checked my dogs coat and there was no oily residue from the topical solution anywhere to be found. I asked the woman again and she assured me that IF it was administered it PROBABLY washed off because the dogs were playing in the water that morning. No way, lady! No f$@&ing way!
3. My dog came home underweight, you could see her ribs. It looked like she did not eat and she was very dehydrated as evidence of the amount of wear she drank once home. Remember, her stay was only for 2 ½ days!
4. She had a back or hind leg injury. She walked with a very bad gait and it was heartbreaking to see her like that. It wasn’t about 2 days later (today) that she is walking somewhat normal again. I was able to give her some pain relieving meds that her vet prescribed. 2 bucks to the drain.
5. She was playing all day and it seems as if she did not have any naps or breaks– as I requested on her sheet before admitting her since she is a puppy. Her paws were raw and very pinkish like. She Unilocaled when I tried to touch her hind paw.
6. The day after I picked her up she had diarrhea all day and was very lethargic and weak. She basically stayed in her bed all day and inhaled her food since she was pretty hungry.
In all, I would NOT recommend this place to anyone with a dog– especially if they have a small, young pup who needs extra attention and needs. Please re-​think where you leave your dog and be mindful that Dogma Dog Care will not care for it– it was only looking to overpack their facility for memorial weekend and extra $$$. Never taking my dog anywhere near that place again.

I boarded my 8 year old miniature schnauzer, Rocco, from May 14-​May 18 for the first time at Dogma. I read the Unilocal reviews prior to making a reservation and was already somewhat hesitant, but being new to the area I didn’t have many options. When I visited Dogma on Monday, May 11 for a temperament test I was given a tour and had the chance to ask several questions. I specifically asked if I could bring some of Rocco’s items from home so that the separation wouldn’t be so hard on him. The woman giving me the tour assured me that was ok, said I could bring his bed (as long as it was a reasonable size) dog bowls, food and toys. And that is exactly what I did. I packed everything up, with labels with Rocco’s name and printed out an information sheet with all the details about his toys, treats and so on.
When I dropped Rocco off for boarding on Thursday, May 14, the gentlemen who checked us in had quite the attitude in telling me that I couldn’t bring dog bowls and that they would be lost and not returned to me. I informed him that I was already on my way to the airport and using car service so I wouldn’t be able to take the bowls with me and leave in the car until my return. He offered no help and was adamant in saying, «the dogs here use our bowls and yours will get lost and not be returned.» As a first time boarding client I can tell you that is not the impression you want to leave on your clients! You can’t keep track of bowls and you expect me to feel comfortable leaving my pet with you? Not sure if that is their policy or not, as I was told just a few days earlier that I could bring his bowls from home, but either way, there is a better way to handle that situation. I feared that someone with such poor customer service skills would be handling my dog and that had me very worried.
I picked Rocco up yesterday afternoon and that was pretty much the icing on the cake. When I arrived around 330, Rocco was brought out to me and his butt was covered in poop. It was dried and hard which clearly meant it had been there for a while. I realize I didn’t pay for him to be bathed while he was there but how do you let poop sit on a dog’s backside for days on end? The insides of his paws were red and raw. Then no one could find his bed which had me wondering if it was ever placed in his suite. His bowls were returned to me with tape on them and the words, «do not use». I didn’t receive any feedback on how he did (like the progress reports from daycare) or any of his leftover treats and the can cover to his dog food.
Clearly I won’t be coming back and I warn anyone that truly cares for their pet to rethink using Dogma. I have since been referred to DogVacay and will use them in the future..

Our dogs love Dogma! We can’t say the word around them because they start jumping up and down and walking to the car :-). They love the people and the one stop shop facility. I also love the fact that I can watch them on the cameras which petsmart and other places don’t have and someone on site 24hrs.
The owner is always pleasant and the staff loves our dogs like they were their own.
I used to take them to Happy Paws Pet Camp. The facility was small and dated and I didn’t think very clean and I didn’t feel my pet got personal attention and that the staff cared. When owner asked why the dogs haven’t been back, I told her they go to Dogma now, she flipped out.

We have recently used Dogma to board our dog and have been extremely disappointed. Our 6 month old puppy had been fully potty trained for two months before we boarded him for a week and now he is peeing in the house (he has had TWO accidents and has only been home for 4 hours). When he got home he couldn’t get enough water. He was dying of thirst. Not to mention he had a ton of meals that they didn’t feed him and he has a gash on his ear…

After an eventful groom, Dogma knew I was upset with the groom Sophie received and offered to make it right. Customer Service is very important to me and I am impressed with the way Dogma handled this situation.

I dropped my dog off for a temperment test and grooming. No problems and staff was very professional. The groomer did a great job and my dog is a chow mix with lots of fur, which is not easy to cut. I highly recommend Dogma for anyone in the area. I will be bringing Riley Roo back for sure.

It’s been 2 years since I last boarded my dog here. The last time I did they brought me the wrong dog when I came to pick him up. Luckily they were able to find mine. They were about to groom him.
So it had been 2 years and I thought I would give them another try. As most pet owners would agree; our animals are our children and we need to feel reassured that they Are in good hands. I did not feel this way when I left. The young lady at the front desk was all business with me and had me questioning leaving my dog there the entire time I dealt with her and even more so when I left.
Here is the worse part. I picked him up yesterday, brought him home and immediately gave him a bath. I couldn’t believe what I saw. SORES all over him… OPEN WOUNDS! I am not sure if I am more angry or upset. And who is watching the dogs when they play?! How did he get so beat up?!?
Luckily my dog is okay because he is a trooper but I wouldn’t recommend the feeling I had yesterday on my worst enemy.

