The Barker Lounge

Our 2 year old Havanese LOVES this place. We can’t say «Barker Lounge» in her presence or she gets way too excited and thinks she’s going that instant. When she comes home after a day or an overnight visit she’s knocked out because she played the entire time. I never have any worries leaving her in the care of the exceptional staff, who really seem to get to know and love all the dogs. I can’t say enough good things about this place.

I was searching for a new groomer and found Barker Lounge which got great reviews. I saw that a lot of people were recommending the daycare and I decided to enroll my dog in daycare to social her and give her something to do while my husband and I were at work. We decided to give the grooming a shot and then set up a meet and greet for daycare. My husband dropped my dog off to be groomed and requested that they only take off a half of an inch of hair. My dog is a Pomeranian and I wanted her to look like her breed. When my husband picked her up, he noticed that her fur was extremely short and choppy. He told me that he wasn’t able to speak to the groomer, as she had went out for lunch. When I got home, I emailed the facility and expressed my dissatisfaction with my dog’s hair cut. At this point, I was still planning to bring my dog to the daycare because I felt like the groomer had nothing to do with the actual daycare. A day later, the owner emailed me back a three paragraph email basically blaming my husband for being «vague» about how he wanted the dog’s haircut. The owner even mentioned having video footage showing that my husband was vague. My response, who does that? The groomer did a bad job but I did not need a long email defending the groomer. I have to say that he did agree that my dog’s hair was «choppy» and he offered to fix it but I declined, as my dog’s hair is extremely short and there was nothing that could be done to fix it. Unfortunately, I am looking for another daycare in the area because I refuse to give this place my business after the way they handled things. Had the owner just apologized and offered to fix it, I would have still taken my dog there but considering that he blamed my husband for a bad grooming job, I will got elsewhere.

First and foremost, I would like to just make a comment on the review below regarding the vaccination requirement…
Reading that review just gave me even MORE confidence that this facility is a good one. I would never trust my dog to stay in a place that had any leniency on health requirements of the dogs. Who is to say that an «over the counter» type of Bordatella vaccine is effective and safe? I’m sure individual research was done and not to discount that, but a business owner can’t allow one-​off exceptions just because you want to save some money. Bordatella is serious and awful (my pup had it once when she was young). Even with a proven vaccine from the vet it can still be contracted, so by no means would I feel comfortable leaving my dog in a place that allows whatever vaccine you feel like giving your dog. So I applaud the owner’s decision to decline you service when you did not adhere to the requirements. Dogs aren’t cheap, and their vaccines are certainly not cheap. I recommend dog insurance (I use Progressive) which can help offset regular medical costs of your pet.
Now — in terms of The Barker Lounge itself, I am a fan. The staff is caring, attentive, and easy to coordinate with. The current facility in Roselle is just fine; before we ever let our pup go here (even just for a doggy daycare day) they showed us around the facility. The current facility is a bit on the smaller side for my liking but I am very excited to see the new bigger facility that is in the works!!! I’ve heard some rumors of the «fun stuff» they have planned and it sounds great.
When it comes to boarding, a word of advice. Leaving your dog anywhere new for the first time can be a little traumatizing regardless of how great it is. In any new place, I would start out by introducing them to it with doggy daycare. Then maybe one or two nights for boarding before a drop off for a significant amount of time. Easier said than done, yes, but the best approach for your dog regardless of how great a facility is.

