BarkWorks Pups & Stuff

Just want to share my experience !!
First of all my husband and I bought a shitzu from this place a couple of months ago and he’s been a blessing to our family !!! Our dog is healthy and happy ! We took him to our vet and he agreed he was healthy. The staff there has been super friendly and was very accommodating to all our questions and needs

My boyfriend and I have been in the market for a French bulldog. I went in a few days ago and they happened to have one. I was so excited. My boyfriend and I are both 18 and live in an apartment but I also go to a ranch everyday to see my horse so our dog would get plenty of outside time.
We walked into the store and I asked to see one of the dogs. The lady with all the tattoos (don’t know here name nothing against tattoos) asked which one and do you want to buy. I said that we were thinking about it and that we wanted to see the frenchie. She looked at me and said no and then just walked away. Um… Excuse me. You don’t know my financial state or where I live or anything. But for someone to be so rude just because I look young or because she just didn’t think I could afford made me so upset. I hate this place and I hope she is fired. No matter what you should be kind to all people!

Warm, smelly, chaotic, dirty «containers» for the dogs… Do these poor dogs ever get a break from the chaos that goes on constantly around them in the store? This cannot be good for such young puppies… saw very young puppies, as young as 8 weeks in glass enclosures and two puppies out running around in an enclosure… veterinarians generally encourage puppy owners to not expose them to too many people or other dogs until they are fully vaccinated at age 16 weeks.
Gary B., read your comment about not being able to find a good selection of puppies in shelters… any type of rescue can be found on
with some research and patience.
I hate pet stores… these animals deserve better. Adopt and save a life and put puppies mills out of business!

Cruel! You can see all dogs look unhappy in little spaces. I am deeply wishing this place will be closed down. People, please… so many pets are in the shelters that need to be loved and cared for. Please, Think what does it mean, You support this kind of pet shop that keeps puppies in the building all day. Free puppies!

Let me start by saying I currently have two Golden Retrievers. Recently one of our Golden’s was diagnosed with cancer, the vet said he has 12 months to live.
With that said, i’ve been thinking about getting a puppy to keep my other Golden company. Me and my boyfriend stopped by Barkworks today, and saw a Golden pup that interested us. We’re both in our late 20’s, dress decently, and have stable careers. I asked «LORI» if we could take the puppy out in a private room. Lori asked «who are you here with?», then asked if we were going to buy the dog today. I told her we definitely were thinking about it, but we wanted to spend some time with the puppy before we decided anything. Lori then rudely asked if I was going to put a deposit today? Lori spoke to me like I was a teenager, and did not treat me with respect.
I recently moved two thousand dollars into my checking account in case I come across the right puppy. I felt that Lori profiled me, and she probably thought I didn’t have money for the dog, and I wasn’t worth her time.
Needless to say, I wont be back.

Any dog lover should stay clear of this place. Puppy mills like this should be illegal. Keeping dogs in glass cages with such limited room to move is beyond cruel. And buyers who patronize and support these types of shops might just as well be supporting pet trafficking. Period. A significant blemish on the otherwise pleasant shopping experience of the Oaks.

Rude, uneithical people and place. Do NOT buy from this place. First all, they are selling dogs for profit. That alone should turn people away but if that doesn’t perhaps the RUDE, RUDE staff will. When I asked a lady — I think it was the owner or manager — where she gets the puppies, she got very defensive and tried to get me to leave the store. I think it’s a very valid question to ask in this case and her defensive, strange behavoir and reluctance to reveal where the dogs are coming from is sketchy. It seems pretty obvious that these dogs come from a puppy mill or some other dishonorable source. This place should be shut down. There is a store in the same mall that has rescue dogs. Go there.

