A Dog's Life

 

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Katherine L.

Santa Clara, CA

I love the puppy socials at both the Palo Alto and Sunnyvale.  The one in Palo Alto has less people and puppies, but has more space and toys.  The one in Sunnyvale has more people and puppies, but is smaller and is sometimes difficult.  There are more puppies, resulting inthere are more accidents....therefore, there's less play time because you have to go fetch your dog and hold him/her.

The training at the Palo Alto location with Ruthanna is really good.  I am enrolled at the training at Petsmart too, and at Petsmart their training consist of the trainer talking for half an hr then walking your dog around the store for half an hr.  It was a waste of my time.  I can walk my dog on my own time.  But the training at A Dogs life is great!

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S L.

San Jose, CA

I love taking Mochi to the Puppy Social on Sunday Mornings. The best thing is that once they start going as a puppy they can keep going for as long as you want to go! when we first got Mochi she was really shy and Janelle and Nancy really paid close attention that she didn't over stimulated, they were eventually able to get her out of her shell. And now Mochi has "graduated" over to the active side for playing.

they separate the dogs by temperament, and they watch that your dog doesn't get hurt, overstimulated, or bullied. They really are great.

The only problem is that well, its PUPPY social so there are a lot of Accidents, and then you have to wait for them to clean up the mess.

the Socials are a lot more organized than Downtown Dog', which i also take Mochi too.

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yvonne g.

Cupertino, CA

My good friend Lise and fellow dog lover introduced me to her dear friend Tracey Lee Davis after I shared my Marley stories.

We decided to give A Dogs Life a try and were lucky to schedule an evaluation for Marley and to get him in -- this place books up fast and for good reason.

When Ginger arrived, we knew we couldn't leave both dogs home alone. It was too risky to leave our two dogs -- who didn't grow up together nor have lived with each other very long -- unsupervised. We were very fearful of coming home to see one or more injured pups. So for a few days, I dropped Marley off prior to going to work. Marley had a wonderful time playing and got his run on. :)

The staff are knowledgeable, caring and friendly -- you can tell they enjoy working there and really care about the dogs. Their hours are flexible making it easier for me to pick him up.

My only challenges -- given that I live in the East Bay, work in the South Bay, and have a demanding work schedule, it's hard to schedule an evaluation during the weekdays (evaluations appts aren't scheduled on the weekends) and it's a challenge to do half-days for their first doggie day care. But once we got those out of the way, it has been a breeze. :)

Ginger just passed her temperament test, and we're looking forward to bringing them both there. This will be supplemental to their jaunts with Woofwalks :)

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Katherine H.

Santa Clara, CA

This place is perfect for Toby.  He came back happy and clean : )  The staff is very friendly , the prices are reasonable, and the facility is very clean.  My Toby is definitely going back for all his baths and grooming needs!

The only reason this place isn't getting 5 stars is because their parking lot is not... very well laid out.  Perhaps that's just a nit picky deal of mine, but I do believe that the structural components of a business is a big part of the experience.

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4

pam n.

San Jose, CA

1249 Birchwood Dr
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
Run 'em Ragged Doggie Daycare  
Category: Pet Groomers

Love,Love,Love A Dogs Life(formerly Run'em Ragged) one of our dogs goes to daycare everyday, I am talking 7 days a week people!!the other goes on occasion for a special treat. I dont know what I would do without them, my dog is a high spazzy energy dog and needs so much excersize there is no way I could give him enough. They love him and really brought him out of his shell, he is a completely different and more loving dog because he is getting what he needs. My husband and I are now able to go away for the weekend because we know that are dogs are being cared for and we will return to dogs that are tired and happy. What else can you ask for?
01/22/2008
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Katy L.

San Jose, CA

My dog has a pretty good life, and part of the reason is because of "A Dog's Life".  He's definitely deemed as part of our family.
Whenever we go out of town and can't bring him, we know he's in good hands at this place.  When our dog comes home, he's definitely exhausted.  He's done both daycare and overnight.  They even have a camera where you can watch the doggy play area, it maybe hard to spot if you're dog is one of the many black dogs, but it's fun to watch if you're wondering what your dog is up to.
We've been pretty satisifed with their services and haven't tried to go to "cheaper" kennels that are nearby.  Their prices are still reasonable and they continue to have our trust.
Our dog is a 55lb, Male, Retriever/Collie Mix

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Diane B.

San Jose, CA

Our dog has been going to Run 'Em Ragged for about two years now. We take him about once a month, sometimes less sometimes more, depending on our schedule. If we're both really busy and know we'll be working long hours in the office, we'll take him in. What a load off to know that he's well taken care of and having fun with other dogs instead of being stuck at home bored out of his mind.

The staff is super nice and friendly. When we've run into them outside of Run 'Em Ragged, like at the Walk 'N Wag or once at a park near our house, staff members immediately recognize our Kyle and his little tail goes wild.

