Dog Designs Grooming Salon

+1 859-635-5511

8109 Alexandria Pike # 12, Alexandria, KY 41001 United States of America

Open Today: -

Quick Facts About Dog Designs Grooming Salon

Strengths:

1. Quality grooming: Many customers express satisfaction with the grooming services provided by Dog Designs. They mention that their dogs come out looking great and smelling great, and even have more energy after their appointments. This indicates that the salon is able to provide excellent grooming results.

2. Personalized care: Customers appreciate how the owner, Laura Nelson, and her employees take the time to understand each dog's temperament and needs. They mention that Laura is particularly skilled at handling dogs with difficult temperaments. This personalized care ensures that the dogs feel comfortable and safe during their grooming sessions.

3. Competitive pricing: One customer mentions that Dog Designs offers high-quality grooming services at a more affordable price compared to other places. This is seen as a strength because customers can receive good value for their money without compromising on quality.

4. Customer service: Several customers praise the exceptional customer service they have experienced at Dog Designs. They mention instances where the staff went above and beyond to provide assistance, such as carrying the dogs to the car when it was raining. These small gestures contribute to a positive customer experience.

Weaknesses:

1. Allegations of abuse: One customer claims to have evidence of abuse and a vet bill that cost more than the grooming service. While this is just one customer's experience, it is a serious allegation that raises concerns about the treatment of dogs at Dog Designs. If true, it reflects a major weakness in the salon's operations.

2. Inconsistent experience: Another customer highlights that their experience with Dog Designs deteriorated over time. They mention issues such as unauthorized shaving of their dog and the presence of cigarette smoke smell on their pet. These inconsistencies in service and failure to meet specific requests indicate a lack of attention to detail and customer preferences.

3. Unprofessional behavior: Several customers express dissatisfaction with the owner's responses to negative reviews on social media. They mention instances where the owner threatened disgruntled customers, called the police on them, and engaged in unprofessional behavior. This kind of behavior can damage the salon's reputation and negatively impact customer retention.

4. Lack of accountability: Some customers mention that despite the owner's unprofessional behavior, they have not faced legal consequences or been shut down. This implies a lack of accountability within the organization and raises questions about the salon's commitment to addressing and rectifying customer concerns.

Overall, Dog Designs Grooming Salon has strengths in providing quality grooming, personalized care, competitive pricing, and good customer service. However, the allegations of abuse, inconsistent experiences, unprofessional behavior, and lack of accountability are significant weaknesses that should not be ignored. It is important for the salon to address these weaknesses in order to maintain a positive reputation and ensure the safety and well-being of the animals in their care.

Best TL Reviews

We're new customers to Dog Designs and are really loving it. After moving, we switched from groomers we used for years, but we have been very happy with Dog Designs - the pups look great, smell great, and have some pep in their step after their "spa days" with their new bandanas. ???? The ladies even went above and beyond by carrying the dogs to the car because it was raining - that's great service!

Laura Nelson the owner of Dog Design is the BEST in the business. Her employees as well. I’ve had my 12 year old dog to 2 other groomers before her and no one compares. She knows his temperament and puts up with him. Not to mention she’s so good she’s booked months in advance and I procrastinate and wait too long. He was groomed this past Thursday and I swear he’s like a different dog with more pep in his step again. I would recommend ANYONE to bring their pet to her. Not to mention she is by far way less expensive than most places with way better quality.

I thought I could trust Dog Designs to take care of my dog, and what did we get out of it? Abuse and a vet bill that cost more than the groomer. I genuinely have no issue showing the evidence of abuse or the vet bill.

No one shouldn’t tolerate abuse and I will not have my voice be silence. I understand that they’re some people that have had good experiences with Dog Designs, and I’m glad they were lucky.

Sadly my family was not lucky.

We used to use Dog Designs after first adopting our rescue pup, and had no issues the first couple of times. It was like our dog was genuinely cared for and taken care of by the owner directly. We truly had no complaints.

But then after that, we had no contact with the owner and every time we interacted with someone there, it was a new face each time. Our dog is a large mountain breed, and should not be shaved down; she's an indoor dog, and was never in shape bad enough to ever warrant shaving her down - but after a while, they took it upon themselves to just start shaving her, ignoring our requests when we asked them to NOT do this. She would also come home smelling like cigarette smoke, and usually had hot spots within a day or two.

But the last time we took her there was the final straw. My mother and I were dropping her off, standing in the lobby with a female employee checking her in. A tall man came from the back, and our 100lbs pup dropped to the ground, trying to hide between my mother and the door, even trying to bolt as this person came toward her. She has *never* in the nearly 7 years we've had her acted this way, around anyone. We knew she was abused by her previous owners before the rescue we adopted her from saved her, but this was the first time seeing her ever behave this way. The man wordlessly grabbed for her collar when she wouldn't immediately follow him, and against our better judgement, we let them bathe her this last time. Something about that interaction, and how our pup reacted to the staff left little to be desired in trusting them with her. Add to that the amount of complaints you can see on the internet regarding other families' pups being mistreated here, we have happily been taking our dog to another business, and she has had no issues and no traumatic experiences for her. She's not "just a dog" to us; the fear we saw in her that day was completely real and I would never put her through that again. This was a bit over a year ago now, and it’s my hope that these people are no longer involved, but I wouldn’t want someone else’s pet to go through what ours did.

Additionally, this is the least professional organization I've ever seen. ANY TIME someone is on social media requesting information for local dog groomers, folks who know the owner are all in the comments tagging this location. Depending on the platform, comments *not* praising this place are repeatedly removed. Just take a look at the response from the owner’s business page in these reviews any time someone does not sing their praises. That's not how you talk to disgruntled customers, who PAY you for your services and are displeased. Threatening them? Calling the police on these former customers and wasting police time? Saying "you can be tracked" if someone doesn't outright have their name on their account? Family members of the owner will reply to you, saying you "are just causing trouble" and "need to find something better to do." Ridiculous doesn't even begin to cover the behavior. The owner herself might be kind and take care of the pets, but not every person in that building does, and ultimately that's *her* responsibility.

Pets are family members too; I wouldn't leave mine here again if they paid me.

I love my pets too much to ever bring them to your establishment. Those of you who have posted about your awful experiences, first thank you for warning people, second I’m so sorry to all of you who were former customers who have gotten lied to.

Next I want to say, I am astounded that despite the clear and obvious threats that the owner has given people that they have not gotten in major legal trouble or even shut down.

Her responses to negative reviews are absolutely hilarious - comments regarding professionalism date back years. An honest review isn’t “slanderous.” I’ve heard many questionable things about Dog Designs over the years and considering our pets can’t tell us if something’s wrong, i would never recommend a groomer whose owner clearly lacks patience and basic manners.

Great place to take your furry friends! They treat your pet as if it was there own. I drive 30 minutes to get there even though there are places closer! Bella loves to go there!

EDIT: The owner still continues to spread false information about an “assault” that never happened. The owner likes to use false scare tactics and everything is still being documented as will the owners false comment she just made.

I do not recommend this business and if you are an animal lover I highly recommend you go somewhere else. My parents used to take our dog, Willis here for many years to get groomed. Willis has anxiety and he can be a handful to get groomed, so we always "thought" dog designs handled him pretty well. That was until upon pickup when my dad saw the groomer hitting him and pushing him down. This place we trusted was abusing him. They did such an awful job and hurt him so bad that we had to take Willis to the vet and have the injuries he sustained diagnosed. If you use this place of business to get your pet groomed please be aware of what is happening behind their closed doors.

Animal abuse should not be tolerated nor should liars and bullies!