Walked in about 6 and a half months ago because I was interested in getting a golden retriever.
The two there had been sold which was a bummer but I asked if maybe I could leave my phone number as soon as they got new puppies which they said would be in a couple weeks.
The puppies look very sad and not well kept.
And had heard horror stories of this pup shop.
So i felt that maybe it was for the best.
Now after 6 months, totally forgetting about this pup shop since they never got back to me and after finding a pup somewhere else.
I get countless desperate texts and calls to see if I’m interested by a woman named Lori.
Today, she calls again to see if I’m interested-​which I’m not after all this time, and as I tell her that I am no longer interested, she rudely responds and hangs up. That’s totally not a proper way to react to someone you get back to half a year later. So definitely won’t be looking at pups here ever again.

The two stars are only for the cute puppies, which is why this place made me so sad to see how they were treated. It is so cruel to keep a dog in a glass cage, they’re not fish. The dogs were sitting in their own feces, drinking out of Guinea big bottles, and all crying. This one dog was practically jumping to get out, so my friend and I asked if we could play with it. A very rude employee named Teresa said no unless we were planning on buying, because she was too busy being on her cell phone. It’s awful to see how sad these animals are and the employees won’t even take them out of their «cage» for a little. Please do yourself a favor if you are in the market for a dog and stay AWAY from this place, adopting is way better anyways!

Against my advice a family member purchased a puppy from this store. Within a day of taking the puppy home she began displaying signs of serious illness, lethargy, diarrhea and blood in her poo. The pet shop employee blew it off when we called as just a tired puppy! The puppy wouldn’t stand to eat or drink! Obviously not normal. As she began passing more blood we became alarmed and took her to our regular vet not their vet. The puppy has a contagious parasite! Giardia. Now she is being medicated and our other dogs are being monitored for symptoms. DO NOT buy a puppy here and expect it to be healthy or them to be at all helpful.

Cute and beautiful dogs, but so many look unhappy.
Asked to play with one of the dogs very nicely to the manager working at the time and she asked us if we’re going to buy it. Why does it matter to you if we are going to buy it? Maybe I’m interested mind you which I was.
Then she lectures me and profiles my girlfriend and I that the dogs here aren’t good for people with apartments. We don’t live in an apartment and if we did; that wouldn’t be your business to ask someone where they live and be all snobby when asked one simple question to go in one of those small rooms that were built so you can enjoy the puppies.
Honestly some of the workers here are nice, but I swear if that lady if she’s the owner; she needs to seriously look in the mirror at herself.

I visited the pups shop at the oaks mall two days ago, the shop carry very cute dogs and there is a worker named Cassie, she works very courteous ,
She answered all my questions in a practical manner .
Highly recommend the store!

Politics Aside: People should be able to decide whether they want to get a dog from a pet store or a shelter.
Having adopted my first dog as a rescue and seeing the repercussions of a previous bad owner, I decided that my second dog would be a fresh start for my current dog and me. I came to the store and looked at several puppies. Lori was extremely helpful when it came to information on the breed she was very accommodating and was patient and friendly. I decided to sleep on the decision to get a bulldog beagle, I returned a couple days latter to find that they had gotten new dogs in. Among these dogs they had the world’s awesomest little beagle, and decided that he was to become my next dog. He was friendly healthy and was happy to come home with me. My schnauzer loves the new puppy and is helping me train him to become a well mannered healthy dog.
The puppy came with a free Vet screening, a $ 42 poop test (to make sure he is healthy but on my account) and a warranty for up to two years in case there is anything genetically wrong with him (hopefully not.) All these assurances made me feel confident in my getting a pet from this place. My experience was great, Kristin and Lori made the transaction smooth and happy. Which what adopting a new dog should be whether from a shop or shelter.