I’ve been a customer at this facility for over 6 years and would have given 5 stars 10X over until recently. The owner of the Roselle facility is I believe the owner of The Barker Lounge franchise which makes my experience even more upsetting.
We routinely board our dog for a week at a time several times a year when we go on vacations or business trips. The staff has always been courteous, friendly and efficient. Brando always seems to enjoy himself because he comes home tired for days after playing for a week. That’s the good, now for the bad.
All boarding facilities require up to date shots and especially the bordetella administered every 6 months (even though 12 months is the standard). We have always taken our pup to a vet to administer the bordetella but recently we found out that this medicine is available online which is a simple squeeze bottle that goes up his nose. If your dog is healthy then there is no reason this cannot be administered by me just like I give him heart worm medicine, frontline medicine, etc…
When I called The Barker Lounge to ask them what paperwork they needed from me when I give him the bordetella medicine, they said that they would not accept anything other than a vet visit. Understandably they want to protect their dogs, their facility and my dog from any boarding sicknesses as do I, but requiring this medicine to be administered by a vet is overboard. Visiting a Vet requires an expensive visit for an inexpensive medicine that can easily be administered up his nose by me (or any dog owner). I have saved money over the years by taking our dog to Petsmart where vets visit routinely and administer medicine/​shots as needed but this requires hours on line unless you get there early and you still spend an hour waiting (or more). If we couldn’t visit Petsmart, we would visit our vet where we would routinely spend $ 150 for a simple administering of medicine and this has to be done EVERY 6 months. Why when an inexpensive alternative is available, would ANY boarding facility not do what they can to help make boarding at their facility easier is beyond me.
Once again I offered many alternatives from Filming the administering of the medicine and providing an invoice of the purchase to administering the medicine right in front of the staff when I dropped off my dog. Nothing was sufficient for the franchise owner since his company requires a vet visit for a simple medicine. I don’t go to the doctor when I take Tylenol or use a nasal spray and neither should my dog be required to do this when a cheaper and just as safe alternative is available to anyone who boards their pups. I’m not administering shots to my dog (even though this is legal to do yourself too).
In my opinion this franchise owner (Jason) does not use common sense in accommodating his customers and since he has grown his business from one facility to five (and more to come), I don’t believe he really cares to satisfy his customers anymore. While I’ve enjoyed using this facility over the years, I will not use it again due to poor customer service and I advise others against using it for when situations arise that are outside the box, you will not get any sort of common sense business decisions made to accommodate you or your dog. In my opinion he has grown too big and does not care as much for his customers anymore.
Finally, if you are looking for a better place to board your dog, I would highly recommend
. We are now boarding our dog with a lovely family, save money doing so and our dog gets to play with several dogs while enjoying more personal and loving care. Oh and common sense is used by these care providers too.

My dog Champ loved it here! Really loved the staff and had a sweet spot for Jules, Erin and Chris! They were wonderful and really helped his socialize and worked with him. I will ALWAYS recommend this place! He misses everyone and cannot wait to return

I can’t write enough about how amazing the Barker Lounge is. As soon as I let my dog out of my car he practically drags me inside so he can play with all his furry buddies. The staff is excellent, and genuinely care about the dogs they look after. I am so at ease knowing my dog spends his days in a loving, active environment rather than languishing at home, lonely and bored. During overnights he even comes home with a little «report card» that tells us how he liked his stay, and it’s always fun to catch sight of him playing on one of the Barker Lounge’s youtube videos! I could go on and on, but I’ll end by saying I don’t know what I’d do without the Barker Lounge and their excellent staff, and wouldn’t trust my pup anywhere else.

We left our two puppies at this place for a week while we vacationed in Mexico. When we picked them up, we noticed that our little Max (a poodle) was in terrible shape. Apparently he didn’t have an appetite at all while he was there, yet they claim that he played a lot whit the other little dogs. He is also now terrified of tile floors for some reason so he won’t come into the kitchen at our house anymore. Our bigger dog (a boxer) was placed in confinement for the entire stay because he was «unpredictable».
Please do not take your dogs here. First of all, the place does not have any cameras and they don’t allow owners to watch any of the areas where the dogs are staying. While you are away, you know absolutely nothing about the well being of your puppies. I am so heartbroken about what my little angles had to go through. I did find another place on rt.22 where they show you around the facilities, they send you pictures of your dog and they call you if there is any sort of problem.

I love this place! When I rescued my dog I knew she needed socialization and to learn how to interact better with people. They have been great with her and are willing to work with her when she is in daycare.
My dog immediately gets excited when she realizes where we are at drop off time so I know she loves her daycare time too. They are also cost effective as far as doggy daycares go.
I am so glad I found the Barker Lounge.