We also boarded him one time when my in-laws were out of town as well. It was comforting to know that he was with staff that he already knew. What was even better were the webcams, being able to see him online while we were away was a godsend.

Please note: I reviewed their exceptional grooming services earlier, but I just called to make an appointment and the groomer we loved so much has left. Bummer!!!

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Liz H.

San Jose, CA

We take both of our dogs here and they love it.  The staff loves them to pieces and takes great care of them.  Our dogs go for daycare and boarding and they always come home happy, healthy and exhausted.  It's so great to know that your dogs are being taken care of by people that really care about them.

Tracey Lee Davis is the manager of the Sunnyvale facility and a professional dog trainer.  She does a great job of evaluating dogs' temperaments before they're allowed to play.  And the web cam is great (they're currently working on upgrading the speed).

We haven't done any of the training classes yet, but I think our little 12-pounder would love fly ball so we'll probably check that out.

The other thing that I really respect about A Dog's Life is their commitment to your dogs' health.  If there is any kind of problem, they are right on top of it, whether it's a suspected case of kennel cough or a dog who stops eating while being boarded.  They take excellent care of their charges.

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Kevin B.

Santa Clara, CA

My wife and I have been taking our little guy "Regal Beagle" to A DOG'S LIFE Sunnyvale since September 2005. Regal is a frequent visitor of both Daycare and Boarding and boy does he love it there. It is definitely a win-win situation for us. Regal enjoys the dog socialization and the human attention he gets from all the staff. We love the fact that Regal burns off so much energy making him a very mild mannered pooch when he comes home at the end of the day. We also know that when we leave Regal at A DOG'S LIFE that he is in a safe environment where he is well supervised and will be treated with care by a very professional team of staff that is passionate about their jobs. We cannot say enough about the staff; they truly love what they do and care very much about each of their canine clients. Regal has evolved into such a wonderful companion and we know that much of this has to do with the time spent at A DOG'S LIFE.

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JillO P.

San Jose, CA

I can't believe I am the first reviewer of A Dog's Life ("ADL", formerly known as Runem Ragged - which they did!) when they just took top honors by readers at Silicon Valley Tails in 5 categories: Best Place for Agility/Instruction, Best Overnight Boarding, Best Groomer, Best Trainer/Training Class and last but not least Best Doggie Daycare.  I swear I only voted once!  Now I understand, by giving a positive review, I could be losing a future boarding slot to a newcomer - but if you care about your pup, you want the best and that I can't argue with.  Loli, my Bernese Mountain Dog, was lucky enough to get a gift certificate from a lovely Golden named Ruby and after an evaluation where I was on pins and needles, my girl got in.  The anxiety was palpable - but that she pranced by everyone smiling made me proud - and well, it made me feel good that ADL was taking the time to understand what challenges Loli might have and how she would fit in with the rest of the pooches.  If you are like me and are trying to balance long hours at work, an intolerable commute and the desire to have the unconditional affection of a canine companion - A Dog's Life - gives you peace of mind.

Convenience:  Drop off as early as 7am and pick up as late as 7pm; Two locations serving the peninsula (Palo Alto and Sunnyvale). They offer different pricing packages to meet your needs and utilization. Scheduling is a piece of cake through email.

Full service:  Grooming, boarding in Sunnyvale (with people she knows and loves from her daycare and an overnight attendant on-site), training (Loli and I have been to numerous classes and will be back for more - Cecilia's classes rock!), supplies (Lupine leashes, Five Paw Bakery Treats) and a Report Card to let you know who your pup has been playing with and what challenges or accomplishments she may have had for the day.  They also have a webcam, but I got over my separation anxiety a long time ago and don't view it much anymore.  And I can't forget the special holiday events that come with dress-up and photos which are a hoot.  What fun to compare Loli's First Day of School photo to the prior year!

When Loli first started going to daycare in August 2006, she was a nippy, under-exercised (my fault!) 5 month old.  She is now a well-adjusted goofball who leaves my ankles alone and pretends to be a lap dog.  I will admit it was strange to me at first to see the ADL staff care about Loli, as if she was their dog.  I was maybe a teeny bit jealous...but, that is really what I was looking for - I just didn't expect to find it so easily.

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Ann F.

Mountain View, CA

I am recommeding their training classes and trainers.  I "had" a reactive dog.  It was awful taking him for a walk because he was barking and growling at every dog with we passed on the street.  I tried several other trainers with no success.   We are still applying what I learned (it has been less than a week), the difference is really noticeable already.  [ It has been several months now and we have improved greatly, not perfect but I am walking a very different pretty good behaved dog.]

I also recommended the puppy social to my neighbor.  He is always showing me new training techniques which are working on my dog.  I plan to take more classes here to further my and my dog's education.

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