Camp Bow Wow Columbia, MD

Everyone here really became a major part of our sweet boy’s life. He started going there shortly after turning 4 months. He grew from a shy little rottie to the «in charge grandpa» of the play yard. Every single employee here goes out of their way to get to know each dog and try to accommodate their time/​play as best as they can — while still keeping the safety of the majority as a priority. As far as the review that said the rooms are small — new parents are welcome to see the pups rooms and there is no way they are small. They have plenty of room for their cot food water and extra space to lay down (Our boy is about 90 lbs) Sending your dog to camp is like sending your child to daycare. Things happen. The counselors cant control and watch every single dog at every minute. Kids bite each other as do dogs. You can trust that your furry love will be cared for here at Camp Bow Wow. I cant thank them enough for the years of care and love our boy has received. Even after we moved 45 minutes south (and close to a well rated camp) we still drove back to Columbia so that he could go somewhere that he was known, taken care of, loved and more than anything had SO MUCH FUN! As soon as the back door of our jeep opened he couldnt be happier to be at CBW!

Active on social media, communicates through email and phone and it’s easy to schedule online. My dog is always excited when we get inside and wiped when I pick her up. She’s able to interact and socialize with all different types of dogs. It is on the pricey side however they don’t nickle and dime you like other places do (more to drop off early and pick up late, more to give them meds, more for longer play time, and so on). The camper cams are nice, especially when you’re out of town for an extended period of time. The staff seems a little hit or miss in the rooms. Some are more interactive, attentive and affectionate while others seem to not care less unless there’s an issue.
Yappy days are really cute! I experienced my first one recently and they clearly go out of their way to make you welcome and support/​promote rescues (yay!). This CBW is far and away where I recommend taking your dogs.

Very friendly staff, easy to schedule daycare or boarding online, and always get a quick response.
I love knowing that my dog is not stuck in a kennel all day, but that she is out playing. I know this because I can watch her on the camper cam and when I pick her up, she is exhausted.
I always feel comfortable bringing my dog to Camp Bow Wow for day care and boarding.

On the one hand, I love this place! My dogs always come back happy and tired, which is exactly what I want when I need someone else to watch them. The staff is super nice, they even sent us a congratulations card when our son was born earlier this year.
But, on the other hand… the whole process can be a hassle. They want the dogs there by a certain time, to have eaten by a certain time and if you don’t abide there’s a bit of what feels like shaming. The place is kind of expensive. I always send my dogs with extra food and I don’t think I get it back. Their grooming services are sometimes forgotten and still charged for, and other times done poorly. They have requested numerous «emergency contacts» for my dogs which they prefer to not be family members. Here’s the thing: if I had someone else to watch my dogs while I was out of town, I wouldn’t necessarily need Camp Bow wow. So I have to ask all my cat owning friends if they could be my dog’s emergency contact and that gets awkward. Also, did I mention expensive?
But back to the pros: the place is clean, the staff nice and my dogs are always happy. Don’t buy the grooming (other than a bath) and it’s still a great place. I’ll continue to take my dogs there because I hate the idea of kennels, petsmart limits the playtime for dogs and charges extra for it, and I am glad to be able to leave them trusting that I’ll spend a fortune and come home to two happy dogs… with poorly trimmed nails. :)

They have way too many dogs inside of these small rooms. Don’t take my word, just look at the «Camper Cams» from their web site, the cams are open to the public. Our 1 & ½ year old dog got bitten up twice and the vet bill was over $ 125 each time. The dogs fought because they are all cooped up yet they said our dog is «aggressive». No, she is 1 & ½ years old and has never been treated aggressively or exhibited aggression and we have had her since she was 2 months old.
So before you spend money or more importantly, before you put your little family member in harm’s way, check out the cams. Look at inside room #2 and inside room #3 cams during the day. Also, watch the staff walk around with their squirt bottles.

Amazing! Amazing service and my Siberian husky loves going everyday. A little pricy but more then worth it! He gets his exercise while I’m at work and loves going everyday! Always amazing ladies at the front desk greeting you. I would recommend this to everyone! Wonderful customer service! I love that they post pictures everyday of my husky in the play yards on Facebook! Amazing. Wonderful. Fantastic!

