Elite Canine

I highly recommend this place !!! I have 2 dogs approximately 55 lbs German Shepherd mixes. They are approximately 1 year old and I have never left them before. They needed grooming and boarding. Both dogs shed like crazy. The grooming that was done helped a great deal with the sheding. The staff is so very knowledgeable and caring. The location is somewhat quiet and calming for the animals.
I am so grateful to have found this place.
Thanks Elite Canine

Been coming here regularly for baths and nails for over a year now. My dog loves coming here and that’s what matters the most to me. The staff is top notch too compared to the other places in town. Full on 5 stars!

My friend recommended that I bring my dogs here and I was glad I did. Lisa was very respectful with them and understood exactly what I wanted. She provides great service as do the other girls who groom with her and I will definitely be coming back!

This place injured our dog bad; we went in for a nail clipping and this guys cut his paw pad in 5 different places. I wish Unilocal had photo or video in the comments so I can show the extent of damage done by the «trainer» that falsely posed as a certified and trained groomer. Who let us know after the fact he did not know what he was doing! Leaving our dog with exposed skin and in need of surgery. What sucks about this my wife left a comment about this and no call back no anything. Don’t take your dog or pet here if you care about them. This has been the worst mistake we have ever made. This supposedly casual visit had left us with over $ 1000 dollars in potential vet bills. But they don’t care they got paid for the nail clipping. Unfortunately we’re going to have to file a claim with the BBB and speak to our lawyers about possible legal action. Do not frequent this business stay away!

Elite Canine has been my go-​to groomer and boarding place for my 8 year old Chocolate Lab, Coconut. I’ve been going to Lisa and her amazingly friendly staff since they opened a few years ago, so my review is not only long overdue, but credible since I’ve been using their services for years. Coco always comes home tired from playing but always smelling fresh and clean. Lisa and her team are so incredibly accommodating it’s ridiculous. She always makes sure someone will be there to meet me for an early morning drop-​off, last minute overnight boarding, or a few minutes after closing time for pick-​up. My entire family uses Lisa for boarding and grooming, so take it from the Golez Family and their dogs, that we highly recommend Elite Canine.

My family takes their dogs to Lisa and so with moving to Pleasant Hill, I gave it a try.
Kevin seems to take well to Lisa even when there’s tangles that need rigorous brushing.
Super great that they can accommodate last minute appointments 85% of the time.
Will continue to return!
Thank you, Lisa! Love, Kevin

Wonderful place. I took my dog neo for a full groom and they did the amazing work.
Neo looks refreshed, cute and smells good. I will recommend this place to everyone.

Haven’t used the service as yet. When by today to check it out. Found the pricing & setup to be good but couldn’t get over the pungent odor. Needs better ventilation

We switched dog care about a year ago to Elite Canine, and the only issue I’ve had is that our dog comes home super thirsty, super tired and amazing on the leash.
Our has been at other dog care facilities and when I call in January and schedule the boarding for the entire year, Elite Canine is happy to schedule that far out AND they remember when I come to drop him off.
We’ve dealt with the owner and other staff. They usually give our dog a bath before he comes home, and they make sure that if he has any scrapes, scratches or any thing that looks different they tell us at pick up.
At the other facilities he would come home with broken nails and deep scratches with no mention to us.
I love Elite Canine’s service and professionalism, and I’m glad I found them!
Keep up the great work!
Mac’s mom ;)

Great groomer. I take my poodle here every time she’s getting long in the fluff. Friendly, and I can drop the dog off in the morning and pick her up at 3 or 4 after work. Super convenient and Fancy is always happy.

