Barks N Rec

• You need an account to reserve or participate in any service except if you are attending a Play! Rental. If attending a Play! Rental, you will only need to complete a liability waiver that can be signed at the facility or online prior to the rental event.

• Or…Click Here to be directed to the new customer sign up page.

Yes. Please register here.

• We are currently only allowing tours for clients actively attending daycare or boarding reservations. Tours of the facility occur during the hours of 10am – 11am on Sunday only. Please contact us to schedule a tour as access to some spaces may be limited during certain dates due to special events.

• Yes, reservations are required. When booking a reservation request through the system, you will be notified via email/text once the reservation date/time is confirmed. If capacity allows, we may accept daily walk-ins. Please call to verify availability.
• An initial evaluation is required. This is a FREE session. Completion of a “Trial Day” reservation is required in order to book a daycare reservation. The trial day reservation must be at least 4 hours in length, but your dog is welcome to stay the entire day as long as we deem their interactions appropriate for daycare.

To participate in daycare, boarding, open play, or any event we require proof of up-to-date rabies, bordetella, leptospirosis, distemper/parvo vaccines. The H3N2 Flu Vaccine is strongly encouraged. We also require a clear fecal exam within the past 12 months. You can upload documents from your vet through your online account via the upload page, email them, or have them emailed directly from your veterinarian prior to your trail day evaluation.

In addition to immunizations, your dog must be registered with the City of Chicago (per Municipal Code 07-12-140) to attend daycare. You can learn more on how to register here.

To attend a grooming appointment we require proof of up-to-date Rabies, Bordetella, Distemper/Parvo vaccines. We also require a clear fecal exam within the past 12 months. You can upload documents from your vet through your online account via the upload page, email them, or have them emailed directly from your veterinarian prior to your dogs appointment.

• Your dog must be at least 16 weeks old to attend day care or any socialization events.

• All dogs over the age of six months must be spayed or neutered to enjoy Barks N’ Rec Daycare or any events where pet parents are not present. 

• Our normal drop off and pick-up hours are between 7:00am & 7:00pm. Early drop-off can be arranged for 6am, while late pick-up can be arranged until 9pm, both with 24 hours notice. For each hour before 7am and past 7pm, there is a $10 charge due upon check-out unless you are an Unlimited Monthly Package holder.

• While rare, scratches and light marks from playing will happen every now and then. Our staff is well-trained in judging when to break up play before it becomes too rough. Our staff is also CPR trained and we have serious injury first aid kits throughout the facility in the event an accident occurs. We also have record of your primary veterinarian on file with your dogs profile in the event we need to contact or transport. It is mandatory that all scratches, big or small, are reported to the owner before the dog goes home. Depending on the severity, you will be notified via a phone call when the event occurs as well.

• If your dog is sick, please do not bring them to daycare. If we notice irregular stool or other signs of sickness, your dog will be separated immediately. Depending on the severity, you or your dog’s emergency contact may be called so the dog can be picked up. Since we are a mostly open-air boarding facility, we may not be able to provide proper isolation in a kennel if we feel the situation is harmful to other dogs. For the safety of the other dogs, we cannot allow sick dogs to come to daycare.

• If you provide consent on your dogs profile, we will provide outdoor time when the area is in use, weather permitting.

• Of course! Our self-wash is open to the public M-F 10a-6p, Sat.-Sun. 10a-5p.

• Yes, at no additional charge! Please ensure you complete the feeding section of your pet’s profile for the reservation. Please portion out their food in a clear zip lock bag with detailed instructions printed on the exterior and we’ll be happy to serve your pup a meal!

• Yes, at no additional charge! Please ensure you complete the medicine section of your pet’s profile for the reservation. Please package the medication in a clear ziplock bag, if possible, and ensure all medication is in the original container with instructions for dosage clearly labeled and we will be happy to administer the medicine as necessary.

• New Years (12/29/23 – 1/2/24)
• Memorial Day (05/24/24 – 05/28/2024)
• July 4th (06/30/2023 – 07/05/2023)
• Labor Day (09/01/2023 – 09/05/2023)
• Thanksgiving (11/22/2023 – 11/27/2023)
• Christmas (12/22/2023 – 12/26/2023)

A one-time, $15, charge is applied per holiday for any reservations that overlap with the dates above.

Click here!

• We request that if your pet is unable to attend day care on any given day that you provide 24 hours notice so we may adjust capacity and plan for any on the waitlist.
• You may cancel reservations via the customer portal up until the requested reservation start time.
• You will be charged a $20 “No Show” fee if the reservation has not been canceled and you have not shown within 2 hours after the requested reservation start time. Please ensure you select the appropriate drop off time when requesting reservation.

Login to the customer portal

My Account > View Invoices

• Packages will expire per the following:
  • 5 Credits Daycare – 45 days from first use
  • 10 Credits Daycare – 45 days from first use
  • 20 Credits Daycare – 90 days from first use
  • 10 Credits Boarding – 365 days from purchase
  • Unlimited Monthly Daycare – 30 days from purchase

• Daycare packages are credits to be used towards your dog’s daycare reservations. A daycare package credit or single session daycare fee is required to cover a daycare reservation.
• Enrichment packages are valid whenever you choose to add-on extra enrichment activities to your dogs daycare stay. You can choose which days you would like to schedule extra enrichment when you reserve your dogs daycare stay. During the day, we will provide 3 extra activities outside of playgroup time for approximately 3-6 minutes each activity for a total of 15 minutes. These activities will vary but will be similar to nose work, puzzle toys, simple agility, snuffle mats, other brain games and more!

Your pups boarding reservation request will be confirmed once the deposit has been received and required reservations have been completed. We require 2 full-day daycare reservations be completed prior to your dogs first boarding stay at Play! The requested reservation will be canceled if the 50% boarding deposit has not been received within 14 days of the requested reservation start date. The deposit is non-refundable unless the reservation is rejected due to facility capacity or unmet immunization or exam requirements. For any reservations requested within 14 days of the reservation start date, the deposit is due in full at the time of booking.

We currently capture deposits boarding reservations. Those deposits are non-refundable and the following cancellation policy applies:

Reservation deposits are non-refundable, unless we cancel or reject due to capacity or unmet immunization/exam/health requirements. Your pups boarding reservation request will be confirmed or rejected once the deposit has been received and we have reviewed the reservation request. The requested reservation will be canceled if the 50% boarding deposit has not been received within 14 days of the requested reservation start date. For any reservations requested within 14 days of the reservation start date, the deposit is due in full at the time of booking.

For reservations that are canceled with at least 48 hours advance notice from the boarding time your account will be credited 100% of the deposit amount to use for a future service, either daycare, open play, or another boarding reservation.

For reservations that are canceled within 48 hours of the boarding time your account will be credited 50% of the deposit amount to use for a future service: daycare, grooming, or another boarding reservation.

We reserve the right to make exceptions to this policy based on capacity and facility requirements. If we cancel due to any of the above exceptions, your paid deposit will be refunded via the original form of payment within 5-7 business days.

Reservations that cancel within 48 hours of the scheduled service will incur a $20 reschedule fee charged to the card on file or to a future appointment charge if no valid card is on file. Appointments that arrive more than 15 minutes past scheduled time may be asked to reschedule and will incur a $20 rebooking fee. If you fail to arrive for a confirmed appointment, we will charge a $40 no-show fee (not arriving or arriving more than 60 minutes late) and may require a deposit for a future appointment.