I’m really surprised to see 2 or 3 star reviews – we’ve been taking our dog to CBW for over a year now and love it. The staff really cares about our dog – they even called one day when we kept him home to check on him.
As other reviewers have said, they are picky about the dogs that they accept, and they are very concerned about keeping dogs up-​to-​date on vaccinations. They’ll call me if they notice anything unusual going on with my dog. I’m ok with that. They are protecting their clients’ dogs.
I love that they’re very active on social media and have streaming video of their play areas. They’re completely transparent and I *know* what my dog does all day. We used to take our dog to another «upscale» doggy day care in the area (I won’t name it) that didn’t offer streaming video and my husband and are convinced that our dog spent a good chunk of his day in a kennel there. When our puppy comes home from CBW, he is exhausted and we know that he’s been active and playful all day.
While I don’t love boarding my dog, we have boarded him at CBW a couple of times and have no concerns whatsoever.
We’re big CBW fans and I’d be happy to answer any questions from other HoCo dog owners! What’s most important is that our dog loves going to CBW – he goes nuts (in a good way) when we get there.

We have used this chain many times, and most recently the one in Columbia. Always have been pleased with Camp Bow Wow’s services that they offer. I usually only go here for when our dog needs to be boarded for long durations, but she loves the human attention and playing with other dogs in this environment. No sitting in a cage or kennel here… which is a great plus. Price is affordable for what you get in return. The webcams are great and the staff is very dog knowledgable. I feel comfortable knowing that our dog is in their hands. The interview process is rigorous, but fair, as long as your dog behaves around other large groups of dogs, you will pass!

We have used their doggie daycare services a hand full of times now and we love it. Sofia comes home so tired from playing with other dogs and just sleeps the rest of the night. I don’t like leaving her home all the time alone and this is a great way for her to learn to play with other dogs and not be alone all the time.
We haven’t had to use their boarding yet but if we are ever in need we would definitely use them.

We called to check on reservations for our dog. We were told we would need to update his records and we needed to fax in the updated records before proceeding with appointment. We said ok, rather then faxing it in, can I email it? Staff said yes, you need to do an updated info sheet as well and you can attach his records when you email it back. Said they would email us the info form. Never received an email, so we went down personally with the records and to fill out the info sheet. Handed the original records to the girl at the front. She went to copy them. She then lost the tags and the originals. Was handed a copy back, so then I asked for my originals back. She said no you gave me a copy. I said no the stickers are on the originals. She argued and then realized what I was saying and gave back the originals. Then the tag was gone, so a phone call was issued by me back to notify them that the tag was missing. Front staff said no the tag was not missing from the page. Then she asked me to hold on. I heard some jumbling on the phone and she said here it is, it’s caught in the copier. I told them I would be back in the morning to pick it up. She said oh sure, but there is only one tag (uh yes there was only one tag on the paper that I had expressed missing). I said that’s fine and I will see you in the morning. Nothing wrong with the dog service just incompetent staff.
My wife was recently sent a survey. She completed the survey with an honest response as I told her what happened. My wife was called by Eric the owner who wanted to hear about the situation. Defended his staff and was offended by my wife’s honest response to his questions regarding the situation. He then stated that it was safe to assume we would not be back. My wife told him that was not her intentions but if he felt that we did not need to then we would not be. He expressed yes he would rather not service our pet anymore.

We are fairly new patrons of Camp Bow Wow, but have had a great experience thus far. We’ve brought our dog, Cody, here a few times for day camp, which he absolutely loves. We can watch him all day long on the webcams (which makes me feel totally comfortable about bringing him) and he comes home exhausted. He is just under a year old, so he’s still learning how to play/​interact with other dogs, and the staff has told me that he’s done a great job so far. It’s nice to see the staff members going in the play areas to interact with the dogs and give them some love while they’re running around. I also like that there’s an outside area that the dogs can access whenever they want.
This past weekend, we boarded Cody at CBW. The price of day camp is included in the overnight stay, which is awesome. They feed the dogs in the morning and the evening (or whatever your dog’s feeding schedule might be) and they get a «nap» during the day too. At night, Cody got a Kong with peanut butter before bedtime. The main reason I didn’t feel too bad about boarding Cody here (besides the webcams) is because the dogs don’t have to stay in crates. They are, of course, in a fenced in area, but they have space for a bed, water, food, toys, and still some space to roam around/​lay on the ground if they wanted to.
Each time we’ve come for pick up, the staff seems to recognize me right away and says they’ll bring Cody right up. Michelle, Michael, and Sarah have been especially helpful and friendly. We will definitely continue to bring Cody here to play for day camp, and board him when needed as well. Thanks Camp Bow Wow!

Staff was not as friendly as I had experienced at other Bow Wow locations.