If I could give a 100 stars I would! Love love love all of the Elite Canine staff! They are great with my dog, and she’s happier than ever when she comes back from there. They’re super accommodating and always fit her in their schedule. I’ve never experienced anything but positives here and my dog absolutely loves them. Highly recommend

Elite Canine is top-​notch service. My 3 year old German Shepherd/​Black Lab has been here several times and I wouldn’t recommend anything better. Their training services with Brad have been amazing and Lisa washed Pono right up after a long dirt-​filled run and got him smelling like roses in no time without coming close to breaking the bank. Both Lisa and her staff are classy, hard-​working professionals and it is so apparent that they care for dogs. Pono was welcomed with open arms and I know that my pup loves going to Elite Canine just as much as being at home. They treat him like family and I wouldn’t settle for anything less. EC comes highly recommended!

I have read the negative reviews on here and I would like to say that I have NEVER once had a negative experience at Elite Canine. I have taken my baby Beyonce — a 12 lbs Bichon/​Poodle here for nearly 2 years. Her breed dictates regular full grooming (every 4 – 6 weeks) so if you do the math, I believe that I have had more than enough experience with both Lisa H. (Owner) and the staff at Elite Canine to write an informed review. Additionally, I myself am involved in dog rescue and know a thing or two about dog behavior and health issues.
First of all, one of the philosophies of this place is «cage-​free.» Now this doesn’t mean 50 dogs of all shapes and sizes in one room running around unsupervised. Big dogs have their own area and little dogs generally have the run of the rest of the place and generally hang out in the office with the person attending the reception area or in the back with the groomers. There is also a gated area in the front to separate small dogs if need be. I like the cage-​free philosophy as I have taken Beyonce to a groomer in the past that had a wall of kennels stacked on top of one another and Beyonce was very stressed and anxious when I picked her up. By contrast, whenever I pick her up from EC she is happy as a clam. For the record, I have never once seen big dogs and small dogs left together unattended.
The facility is not «smelly and gross,» in fact it is very clean and pleasant smelling considering it is an indoor play/​lounge facility and salon for dogs. Again– it is cage-​free so once accidents happen and if you’re expecting it to smell like the inside of Lush, you’re in dire need of a reality check.
As for the baseless and ridiculous accusation that the owners are backyard breeders– slanderous lies. I work in dog rescue and I would know if this was the case and I sure as heck would not bring my rescue dog here if it were true.
As for the quality of grooming at EC, I can honestly say that it is consistently exceptional. I prefer a puppy cut for Beyonce but one day I decided to ask for «Poodle-​Feet.» Noting the change from her usual cut– EC called me to confirm that this change was correct which I really appreciated. Not once has she come home uneven, bleeding, injured, stressed or frazzled.
I heard about the unfortunate incident with the Maltese and my heart goes out to both him and his family– I cannot imagine losing my Beyonce. I am not aware of the all of the facts of the incident so I cannot make a comment. However, I can say that it has not negatively affected my trust or opinion of the quality of EC. Unfortunately, tragic as they may be, people make mistakes and EC has been open and honest about addressing any concern from clients regarding this incident.
Bottom line, I highly recommend Elite Canine and will remain a loyal client. And if Beyonce could talk she would too.
PS– I feel the need to point out that for every negative review there are 4 – 5 positive ones.