I’ve purchased TWO Boston Terrier puppies from BarkWorks. Please do NOT get your puppy here: find a breeder. I first read the reviews and thought that they were mostly by Libertarian hippies that only thought that rescues were the way to go. Boy was I wrong; read on.
My first Boston seemed amazing. While she seemed well socialized, healthy and fine — she did test positive for an extremely large amount of Giardia (parasites). This is caused by unclean conditions. The amount was so extreme that she needed several courses of treatment. We loved her so much that we decided to get a second from BarkWorks.
The second dog was unable to learn almost anything. All training failed. The one thing that she did learn … was her name. She was unable to understand social cues from the other dog and would often try and eat from an empty dish (when it wasn’t feeding time) until we stopped her. As she grew we noticed that her rib cage looked extremely strange — the vet said that it generally comes from puppies in a small litter that get so fat that they cannot walk and just lay down never standing until after 3 weeks old. She started having alternating hip pain and joint pain in her front legs. Our vet said that it was either overeating, or if it didn’t get better soon: hip dysplasia. We spoke to BarkWorks and after numerous complaints were able to see their «approved vet» which they would pay for. After casually touching her legs he said that nothing was wrong with her, and said that we should get an MRI ($ 500+). After more complaining the manager of BarkWorks said that if we saw her personal vet that they would cover the cost. He was 1 ½ hours from us and said that from jumping that she had probably torn or ripped her rotator cuff and that one leg had probably already healed. She had been like this from day one with jumping, stairs etc. It simply got worse. A small puppy in that condition should have had this problem positively identified by a responsible breeder. Barkworks has a contract and breeders that have produced two dogs with major special health needs.
Once the first puppy was outside and walking and going on hikes, we had to take her to the emergency room after developing tons of welts all over her body. Her skin was red on the white part of the fur, her eyes swollen and she was howling in pain. First the ER and then the vet the next day. She has such intense allergies that we only bring her out for walks, never in nature, on hikes etc. Dogs with allergies like that are NOT supposed to be bred.
BarkWorks still has not responded to an in-​depth email which stated the above. Their pet guarantee is worthless. The outcome? The second dog with all of her issues was too much to handle in our small apartment and was given to a friend. We still have the first puppy and love her very much. It’s a shame that she can never go on hikes with us ever again, unless we want to go to the dog emergency room AGAIN.
We spent several thousand dollars between the two dogs. Long story short, do not buy your dog here. I know that it’s hard in SoCal with laws as they are to find a puppy of a specific breed but keep looking! Both of the dogs we purchased here have major issues due to negligance of the breeders, with a worthless guarantee from Barkworks.

These people are disgusting and SO RUDE, lost my appetite in frustration after just walking by and the worker or manager or whoever told my friend and I to keep walking and had the biggest grossest attitude wow. Not only is it evil to sell puppy mill dogs but the fact that they’re evil as F who work there just makes it worse.

If you want to support puppy mills, go here. Educate yourself. This is the grossest way of selling dogs there is.
If you are a cheap, non educated dog buyer who doesn’t care, come here, they will sell a dog to anyone who pays.
If you care about animals and have a heart, help stop this.

WTF these animals seemed like they were going insane in these cages.
If you buy one here you are likely to get a dog that is screwed up for life. It seemed like they had never left their cages their entire life, definitely decided not to purchase from them because of how odd these dogs were acting.
Treat your animals better so they’re not going nuts in their cages.

Last time I checked, tiny glass boxes were called aquariums. Aquarium for fish. Not puppies.
Most of these poor puppies are from puppy mills from the east. This means they were raised in boxes similar to those you see them in inside the store. Except in puppy mills the dogs are kept outside in the freezing weather and in cramped wire cages and grow up there.
This place needs to be SHUT DOWN. Rescuing a dog or buying from a trustworthy breeder is better than buying from Barkworks.

Very cruel!!!
You can see in the pic that in one small spaces area has 3 medium sized pups! Followed by the next small space having two semi-​large pups!!!
Very cruel and very sad for those pups to live in such a SMALL SPACE! Spread the news around and share the photo I judged posted!!!