My dog and I both like Camp Bow Wow!
I started taking my dog, Stormee, to Camp Bow Wow, when I moved back to MD from CA. My dog was used to being around other dogs and well socialized and I wanted that experience here. Also, I work pretty long hours and commute a half hour to work and didn’t want to leave her penned up in a kennel 9 – 10 hours a day. Sometimes commute home can take up to an hour due to traffic. So I was ecstatic to find this place and take her there. Her first day was shaky, and she didn’t seem as receptive. But now we’ve been going to Camp Bow Wow for about two months now, and as we pull up, my dog starts barking to get out the car and go in and play with her friends. And for me that speaks volume.
I’ve met a good deal of the staff and they all seem to know my dog by sight and also know her name without having to look it up. The staff are super friendly, in the morning I’m usually greeted by Katie and in the evenings by Eric and or Katie again. They are all charming and friendly. I’ve had the opportunity to meet many of the staff and am impressed with their dedication to the safety of the dogs and and cleanliness of the facility.
I’m also very impressed with the management staff. I’ve found them to be knowledgeable, informative, and yes, very strict in regards to dog behavioral issues and vaccinations. As a client who entrusts them with the care of my dog, I’m GRATEFUL that they are.
Stormee LOVES camp! The best thing about B/​W is the open «free» play environment. Dogs are able to access both inside and outside areas and are well supervised by the staff. An added bonus is that I have a tired, calm dog after camp instead of one who has been crated all day. The only downside is that before a very quiet doggie, Stormee has found her voice and now barks when she’s excited… but small price to pay for the piece of mind that Camp Bow Wow provides.
Thank you guys for being so awesome.

I first contacted Camp Bow Wow on a Sunday evening to inquire about day camp and boarding services. The woman I spoke with was very pleasant, informative, understanding and knowledgeable about dogs as I described my dogs’ quirks (both are rescues) and asked about how to go about getting started with services. I thanked her for the information and went to review this information with my husband to coordinate schedules. The next day I called back and spoke with a man who talked with me in a terse and brusque manner but I scheduled an appointment anyway because of the positive experience I had with the woman the day before.
Our first few visits went well so we made a reservation for our dogs to stay the entire Memorial Day weekend. When I called to confirm our reservation and ask about medication administration one day while the dogs were at daycare, the man at the front desk informed me that he was classifying my dog as «gate aggressive.» At first I thought he meant my older dog who likes to hang out at the gate at the dog park and loudly announce the arrival and departure of other dogs (we call him the Dog Park greeter), and I understood how that can be disruptive when you are trying to get dogs in and out of the gate at the end of the day. I was quite surprised when he told me that was the younger dog, which was really out of character. When I voiced my surprise and asked for clarification, he asked me to hold on and spoke with one of the people that work directly with the dogs. She told him that the vacuum, which was used at the end of the day, bothered the dog and he would try to get out of the gate to get to it. She said they were dealing with the situation by putting him in «a cabin» during that time. I informed him that this dog does have a history of problems with the vacuum cleaner and that was an acceptable solution to the issue. It is common for herding breeds to be bothered by the sweeping motion and noise of a vacuum cleaner, and again it seemed the staff directly involved with my dogs understood this and knew how to handle the situation appropriately. How the man at the front desk dealt with the issue; labeling it as «aggressive» instead of asking about me about the behavior and taking a problem solving type of approach, irritated me and made me start to question the facility.
When my husband arrived the Friday morning of Memorial Day weekend, he gave the man at the front desk a list of our dog’s medications. The man was clearly annoyed by «all of these meds»; took the bag with the instructions and meds; and went off with a huff. My husband called me concerned about this but at that point it was too late to make other plans so we went with it. Around 4:30pm, my husband got a phone call from the man at the front desk telling him that the dogs weren’t taking their medications and he was labeling the older one as «food aggressive» because he «attacked» one of the staff. My husband asked how they gave the medications and the man reported they were put in their food (which is dry kibble). My husband let him know that it needed to be put in something like cheese or peanut butter for the dogs to take it, which is common knowledge to anyone who has ever given medication to a dog. As for the «attack», the man wouldn’t clarify what that meant and he hung up. My husband and I were really concerned at that point. We know our dogs and if the older one «attacked» anyone (which probably meant he barked and possibly nipped at staff as they tried to close the door to his cabin), it would only be because he was under extreme stress. Thankfully we were able to talk to our friends, who accommodated our bringing the dogs with us on our trip. My husband went to get the dogs and could not believe the man at the front desk was surprised that he was taking them home early. The man said they took their meds fine because the staff put it in peanut butter so everything was okay. My husband let him know that his description of our dog’s behavior told us that they were too stressed out here so we were taking them with us. The man said that had nothing to do with what any of the staff did, once again showing how little he knew about dogs, and very rudely commented, «after all he is on Prozac (for his anxiety due to Hurricane Katrina).» My husband let him know that it was younger dog taking the anxiety medication, and that comment clarified why we were not leaving our dogs there.
We have not been back. It is a shame that the facility continues to not only employ someone with so little knowledge of dogs and customer service but gives him so much power, especially since there are others there who would be much better suited to that position.