Do not purchase a groupon for this salon, no matter how discounted, the vet bills and treatment to you and your pet is not worth it!
I am updating my review to address the owners comment and also give an update on my dog’s condition.
I have never threatened the owner or any of Elite Canine’s staff. The only time I have called the business, besides to make an appointment, was returning a phone call from an employee. An employee who called me with no clear point other than to belittle me and bully me into removing my review. That employee told me that writing a negative review for a business was a «shitty» thing to do, and that businesses should be able to «review customers negatively». I never used foul language or raised my voice and I have several witnesses as I was at a company picnic when I received the call.
My dog did contract some type of infection from Elite Canine, the infection that he still has is now being tested for staph and MRSA. Two different Veterinarians have confirmed that this skin infection is NOT due to allergies, and I think I trust two trained professionals over an unprofessional business owner.
The shorter cut did not reveal or make his infection «more apparent»; the infection appeared 3 days after his visit. I know because after his «fix it» cut I checked his body to make sure he hadn’t been cut nor had more dried soap left on him.
While Elite Canine keeps stating that they are «happy» to refund my money they have never once asked for my credit card information, even though they clearly have it since they have charged me twice for my visit.
I have the emails and phone records of Lisa, the owner, trying to harass me into removing my review by threatening legal action for my true and accurate review of her «business».
I would also like to add that Lisa told me in an email that her salon used Lysol to clean brushed and other parts of the business; Lysol is known to be dangerous to animals because it contains Phenol. Something you’d think a pet grooming salon owner to know, right?
Just to debunk her suggestion that food caused his infection, my dog has been on a grain free food for over 5 years and has had no changes to his diet recently.
Another client has posted photos of her dogs skin infection also, pretty strange that (at least) two dogs have the similar infections after leaving Elite Canine.
If someone would leave their own personal dogs in such horrible conditions I cannot imagine the treatment and conditions that they would subject others to.
The other recent reviews here on Unilocal show a pattern that Elite Canine is dirty and unprofessional.
My vet bills are now close to $ 1000, thanks to an $ 85 dollar (because I was charged twice) poorly done haircut.
Despite all of the problems that have happened since his visit, I would like to address just the quality of the actual grooming of two visits. After both visits his nails were not clipped, his ears were not cleaned, and his cut was choppy and uneven. On the second visit he came home with dried soap clots in his fur.
I have asked that Elite Canine remove the photo of my dog from their company’s Facebook page, a photo that they took and posted without my permission, because I do not want my dog to be used to represent a happy or satisfied customer, but they have refused. While that is extremely unprofessional behavior from a business owner, I should have expected it from Elite Canine. Elite Canine should also include a photo of our vet bills and his wounds to give a more accurate account of the customer experience.
I have no motivation to lie about my experience with Elite Canine; I am simply trying to prevent another pet owner from going through the same horrible ordeal.
I hope that Lisa and her staff learn how to run a business, how to properly sanitize their facilities, and learn how to actually groom dogs.

First off I wish I read Richard’s review or I would’ve never risk taking my maltese there. I am sorry for your loss…
I purchased the groupon deal and went there after seeing their well put together website. My appointment was 11:30am for shampooing and nail clipping but on the phone conversation with Lisa earlier in the week I explained that I also wanted to add grooming. There was no mention of it not being ok to add grooming to my groupon deal.
I arrived there early 11am on Friday morning. I had to ring the door bell countless time before a girl answered the door. I noticed the stench right away. The establishment was filthy and didn’t resemble anything ELITE. Then I’m told I can’t add grooming to my groupon and I would have to pay $ 55 for shampooing and grooming. She says I can use my groupon some other time. So whatever I agreed.
I was told by Lisa when I called a week ago to make an appointment with her that she would go over some pictures with me since it was my first dog and I didn’t know what CUT to get. I thought how nice of her to take one on one care of her client. On the day of my appointment she was nowhere to be seen and the girl at the front asked me what cut I wanted. When I mentioned my conversation with Lisa she googled some images and asked me to pick one. Since I just wanted a trim I picked a picture which closely resembled how my dog already looked on the day of the appointment. She said it would take us more work to maintain a longer look because we’ll have to brush him more often. I didn’t mind that all so I made sure to explain and repeat exactly what I wanted which was a TRIM and that I didn’t want him cut too short.
When I came back to pick him up, mind you 4 hours later, he looked horrible. The cut was way too short and his face which was «Hand-​cut» looked botched up. It’s uneven! It didn’t resemble the picture I chose at all, and to top it off he smelled like the stench of the facility and not fresh like a dog who was just shampooed and groomed. My 9 year old daughter wanted to cry saying he looked different and that the cut was ugly.
I will not take him there again. The facility looks run down filthy and smelly. It’s obvious also that they are short staffed because on two occasion once by Lisa I was told one of her employees didn’t show on the day I called her to make the appointment and on the day of the appointment the girl in the front mentioned that it’s been crazy busy because someone didn’t show up to work. I don’t know but something isn’t right when you’re constantly struggling with employees not showing up for work… I’m just relieved after reading other reviews that my dog was returned to me safe.

