Doggy Paddle Aquatic Center For Dogs Chicago, Illinois

There are few things in life that make Teddy as happy as doggy paddle does. We can barely control him when we walk through the door because he is so excited to be there. We love splash and play for him and he is exhausted and happy when he comes home to us. The staff is amazing too. Super nice and so great with Teddy. Highly recommend!

Didn’t like the way the class was conducted. My expectation was that an actual trainer is going to train the dog to be comfortable in the water and not just force them in. If that was what they called training, it wouldn’t be any different than pulling your dog in the lake and forcing them to swim. I thought they’d have actual training where they assess what the dog’s motivation is. For the price we paid, we certainly expected a better experience considering this is only for 30 minutes. The facility itself was not the cleanest. The doors they had were rotting on the bottom and the pool looked really murky.

We overpaid for a 3-day package that we did not get to use completely (so effectively a 2 day package) because the company does a horrible job helping you schedule visits. For some reason 1) the staff rarely pick up the phone and only text you (but when they do it's randomly) and 2) one of our pre-paid visit expired without notice or reminders of any sort within a few weeks from purchase -- shockingly, given that we had reached out to ask if our visits expired and one of the staff texted back that it would expire in December 2021. Unfortunately, when I went to book it it turns out that was not true and they just kept our money and didn't offer a refund for sharing misinformation. See screenshots attached. All of this is too bad given how much my dog loves a good swim. The concept is awesome but it's being executed very so poorly. A simple solution would be to offer an online registration system where can people can schedule classes directly or see what's busy. I hesitated to leave this review and hoped to give this feedback to the manager but unfortunately when I tried they again didn't pick up calls, return the call when I left a message, or even reply to my last text. lol I hope this helps some of you avoid some headaches and waste of money!

I really enjoyed visiting here with my doggy girl - no doubt it's a lovely facility and she was worn out when we got home but the price is crazy expensive! $29 (has to be bought in a 10 pack, week nights only) to $48 for an a la carte 30 minute swim is waaaay out of our budget so unfortunately, we won't be returning. If you've got that kind of money, though, go for it - your pooch'll love it!

Hendrix absolutely loves Doggy Paddle. He spends most of his time home with me, but the few hours he is at Splash and Play each week, he comes home very happy and tired! He gets a lot of impact-free exercise in the pool and loves swimming more and more as he keeps going. Thank you!

Great spot with very attentive staff

I have never seen my golden retriever happier before! He definitely had a blast at the pool!! He didn't want to get out of the pool! We're so happy that we brought him there.

My pup LOVED this place. Instructors are great, staff are friendly and accommodating, and the facilities are perfect with their setup. My pup swam in a nicely sized saltwater pool and they were very upfront that diarrhea and dehydration are common in that water. My pup did great though! He love every bit of his 45 minutes and was dog tired for days! Highly recommended facility!

I submited a request to be able to have my dog attend this center. This was 4 months ago! It's RIDICULOUS how long it takes for a "medical clearance". Its more "work" than having your kids attend swim class. I'm soo glad my doberman never attended ! after reading a doberman died on their watch. I'm taking my money elsewhere.

I went here to introduce my pup to water and the staff there did a great job getting him used to the water and swimming, since then I’ve been using their splash and play for a couple of months now. Staff is friendly and accommodating, they recognize my pup and are great with him (sorry he pulls towards the pool every single time)- one of their staff reached out to me about a scratch on my pup’s nose, it was there prior to playtime but, for me, it says something about his attentiveness to the pups and I couldn’t appreciate it more. The facilities are clean. Cherie does an incredible job reaching out to schedule splash and play and grouping play types together. And finally, my pup comes home exhausted in comparison to other daycares I’ve used in the area. I have nothing but amazing things to say about Doggy Paddle. :)

Xaylin and Vanessa are amazing! I took our 9 year old dog, Legacy, for the first time after looking for options to get therapy for her arthritis. The staff were very patient, extremely friendly, and walked me through the process with our dog. Our dog enjoyed every moment and she came back tired. The staff and clean facility truly made the difference, I will be bringing her back with our other dog in the near future.

When we first came during their opening the staff was pretty nice and professional. For my dog, she kinda of enjoyed it but wondered why I was just sitting there instead of joining her in the pool like we do together at Montrose Beach. She also prefers a graded floor to which she can walk into the water as she’s not a jumper. To that note, this place isn’t for everyone. If your dog is not accustomed to water, get them trained before you do. The tier pricing is a little odd numbered. You can do a la carte swims or plunk down a good chunk of change in monthly memberships. The downside to pay-per-swim is that you lose it if you don’t use it. We don’t really need weekly swims so we can only do a la carte. This option wasn’t available during our first times here (went three times) and then the remaining swims expired. The only logic I can find behind this is that you lose and they gain. For us, this place can be beneficial during wintry cold days and for low impact exercise, especially if they have had a leg injury and are getting back to a normal routine. This was the case with my dog and gave thought about coming back. However, during our two recent visits to the front desk, they lack in any sort of customer service. Their tone felt rather unprofessional and didn’t seem very interested in getting my business again. When I asked about getting the vax records faxed to them and the time needed for approval, the feeling I got was that they were doing me a favor instead of being more welcoming. The manager was very curt and matter of fact telling me they were “too busy today anyway”. I’m not one to ask for a business to wash my and kiss my feet upon entering, but for Pete’s sake, be more welcoming and accommodating. This makes me question how well we’ll be treated as a returning customer and that they don’t take their business seriously enough. Because of this, I probably won’t be back at all. Montrose Dog Beach is free anyway.