For the sake of background, my family rescued a 7 month old pittbull (my wife’s choice) from the LA shelter and we love her. She’s an awesome dog… athletic, mild tempered, and great with our children.
As much fun as our pittbull is… my wife wanted a little lapdog, which may sound inexplicable but that’s life sometimes. We researched small breed dogs and narrowed our search to yorkies, Maltese, and mini schnauzer. We emailed breeders because we just couldn’t find what we wanted at a shelter.
We must have sent 4 – 5 emails to breeders and got very few responses from those who had puppies to sell. It was an annoying and frustrating process. Meanwhile, we continued our weekly searches at various shelters just in case a puppy we wanted arrived.
We happened up Barkworks.
The first time we visited, we looked at 4 dogs and spent at least 20 min each in their private room to see if the dog was a match for us temperament wise, etc. We got nothing but cooperation from the staff; there were tons of people and kids milling around but we still got good service.
We liked one puppy in particular but decided to not make the emotional buy and went home. We came back a week later, we still hadn’t had any contact from breeders who supposedly had dogs to sell.
We looked at another group of puppies and revisited a couple of the puppies that were there from our previous visit. That day saw a total of 5 puppies, once again getting good service from the staff.
One puppy really «spoke «to us and we asked the staff to hold the puppy while we thought it over. We came back, played with the puppy again (20 mins) and then FINALLY took him home.
It was a long process mostly because my wife and I wanted to make an informed decision. Having one dog is a life changing experience. Having two dogs is even more commitment and responsibility, which we take seriously
All the while we received good assistance, cooperation and support from the Barkworks staff (Kristen was especially patient and nice).
Our yorkie/​maltese mix just got back from our complementary vet check up (provided by Barkworks, to verify we adopted a bouncing healthy dog) and he IS healthy, all is good. We can expect many years of companionship.
I’m sharing our personal story because some of the comments on Unilocal about Barkworks are at best not helpful at worst wrong and agenda driven.
We can speak to many of the unhelpful comments because we HAVE done it all; adopted a dog from a shelter, tried to find a breeder & bought one at Barkworks
Shelters don’t give you much choice especially if you want a particular breed… We tried to find a breeder but who has time with people who NEVER ever get back to you.
Also, we didn’t make an impulse buy. How is Barkworks responsible if you have buyers remorse? THINK before you adopt/​buy a dog!
BTW if you take a dog back to a shelter, they put down the dog.
So what are you left with? A store like Barkworks, are they a business yes, as are breeders.
If you ever been to the store, it’s not a warehouse like Petco. Its small and its filled with people who probably are not going to buy a dog but do take up the time of the staff. Their service is good considering the circumstances.
Also, we bought a crate (to train our puppy) that is only slightly smaller than those at barkworks, that display the puppies, but most dogs are tiny (less than 5 months old). I don’t think they are mistreated or uncomfortable.
If you’ve ever been to a shelter, at least the one we went visited, it’s a concrete cell, no air conditioning, covered from the sun but outside subject to the heat of the day and to cold at night. Also, I’m sure the staff doesn’t have time to walk the 300 dogs in their care.
There is no ideal situation! Both establishments do the best they can under the circumstances.
Lastly, over priced? Really? We compared prices from Petco for goods such as chew toys, etc and they were similar. We were willing to pay $ 2400 for a pure breed yorkie, maltese or mini schauser and paid so much less for our «designer» mut dog!
The dog we adopted from the shelter costs slightly less.
If you complain about the price of any dog (where ever you get him/​her) you haven’t done any research at all and you should NOT buy /​adopt one because you can’t afford it. Sorry! The truth sometimes hurts!
Taking care of a life is NOT cheap!
Stop with the self righteous BS people !! really you’re not helping!
I’m not a bad person for buying/​adopting a dog at a pet store like Barkworks.
Regardless of where we got the dog it’s a life change for the dog and our family.
I refuse to feel bad about our decision and loath comments from people who obviously don’t know what they are talking about or haven’t bought/​adopted a dog from Barkworks.
Barkworks isn’t perfect but is there really such a thing? If someone told me that wanted a dog I’d recommend Barkworks as a starting point for purebred and «designer» dogs.