Get Quotes Contact Us Sign In
Website
Call
Ruffin' It Resort We customize each guest's stay to meet their individual needs, activity level, and personality. From the very active guest to the senior guest to the "special needs" guest, we lovingly provide the care that's right for them! At Ruffin' It Resort, there's only one thing on our minds: making sure your precious pooch is pampered to their heart's content! As a full-service, first-class pet resort, we believe every pup that waddles through our doors deserves the highest level of care!
Services
To provide dogs with a clean, caring, and most importantly, safe environment where they feel comfortable while their owners are away! We believe in creating an honest relationship with both our furry guests and their owners in order to provide exceptional service each and every time. We customize each guest's stay to meet their individual needs, activity level, and personality. From the very active guest to the senior guest to the "special needs" guest, we lovingly provide the care that's right for them.
Your canine companion is our valued guest, and you can be confident that when they're at Ruffin' It Resort, they're receiving a level of care that's worthy of appaws! Our fantastic boarding option for those looking to save a few bucks, but keep the amenities!
Leaving your four-legged friend home alone can make them anxious, lonely, and may have some destructive results when it comes to your furniture, favorite pair of shoes, or your brand new carpeting! Swing by Ruffin' It Resort and drop them off for a day filled with fun! We do have limited availability for daycare, so please call ahead to ensure that there is space for your pet!
We want every day at Ruffin' It Resort to be comfortable, enjoyable and FUN! That's why all hotel guests can choose a special play package customized for both social and non-social pups. Take the time to pup-grade your stay here with enrichment treats, one-on-one cuddles, mile walks, photo updates, and much more!
Reviews (25)
Write a Review
Maxwell M.
Jun 30, 2022
We brought both our dogs to Ruffin It Resort for a week boarding and they had a blast! They came home tired and happy! Would recommend to anyone looking for a spot to bring their dogs! After our first time there they actually knew our dogs and what they liked and disliked. We can't wait to bring them back!
Kit Steiner
May 29, 2022
They were great with handling my dog the first time we boarded with them. Since they've denied every reservation without any reason, no matter how far in advance we try to book. Wish they would just tell us if they don't want us to book with them and make it easier on all of us.
Robyn McFaul
Apr 15, 2022
Our dog Scotch had a great time at Ruffin' Resort! He was boarded for one night and got to try out their doggie daycare! He came home a very happy and tired dog! The staff there are wonderful and were helpful answering this crazy dog mama's questions!
Cassidy Schmidt
Feb 12, 2022
We boarded our two dogs for our wedding and they sent detailed updates and pictures at least once a day. Our dogs suffer from separation anxiety and they took wonderful care of our boys, and in the future anytime we will have a need for boarding in the future this is the place they will be!
McKenna Smith
Jan 26, 2022
They have a very unique building which makes boarding more fun in my mind even if the dog doesn't notice. Everytime I pick my puppy up he is leaping and jumping and I can tell he has had a fun day. He will always pass out in the car on the ride home. This doggy daycare has cameras so you can check in on your dog periodically. They also offer daycare on the weekend for large dogs which is very appreciated
Hanna Nibbe
Jan 24, 2022
My puppy always gets so excited to play with the other doggos. The staff are always so excited to see her as well. They are always so friendly and remember me and my dog whenever we come to day care. I also like they have cameras in the day care rooms. I will peek in throughout the day to see her. Highly recommend if you're looking for a good day care spot!
Tess Jacobsz
Jan 24, 2022
My dog gets so excited when he knows it's doggie daycare day. He absolutely loves it here and the employees are all so wonderful. This place has been a game changer with getting his zoomies out. And I know it's been a good day when I pick him up and he has slobber in-between his eyes and he smiles the entire ride back home.
Beth Moore
Dec 25, 2021
Our dog loves Ruffin' It Resort. He's boarded at several different places over the years and Ruffin' It Resort is consistently a favorite. The staff is incredible and we know he'll always come home happy, tired, and clean - the complimentary bath is a big plus!
Moonwood Llc
Nov 30, 2021
Our dog is 4 years old, very sensitive and timid. In addition, it was her first time ever, away from home. The staff worked with her to help her feel more comfortable, even phoning us to let us know how she was doing because they knew we were concerned about her. When we came to pick her up on her last day at the resort, she was relaxed and happy. I highly recommend Ruffin' It Resort!
Sasha Formisano
Jul 26, 2021
My 8 month old puppy is an anxious girl who needs time to warm up. I was so nervous leaving her for 4 days but I couldn't have asked for a better place! They made accommodations to her and did everything they could to make her stay as stress free as possible. They took detailed notes at drop off so they could take care of her exactly how I wanted.

They really do their best to make your dog feel at home and treat them like their own. I love how friendly every single employee I saw was! I definitely will come back in the future and will recommend to people I know!
Luthien N.
Aug 20, 2020
We've boarded our dog here overnight twice now. Both times she came out clean and seeming quite happy afterwards, which seems like the ideal situation. So I think I would recommend this place. However, beware that the prices for boarding are confusing, so what is listed on their website is not the actual price. Also, our recent experience left me concerned about trusting them with our dog again.

The first time we boarded our 65 lb. dog, I was told we should put her in a "villa suite" because anything else would be too small. We did that, and so on the second visit I asked for a villa suite again and was told she would stay in that. When I picked up the dog and got the receipt, however, I noticed she had instead been put in a smaller kennel - not what I was promised and one I was previously told was too small for her.

