Big Oaks Kennel

Kennel owners may be nice folks, but you had better hope your pet doesn’t escape because you will be on your own to get him back! My large dog (recently adopted through the Austin Animal shelter due to previous owner who was no longer able to care for him) escaped from this kennel and they provided no substantial help. Our dog was at large for 7 weeks until we finally captured him using the assistance of a volunteer organization, Pack Team 4 — Street Dog Rescue. In the end, Big Oaks Kennel didn’t even offer to compensate us for the resulting vet bill. They begrudgingly agreed to meet us half way on the bill (which was only $ 80 total)! We won’t ever go back.

My dogs have been there several times and each time you can tell they are happy to be there. They know exactly where they need to go and will drag anyone down the hill just to get down there for play time. They are usually in the traditional kennel with the air conditioning but this last time they were full so I decided to let them try the farm. Which is for young large dogs that can handle being outside. I was a little nervous they had never been outside for longer than two to three hours. But they have musters to help keep the dogs cool. And lots of water. In fact I thought it was interesting that when they got home one still wanted to go outside and the other just wanted to take a nap.

Brought my 2 year old pup in for daycare for the first time last week, the staff was very accommodating and helpful. Additionally, they helped me understand the risks of boarding my other dog (an 8 week pup), and the options/​precautions they could extend to us to help safeguard him. You can tell they are very dedicated to what they do, because they love their animals and it shows. What’s better than leaving your 4 legged babies with someone you can trust will love them just as much? Bonus– great pricing!

I have been leaving my dog with the great people of Big Oaks for over 2 years now, and I can happily say that each experience with them has been more than satisfactory. The staff is competent, polite and helpful, attending to my dog’s needs.
I have an Australian Shepherd that doesn’t play well with other dogs, so she is permitted time to run amock without other pups.
The kennel is heated for winter and cooled in summer, and they have their own individual runs situated on a nice farm. The family also has seasonal garden vegetables and some great salsa they sell when available. Big Oaks offers baths and nail trims, both of which I’ve had done for my dog after a long stay and was happy with.
The pricing is reasonable, but they get booked up pretty quickly during holidays so be sure to call ahead. Overall a good local place that I trust will take care of my dog.

Hardy and Elaine have performed a small miracle training a large dog that was feeling impossible to control. I am so grateful! And, the dog actually likes to be boarded there! This has been a wonderful find.

I love Big Oaks. I used to help my friend take her dog or pick her up from this place and she was always having so much fun she didn’t want to leave and get in the car. Today I took my dog Oscar for the first time (he is a rescued Curly coated retriever mix) and it was so awesome. Hardy greeted Oscar at the car and started petting and loving on him immediately. Elaine came up and Hardy said «Look honey, its a curly!» then looked at me and told me what a beauty he was. Oscar was all too happy to trot with Hardy down to the play yard where I know he is sure to have lots of fun play time with the other regular day care doggies. I plan to take Oscar here every day until my house is finished in January (we are stuck in an apartment until then), and even after my house is built Oscar will be at least a once a week visitor just to keep him happy. Their prices are fantastic, and the most important thing you can just see by the way they interact that they truly love dogs and their well being comes first.

This place is awesome. We have 3 dogs and they give a multi-​dog discount. There are chickens and other things running around (separate from the dogs) that just make the place feel like its a doggie resort. Our one dog is a cattle dog so he loves being around animals of different kinds… even if he can’t get to them.
The runs are big enough for 2 dogs, if you try to put 3 in there they will be too cramped. Unlike the last place I reviewed, these guys don’t charge you to let your dogs run around and play outside. My dogs love this place and get super excited when they show up, and when I picked them up after the 4^th they wanted to chase the chickens!
We’ll continue to go to this place unless the owners do something way out of left field that would make us leave. There hasn’t been anything that would suggest they do that, though.

I was a little nervous about leaving my dog for the first time at a kennel. I have to say that the overall experience was great. He came home happy to see us and was well cared for over the weekend. We will definitely be back!

