Citizen Canine in Oakland offers boarding and enrichment for dogs, with a team praised for care and patience in helping dogs settle in. The enrichment program, Instagram updates, and popular add-ons (extra fetch time, a pup cup, Easter egg hunts) are highlighted by clients. Some reviews note it’s best for calmer dogs or those without significant medical or behavioral needs.
When we needed a new doggy day care we auditioned a ton of places. This one is just too out of the way for us for daycare but we love it so much that it is our go to for boarding! I love that everyone here seems to love my dog. Before coming here my dog was afraid of water and their park made her a now regular splasher. I love seeing their social media stories. The play/rest/play model is critical for my dog and they really nail it. I'm also a SUCKER for the add-ons. More fetch time? Yes. A pup cup? She deserves it. Easter egg hunt? T . T I'm crying. Thank you for loving my girl. We love you so much.
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Savannah Leyda
via Google
· 11 months ago
Citizen Canine is a great option for care if you have a well-behaved pup. I just want to caution anyone looking for support with dogs (especially if they’re med to large) who struggle with any reactivity or other behavioral issues. While the trainer Juju is very good with these kind of dogs and the employees have big hearts and the intention to meet your pup’s needs, their facility is just not set up for these tougher cases. I was really excited to bring my dog here because of the way it was advertised to support enrichment without overstimulation, but that just isn’t the case unfortunately. The hallways are pretty small and the way the exit is set up means lots of enclosed, busy, loud, stressful interactions for your dog. Again, highly recommend for calmer/easy dogs, the staff is amazing and so sweet to the dogs, but I sadly would not recommend this place for dogs that need extra care.
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Amy Smith
via Google
· 1 year ago
Summary: Nice people with good intentions, but missed a HUGE health issue while boarding my pet. For a while I was happy with Citizen Canine. They're nice folks who generally care about the dogs. However, the last time I boarded my dogs there, for a period of around 10 days, they missed a huge health issue that popped up with one of them when we were out of the country.
During the stay, they contacted me to report that my boy dog wasn't behaving well as he normally did. (Very odd for my sweet fella - red flag #1). They put him into a semi-isolation scenario where he got enrichment with the staff, but didn't get to play with the other dogs, except for his sibling.
When I went to pick him up, they reported again that he didn't behave appropriately, and that he stopped being responsive to treats during enrichment with the staff. This was red flag #2. [Anyone who has a clue about handling dogs knows that when a food-responsive dog stops being responsive to food, there could be a serious medical issue].
Then, as they brought my dogs out to me, I was immediately seriously concerned because my boy walked right past me when they brought him out. This was another huge red flag, #3, as I am his person, and he has literally never ignored me. Red flag #4 as we're leaving the lobby is that I notice he's repeatedly sneezing.
A few minutes later when I've loaded the dogs into the car and started back home, and I see red flag #5 --- green snot pouring out his nose. And I mean "pouring."
We get home --- about a 45 minute drive --- and he starts throwing up.
At first I'm concerned that maybe he had an allergic reaction to the scented spray they put on him without my prior consent (I had requested a bath, which they didn't give him --- they admitted to spraying some kind of scented thing on him instead).
I ended up taking him to the emergency vet shortly after he threw up, and he was diagnosed with a bad case of aspiration pneumonia. The vet was very concerned. Thankfully with breathing treatments and medication, he recovered within a few weeks.
Needless to say, I was extremely worried at the time, and remain disappointed in Citizen Canine. They missed easy-to-spot symptoms that my dog was having a serious medical issue, and jumped to the conclusion that my dog had suddenly developed behavioral issues (after playing and boarding there just fine in the past), instead of recognizing that he was in medical distress. They also neglected to offer any kind of apology or explanation when I called and informed the staff of the medical issue.
Needless to say, I never took either of my dogs back.
I didn't give 1 star because I do believe Citizen Canine is run by well-meaning people who generally treat animals well. However, they clearly have some issues to fix, given that they allowed this to happen.
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Carla Contreras
via Google
· 1 year ago
I been taking our girls (Hannah and Layla) to Citizen Canine since 2023. Hannah started first and later Layla joined her. They are both in the Enrichment program since Hannah is very timid and shy and tends to have a hard time adjusting. She eventually comes out of her shell. The staff is so wonderful, patience with Hannah and they take their time with her. Layla is easy going and is Hannah’s playmate. We feel at ease leaving them for a day, night, or long period of times. Layla does take daily medicine and they ensure is administered. We can see how much care and love they give our girls. I am very happy and pleased with their services. When they are in their care, we look forward to their Instagram stories. We are glad we found Citizen Canine! Thank you for a great job well done!!!
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Elizabeth Del Rio
via Google
· 5 years ago
My husband and I loved everything about Citizen Canine. After one of our two chihuahuas got denied from other boarding places we decided to expand our search across other cities in the Bay Area. After reading some reviews we decided to go with Citizen Canine even though it's a 45 minute drive.
From start to finish, the staff was very professional and truly caring. Our dogs connected with staff and other dogs (yay) and we just couldn't believe the difference between other places and Citizen Canine.
Not only were our dogs cared for, we could tell that they had fun and the staff built their trust. When picking our dogs up the manager Timothy kindly put sweaters on our dogs (chilly day) and we were in awe since one of our dogs does not make it very easy to put a sweater on...LOL.
We can't wait for our dogs to go back to meet their old and new friends but also get more love and care from the impeccable staff.
Overall, we are just grateful that a place like this exists for our two little fur babies.
Thanks!!! :D
via Google