We took our puppy Blue to the barker lounge for the first time yesterday and I was so very nervous. I have to say that my expectations were beyond met .The people at the barker lounge made every accommodation for me in order for me to go to my surgery worry free and not have to worry about Blue. They allowed us to drop him off early and also worked with us on a pick up time. I could not be anymore happy and will definitely be back time and time again. Thank you to the friendly staff who worked with our shy puppy and who came home utterly pooped! Best feeling ever!

We’ve been using Barker Lounge for boarding for our 2 toy poodles for about 3 years. We travel a lot and don’t have family close by. I trust that my dogs’ wagging tails when we arrive show they like it here. And the staff is always very kind and accommodating when we have last-​minute requests. And they always seem to know ALL the dogs by name.

This place is the greatest! My girl means the world to me & I didn’t think I’d ever be comfortable leaving her anywhere, but with work it’s a necessary evil.
The Barker Lounge, Roselle made this an easy, guilt free experience because I know she’ll be having a blast with her friends and the staff all day long, not cooped up in a cage.
I take my girl to day care here a couple times every week & on the occasion that I must leave her to be boarded, this is her vacation spot.
The staff knows each customer (canine & their human) by name
when you walk in, they greet your precious pet as if they are their own, it makes me feel great about this place. My girl gets so excited when I ask her if she wants to go to school, wagging her whole butt and showing her teeth to smile. She’s exhausted at the end of her play day & sleeps the whole next day… and we all know that a tired dog is a good dog!
This place has been a life saver. Thank you so much, & keep up the EXCELLENT work.
LOVE LOVE LOVE The Barker Lounge & can’t say enough to recommend it. Take your baby there! I promise you won’t regret it!

Third time is truly a charm at this place. After moving here from out of state, I struggled to find my little guy (Frankie — a ‘Chiweenie’) a daycare. The first two times he went, he was not his normal playful and rambunctious self. I considered not bringing him back, but decide to give it one last try and I’m (we, I assume) so happy I did. He runs right in and can’t wait to get to the play area to see his friends. This place is so clean and the staff is amazing, he used to come home smelling awful from daycare, not the case here. After a long day at The Barker Lounge, he’s exhausted for a couple days.
The prices are pretty standard for a good doggy daycare, they also offer boarding grooming services (which I’ve yet to utilize). Very friendly staff, when you pick up the dog, they give you a rundown of how they behaved for the day.
Definitely worth checking out …

LOVE THIS PLACE!!! Before bringing our little Daisy here, we did quite a bit of research. The Barker Lounge was the only place in our area that lets dogs play all day when they are being boarded. We found the others charged extra for play time and kept the dogs in cages for a big portion of the day. The first time she was boarded here, the staff knew we were worried about her and actually called us up in FL to let us know that she was doing great and even made a special friend that she liked to play with. She has also attended day care here and by the time we leave the Barker Lounge parking lot she is dozing on the seat exhausted from all the fun she had. She has also been groomed here and I have to say that from all the places we have tried, they do the best grooming here too. You can tell the staff truly are dog lovers and enjoy their jobs. Highly recommend!!!

I brought my Beagle (Lucy) to the Barker Lounge while my GF and I were away for a wedding on Memorial Day weekend. I was very impressed by the Barker Lounge’s Professional
The Barker Lounge requires that all dogs’ medical records be up to date including shots and before a dog can be boarded there must be a trial day to make sure the dog’s temperament is calm enough to be boarded. I think these two steps show that the Barker Lounge knows what they are doing and makes sure that your dog is not put in the same area as a dog that will harm him or her.
I also had Lucy groomed during her stay. When I picked her up she was happy and significantly less smelly. She was also very happy and i think she enjoyed her stay at the Barker Lounge.
Additionally, the Barker Lounge gave me a Report Card regarding Lucy’s stay. I liked this added touch and made me feel better knowing how she did.
I definitely recommend the Barker Lounge for anyone’s dog. They truly love dogs and it shows.

My dog loves this place and comes come exhausted for days! I would highly recommend!