We have a rescued 1 yr old boxer and 8mo shepherd/​pit bull mix. Yes, we have our hands wonderfully full :-) Both dogs were still rather terrified of the outside world when we had to leave Texas for 10 days over the holidays. We worried endlessly about where to take them; a scared dog can quickly turn to an aggressive dog. After speaking to Elaine, we decided to try the kennel knowing we could always have a friend pick them up if something were to go wrong. Plus, Elaine graciously agreed to give the dogs their Christmas stockings on Christmas morning :-) Well, I’m not sure how to say this, but we picked our pups up this morning and– well, they’re somehow the new and improved versions of our dogs! Annie, our puppy, is happy and sociable and more playful than when we left her. Walker, our boxer, is actually exhausted and cuddlier than ever! The pups have struts in their step they didn’t have before– they’re confident and happy! Not only that, but the staff was wonderful with updates when I called and had the dogs perfectly packed up to go when we came to get them. I can’t say enough good things about this place and I can’t say ‘thank you’ enough for helping make our fur-​kids more comfortable with the world!

My dogs love this kennel! It’s always a good sign when your dogs get excited the minute you arrive. I love the location, there are longhorns across the street, I can grab some fresh farm eggs and vegetables on my way out in the summer. It’s a ranch/​farm feel right outside the city. I’ve never had any issues and they do a great job taking care of my dogs.

I failed to make plans to board Pearl (my lab) at my regular facility for July 4^th weekend — which sent me on the hunt (did you see what I did there?) for a new boarding facility. I was happy that Big Oaks Kennels had space for her for 9 days and their price was right. I also liked the fact that they allow ample outdoor time for her to socialize and play — as long as she is well behaved. This helps me get over the guilt of having to board my dog in the first place.
Our vacation was such fun, we decided to stay an extra day — and Big Oaks was able to accomodate her with a simple phone call. Overall, I was happy with the service and pricing, but wish they had more flexible hours for pick-​up and drop-​off — which would have saved me for shelling out of an extra night.
I highly recommend Big Oaks Kennel — located in downtown Buda!

I have been a regular customer of Big Oaks Kennels for many years. My dogs have all been well cared for each time that I have taken them over to stay. I have 2 large dogs that need to stay together for their happiness. They have always been able to stay together and much happier. I bring their food because that does not cause their systems to react badly to other types of food. I was delighted to find that this is the policy of Big Oaks Kennels. I have my golden retriever clipped at Big Oaks Kennels during these HOT Texas summers. Each time that my dog’s vet sees him after his clipping, she compliments the clipping job. The clipping is very smooth and conforms to his shape nicely. There are no ridges in his cut. This is his second clipping this summer and once again the vet complimented his cut. My dogs enjoy their time at Big Oaks and I can visit, vacation, and rest knowing that my dogs are being cared for by people that truly care about my babies.

I had boarded my dog before at this place when I went out of town. Overall the place was not bad. She has a huge place for the dogs and they got lots of exercise.
I had set my dog up to be boarded this weekend; but, we decided to cancel. I had thought my wife had cancelled it and she had thought I had cancelled it. It was a simple mistake. I had called this morning to cancel our appointment. We had already put a deposit down. The young lady basically started telling me she was «Sold Out» for this weekend and she was turning folks again. She also said that I should have called her last week to cancel. Given, it was a simple mistake. I thought we had already contacted her and we had not. She does not normally give refunds on deposits but offered to give us one this one time but told us it was a $ 10 charge. First of all, you run a Dog Boarding business. I am sure if you are turning away people, you are still going to have customers calling in asking for availability. You do not need to start blaming me for you «losing business». One dog being boarded for 2 days is not going to break the bank if someone calls and cancels. Secondly, I appreciate the fact that this one time she was going to give me the benefit of the doubt and refund my money; but, you are still going to charge me $ 10 to do so? If your payment processor charges to refund money, it sounds like you need a new payment processor.
I liked having the option of having a local dog border where I can take my dog. The down side is I had to bring my own food. For $ 23 a day, it was more reasonable than other places. On the other hand, please do not treat your customers like they are inconveniencing you. You run a business where «life happens». So what if someone cancels? You have a slot open. You should have a waiting list of people who called in and you told them you were fully booked and start filling that slot.
For a few dollars more, I will take my dog to the order Dog Border where I do not have to bring food and I get a full update of how my dog faired while being bordered. I would have easily given this place 4 or more stars. Customer Service is big in any business. Now that you have belittled a customer, you have lost that customer.