These guys are ridiculous. They guy I talked to, Eric, was a extremely pompous and rude. I had to jump through a few hoops just to get an evaluation scheduled. Once we were able to get in for the evaluation they took my dog back for literally 30 seconds before bringing her back and saying she was tucking her tail and acting submissive therefore she cannot board at Camp Bow Wow. What?!?
Take your money and dog a few miles away to Dogtopia in Clarksville. The staff is great and my dog loves it.

Eric (one of the owners) can, admittedly, sometimes come across as a bit stern but he really does care about the dogs a great deal. We’ve been taking our dog (greyhound mix) there for about a year now and she loves going there. The great part is that we always know that she’s well taken care of when she’s there.
I know that they do remove some dogs from day camp and I’m not entirely sure how they determine that but I’ve been told that it’s for the safety of the dogs. My little dog plays pretty rough, though, and she’s always welcome there so I have to imagine that if a dog does get listed as not eligible for day camp that they’re being particularly aggressive.
It does get expensive, but it’s comparable to the other day camps that I’ve encountered in Columbia (DogTopia, Coventry, etc…). That said, every month they have a Yappy Day where camp is $ 20 and they have wine and cheese for the parents at pickup.

We recently boarded our dog here for ten nights, and while it did cost quite a bit, it was worth the piece of mind to know that the furriest member of our family was well taken care of while we were out of town. We did the day camp a couple of times before boarding so our dog could get used to the place, and she really seems to enjoy it. We enjoy it too, because she comes home tired and we get a night off from dealing with full puppy energy! We plan to continue with regular day camp visits in the future.
CBW is very strict when it comes to vaccinations, so make sure your pooch is up-​to-​date on everything (details are on the web site). You’ll also have to do a one-​day «interview» session before your dog is invited back, just to ensure he or she plays well with others. We asked for (and happily received) a tour of the facility on the interview day. It was great — very clean and well-​maintained. The staff is well trained and clearly knows what they are doing.
If you do decide to board here, be sure to ask lots of questions about their rules. When we dropped our dog off for boarding, I had placed a small supply of her daily supplements in a Ziploc bag. The staff, although more than willing to administer them daily, was unable to take them since they were not in their original container. If something happened to our dog while we gone, they wouldn’t have been to tell a vet *exactly* what she had been taking. It makes perfect sense, but it’s not something I had thought of beforehand.

Wow, how does CBW have only 2.5 stars? I LOVE this place. We never actually boarded our dogs there, but used to take them for daycare to burn extra puppy energy. We were really bummed when we moved to Falls Church and there was no CBW nearby. They knew me, my fiancé and our dogs by name each and every time we went. It is a little pricey, but no more so than other dog day care places i’ve experienced. And hey, if my dogs come back too exhausted to chew on shoes/​carpet/​furniture/​toes, it’s worth it, right?
The thing I loved most about this place is that it’s indoor AND outdoor; it seems like they open the door to the backyard about 5 – 10 minutes each hour or so, and if the weather’s nice they pretty much just leave it open. I don’t like the idea of my dogs eliminating inside, no matter what kind of flooring they use; I don’t want them to get into the habit. The other thing I really love is their webcam, it’s nice to be able to check in and see my dogs making new friends! (It was nice to see the workers cleaning up and really interacting with the dogs too, it’s obvious they really do love what they do and care about the dogs)

I was planning to take my 4 month old puppy here but could not manage to even make an appointment for a «Meet and Greet», which is required prior to boarding your dog. If you happen to talk to Eric, hang up right away! He’s very rude and turned me off Camp Bow Wow immediately. His pushy and obnoxious attitude made me think that if Camp Bow Wow hires jerks like that, I would NOT feel comfortable leaving my puppy in their care. I’d rather find a kennel that knows how to communicate with its customers. For $ 50/​night, I think we can find somewhere else to go.

My two furry friends seemed to love it while they boarded there. Both are older dogs and got a lot of activity. They looked in good shape when I returned. One was trying to go back inside when I picked them up.
Staff is very conscientious and does not leave any stones unturned. If you are worried about your dog being well cared for then this is the place.
One down side is that it is a little pricy$$$.