We bought our Rottweiler Max from Elite Canine 1.5 years ago and a few times we had left him there overnight for a few days he was OK, although each time we picked him up he’d have some scratches on various parts of his body and especially his face. Last weekend we left him there for 3 days and after we came home we discovered bleeding wounds on his neck from his collar, completely rubbed to blood muzzle and paws. Jason, the owner Lisa’s employee, informed us that Max was rubbing his face everywhere, scratching himself and pawing at everything all weekend. The wounds on his neck started pusing soon with a stench and Max was very lethargic barely eating or drinking. We took him to the vet. Diagnosis: severe skin infection all over the face, head and neck and both ears’ infection, not to mention the psychological trauma he has experienced. The total cost $ 304. We originally liked Lisa and Jason for their knowledge and expertise in their business, but after this experience we’re deeply disappointed that they failed to address our dog’s issues while he was suffering all weekend, neglected him and didn’t prevent him in any fashion from hurting himself. We’ll never take our dog there again!

Update to my review of 6÷5÷2013
Its taken a year thru the courts but I now have a final judgement against Lisa Hoselton and Elite Canine. The court agreed there was GROSS NEGLIGENCE on her part and ordered her to pay for the loss of our 7-​pound pet Maltese and for GROSS NEGLIGENCE when our family pet Maltese, Cody, was mauled beyond saving when left unattended in the company of a Rotweiller, a Great Dane, and a large Poodle, in a room with the door closed while her staff member went off to answer a phone call. And now she has yet to respect and honor the court’s order.
The only reason for the one star is because it does not allow me to leave NO STARS.

I have read some of the displeased reviews here and info on the unfortunate circumstances prior to taking Ginger here for the first time for boarding and grooming. I will admit I was nervous at first after reading the reviews so I decided to inspect the facility on my own. I did an announced visit with my dog Ginger to check it out on my own. I shared my concern with the woman who was there and even though she was busy she took the time to answer my questions. After the visit I must say I was quite pleased and at ease with the facility.
When I dropped off Ginger I shared my concerns with Lisa and she was very understanding and accommodating.
Ginger stayed for 5 days and had a full groom when I picked her up you could tell how happy she was and well cared for. She must have had a fabulous time playing with all of her new friends because she has been napping all day. lol
The grooming quality I received was fantastic.
I highly recommend Elite Canine and encourage other new customers to visit the facility, talk to the staff and make your opinion.

My handsome Poodle/​Pekingnese, JJ and I love Elite Canine Day Spa!
They are always so good in everything!
1) Grooming Service
They do excellent job on cutting JJ’s fluffy/​curly hair. I like the fact that they would not cut it too short. They do nails, buffing and paw massage.
2) Clean facility & Friendly staff
Inside is very clean, secure, and smells good!
They have day care service, small and large size dogs are separated places.
JJ makes some new friends every time we go there!
The owner, Lisa, is such a sweet lady and other staff are also very nice!
My JJ leaves here look good and smell good!
Highly recommended place for happier dogs! :)

We wanted to try a closer groomer, as we usually drive to Castro Valley. Elite was open, has great hours, does drop in nail grinding, off we went. It was really stinky inside and the glade air fresheners made it smell even worse. The staff were pleasant but unprofessional. Singing loudly to the radio while you check me in doesn’t make a good impression. Neither does asking me if I want to take home somebody else’s dog, not just once, but a few times, and then joking with your coworker that you said that. The actual nail trim was fine and the dog came back to us unfazed.
It saves me time and gas to go to Elite, but I think our usual groomer is a better fit for us.