This place was okay. The rates are reasonable and it seems to be fairly well-​kept. I boarded my dog here a couple times and the 3^rd time I got him back, he came down with an eye infection that night, so that was a fairly pricey vet visit the next day. I don’t know how he got it, but I suspect another dog had it and they maybe didn’t notice. Either way, I have been bringing him to another place and he loves it there.

We just moved to this side of town and were looking for a «do-​it-​yourself» dog washing location. We found Dogma online and gave it a shot. The woman at the front desk was friendly and when we asked if somebody was available to grind our dog’s nails, she was accommodating. A man took our dog to the back and was back 5 minutes later stating she did well. We then took her to wash her ourselves. The tub was awkwardly placed and we were not given very many tools to groom her. We have been to other locations (namely That Dirty Dog in Alpharetta) and they had tubs that you could access on both sides and gave you more than enough helpful supplies. Our biggest concern was that as we were washing her, we realized one of her paws was bleeding. We figured it would stop and she would be fine. We got her home and found that two of her claws were still bleeding and continue to bleed after an hour. We completely understand that sometimes the quick can be cut when trimming dog nails, but that is why we have «professionals» do this. We are very disappointed that this is the result of the service we received. We will not be going back, for grooming or for boarding.

I am split down the middle when it comes to Dogma. Overall, I am not impressed. I have only taken my dog (Abby, Australian Shepherd) for grooming, so I can’t speak for the day care or boarding.
Pros:
1) Extremely clean facility
2) Great play area for dogs
3) Great location for where I live, much easier than taking my dog to the vet where she usually gets groomed
4) Good selection of merch in their store area
5) Nice open play area outside for the dogs
6) You can call and get an appointment the day of.
7) There was an ADORABLE grey kitty that sat on the desk while i checked in.
Here’s where things get rough.
I was super excited when I called Dogma at 7 AM and was able to get her in for a noon grooming appointment! We came in at 11:50 and there were two women standing at the desk. One was on the computer, the other talking to her. No one bothered to look up and greet me. Finally, after a couple minutes of shop talk, they decided to pay attention to me, the customer. That’s one of my major pet peeves. People need to be professional enough to atleast greet customers. I also found the sign in sheet a little confusing and there was another sheet about grooming I filled out. At other places, I am able to speak to the groomer directly about what I want done.
Abby freaked out when they took her back to the grooming area (which is visible through a large glass window, which I like). She never acts like that when I take her to get groomed at the vet. Anyway I walked over to the window to check on her, as she was barking and whining incessantly. The lady who took her back rudely reprimanded me with, «you know she’s only barking because she can see you.» Um, no. She never acts like this and I was just checking on her. I left and went about my day. At 3, I got an awkward phone call from the groomer. I went to pick Abby up. There was a couple with two dogs in front of me checking in for boarding. Once again, the lady at the desk didn’t bother to greet me. It took them an absurd amount of time to get the other two dogs checked in. The lady at the desk was incredibly disorganized and the attendant that came to get the two dogs looked less than thrilled with his job.
Finally, they got around to me, but they tried to give me the wrong dog! They tried to give me this cute brown and white dog. I nicely reminded them that no, Abby is an Aussie and is grey and white. Finally, I walked into the grooming room and pointed her out myself.
Basically, nothing major went wrong, but the staff was extremely rude, the whole ordeal was a hassle and I will not be using Dogma again. I would rather take my dog to the vet groomer.

I had just adopted my boxer and decided to take her to Dogma so that she could have playtime with other dogs every so often. On the first day, they conduct temperament testing to see how well your dog interacts with the handlers and other dogs. Well, I dropped my dog off at around 6:30 that morning and all seems well until I check my voicemail around lunch time and listen to a message left by one of the managers. According to the manager, they could not accept my dog into their daycare because she got into a fight. I returned his call to get more details as to what happened because my dog is certainly not aggressive and had NEVER been in a fight. I was told that they completed the temperament testing on her, and she did fine when she was with a smaller group of animals. The problem occurred when she was added to the main play area, which contained more than 20 dogs. One of the dogs in that play group repeatedly jumped on her, and then she decided to attack him. I explained to the manager that this was normal behavior for dogs, and asked if she could just be put into a smaller play group. He said that they didn’t have any smaller play groups, and that my dog would not be accepted into their daycare. Since then, I have allowed my dog to go into other boarding and daycare facilities, and she has done just fine. I would never return to this facility again.

Woohoo, what an awesome feeling to find a place you can leave your dog and not have to worry!
Our dog Keller came home completely wiped out and happy from his first day at doggie daycare, and I have a feeling he’ll be thrilled to go back. I really like the report card they gave us about his day, you can tell they give them a lot of attention.
Honestly, its so cool I wish I could work there :)

Dogma dog care in Smyrna is the best facility for your pets. Large layout for dogs to roam around and play with their friends. The staff is PetTech certified in first aid, safety and care for your pets. Inquire about private luxury suites with custom themes. It’s convenient to drop off while traveling to the airport.

Great place but false advertising. There website said that they charged $ 21 per day. However, when my wife went to pick our dog up after 4 days of boarding she was told the charge was $ 38 /​day (this was because he was a larger dog). This is just deceptive. The care was great and they offer a cage-​free environment (again a big bonus), but they should change their website to reflect the true prices they charge for large dogs. I know they are new and I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt for that. Otherwise, I would have given a 5 star rating