Our puppy Winston had his first swimming lesson today and the whole experience greatly exceeded our expectations. Our instructor was so nice, patient and enthusiastic. He really made Winston feel comfortable in the water and by the end of the lesson it was already a night and day difference in his confidence and skills. We also loved the playroom for him to run around beforehand and the warm towels, such a nice touch. We’ll be back and highly recommend taking your pups!

My pups had a great experience. First timers going to the pool, and it will take a few more times before they are completely comfortable, but great first experience. Swimmer was super gentle and kind with them, provided life jackets, toys, towels, and blow dryer at the end. Someone was always in the pool with them and helped them be comfortable.

What an excellent time, can’t recommend this place enough.

Could never have enough good things to say about Doggy Paddle! It is our dog Wrigleys absolute favorite place to be, and he always has such a great time. The staff is prompt at responding to all inquiries via text message, as well as always friendly on site, and eager to help make our experience amazing. I highly highly recommend!

The staff is very supportive and really helped my dog take to swimming. It took until the third session for him to really start to figure it out. I can’t even say the word swim around my place now because he gets so amped to go. I highly recommend it - the swimming is great, they have a really clean indoor dog park, and the best part is he sleeps for about 6 hours after.

Great Place to bring your dog! Great environment

We love this place. Great exercise and so adorable.

Saelen was gentle, kind and patient with our 9 year old first time swimmer. She held her to the deep end then coached her to swim towards us. We feel more confident about Barkley being around water now.

THIS IS THE WORST PLACE ON EARTH. MALLORY IS THE MOST CONDESCENDING NONPROFESSIONAL I'VE EVER ENCOUNTERED. I'VE NEVER BEEN SO DISCRIMINATED AGAINST IN MY LIFE. I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT THE OWNER, CHERIE REALIZES THAT HER TEAM NEEDS TO BE KINDER TO PEOPLE & TREAT THEM WITH RESPECT & DIGNITY. THE DEMORALIZATION THAT I FELT FROM HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH MALLORY IS NOTHING SHORT OF DISTURBING & DISTASTEFUL. FORGET ABOUR THE FACT THAT THIS IS A BUSINESS, WE'RE ALL HUMAN BEINGS WHO SHOULD CARE ENOUGH ABOUT EACH OTHER THAT WE SHOW GRACIOUNESS & GRATITUDE TOWARDS ONE ANOTHER IN EVERY ENCOUNTER! THIS HAS BEEN THE SECOND MOST TRAMATIC EVENT OF MY LIFE & REGRETTABLY I WISH I NEVER HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS HORRIBLE ORGANIZATION! THERE WAS NO OPTION FOR NO STARS, THAT'S WHAT THEY SHOULD BE RATED IS ZERO!

Outstanding service and great way to help your dog get out it’s energy.

My personal experience and I have an, “only dog,” was it could not have been a better one. Easy parking - SUPER FRIENDLY - Dog Lovers - Clean/Safe They were really helpful getting us to the point of getting him in. He had a few things to get done at the vet prior to sign off. For almost 10 days I was in text message contact (which I prefer) with them. Made me feel good about where I was taking PoP to swim. I have an exhausted happy pup. We both can’t wait to go back!

My 2 year old labradoodle has learned the joy of swimming like a pro at Doggy Paddle. We are so grateful for the amazing team of trainers, who have been patient, and encouraging with our pup in every swim session. Highly recommended!

My dog adores his swims at Doggy Aquatics!

My senior dog (a recent rescue baby) is just learning to swim through their short classes. Her swim instructor has been really great with her and she has made very quick progress!

It was a great experience. I would highly recommend bringing your dog here. Our dog has never been in deep water, but she had a great time. The instructor was super friendly and extremely gentle with our dog. He progressively got our dog to become more and more comfortable with the water. This day in the pool wore her out. We could tell our dog was enjoying it because she kept going back to the instructor for more. The instructor also told us what to expect from our dog after the experience. He was right on all accounts. It is winter in Chicago and it is hard to always get your dog exercise, this is a great way to keep them active. The instructor wore a mask the entire time. We felt very save indoors. They were following every covid-19 safety protocol and going above and beyond. The place was very clean and they give you a big fluffy towel to dry your dog after the swim. #LetsGuide #PetFriendly #dogswimming #dog #dogactivities

Caring staff and great experience!

What can I say, I paid someone to make me jealous by playing in a pool with my dog. Friendly staff, clean pool environment. Variety of toys, reasonable pricing. They'll do their best to make your dog enjoy swimming and tucker them out.

Great place to take your dog to really enjoy them swim and exercise. My dog loved it and came home so tired and slept all day after!