When I asked what happened, the person said she didn't know - she said there were plenty of villa suites available and they would've been better for my dog, so she was surprised she was put in a bungalow.surprised, yes, but didn't say she was sorry or concerned, which concerned me. It's strange dropping your dog off on the curb for a few days, then coming back and paying a bunch of money, totally clueless about what just happened or what you paid for. This oversight without any apparent concern has made it hard to trust them again.
Kat B.
Feb 03, 2020
Please be very wary of this place! We went for a tour here and were told that we could not look at where the dogs in doggy day care were kept. I told them I needed to use the restroom and went to look. There were several dogs. I was concerned by a king Charles cavalier standing on a wooden bench and shaking like a leaf and a corgi that was inside a little fenced ring the size of his body.

The attendant was a man about 20 years old that was busy staring at his phone. When I asked the woman at the desk why the corgi was in there she got mad and, without looking into the room, said "he put himself in there!" Last time I checked, dogs don't have opposable thumbs but thanks for that explanation. Clearly you are aware that he is being put in there for whatever reason.

When leaving, I excused myself for a drink and found him still in there. Aside from those gems. I was at a friends apartment complex's pool last fourth of July and overheard a very drunk lady tell her mother that she needed to go because she was on the overnight shift. My friend said she thought she was the new owner there. She seemed nice but I was disgusted!
Denise R.
Jul 23, 2019
My dog was a regular at Ruffin It Resort in both the day care and boarding. This past May we took her to board when we went to Florida. She became very ill on the second day which was a Sunday. The staff immediately recognized how ill she was and took her immediately to the emergency vet and notified us. Unfortunately, our dog was very ill with cancer.

We were not aware of her illness as she had not really demonstrated any symptoms. Amie, the general manager kept in touch with us as we tried to get home a quickly as possible. She cried right along with us. We made it home the next morning and we were able to see our baby girl before she passed. I strongly believe that without the staff of RIR being so on the ball, we would never have been able to say good bye to our girl. For that, I will forever be appreciative! We will get another dog someday and that dog will be a regular at RIR, too.
Keiz Z.
Jan 07, 2019
My dog went to daycare in this place last summer of 2018. When we picked him up and arrived home, we noticed he was breathing fast, lethargic and acting ill. My dog whined whenever he stood up and walked. We took him to the vet and the vet diagnosed him with heat exhaustion. The vet suspected that the staff LEFT my dog unattended in a VERY HOT summer afternoon outside for too long!

This incident really breached my trust in this business. I'm very disgusted by the way they treated me and my dog. I called them and cancelled all our future reservations for boarding and daycare and will never come back. Our first time experience was horrible. I dont recommend anyone to this business, save your pet!
Sara N.
Aug 23, 2018
It's near my house and I've heard good things. Brought my dog for a socialization assessment and was told he was growly with other dogs (I've only noticed this on leash when I first adopted him and he's much better now and he's in training courses to correct this behavior). He was allowed to do a trial day and then another trial day and now we're on a drop-in basis.

I take him to the Saturday playgroups and he does amazing! Runs and plays with other dogs, I've never seen him get snappy. I've seen other dogs get snappy and no one seems to care about that. They have resort cameras and my family will check in while I'm at work if he's at daycare and they keep noticing that some of the staff brush my dog off as an annoyance to them.

I know they need to be fair and some people pay for extra cuddles, but it seems like they go out of their way to ignore him (hopefully I don't sound like a crazy dog mom, I'm not!). I won't be bringing him here anymore for day care. They don't seem very interested in loving on my dog whereas he's gone to a few rover caretakers with other dogs in the home and they love him and take good care of him and he plays and comes home exhausted.

The woman who is in charge was very pushy to my mom during the assessment (and I witnessed her behave this way to another client and while I talked to her on the phone about my dog's trial day), the girl at the front desk rolls her eyes at me, the only nice person there is David the asst mgr who should be running the place.
Tyler S.
Dec 22, 2016
We've had two really poor experiences with Ruffin' It. We'll be going elsewhere next time we need a hotel stay for our dog. At the time of the one-night stay, our dog was in a cone and needed medication with his meals. When I made the reservation online, I left this in the notes section. We had an email interaction right after I made the reservation with the front desk, where they hadn't looked at the notes section and were unaware of his needs (I can let that slide).

But then they called my wife several days later to confirm his stay. Again they were unaware of his cone, or his need for medication (strike two). Then when I dropped him off the morning of his stay, they once again were not aware of his needs. I don't understand how this can be overlooked, but my main concern is simply that he gets his meds.

When I checked him in, I asked very specifically that they keep an eye on our dog to make sure he doesn't chew up his cone. He gets anxious and had chewed up his collar at a previous hotel stay at Ruffin' It where I suspect they weren't keeping an eye on him. After specifically asking that they watch him for this behavior, we go to pick him up the next morning, and he comes out from the hotel with no cone on at all.

My wife indicated that he had a cone and asked where it was, and they came out from the back, not sure if it actually was our dog's cone (it was) or aware that he had one in the first place ("he had a cone?") and it was chewed to pieces. The front desk staff was unapologetic, and continued to charge us for a day and a half stay (he was there from Friday morning first thing to Saturday morning first thing), they also charged us for cuddle time (which should have been included with his private stay), and a special needs fee which wasn't previously mentioned to us (and he still destroyed his cone).

I called back and spoke with the manager who seemed like he meant well. He offered to remove some of the charges for the stay, however we had to call him back 5 days later as he forgot to actually reverse the charges. This is not the first bad experience we've had here, but it's certainly the worst and definitely the last.
Jacob M.
Dec 26, 2015
This is long overdue. My wife and I had a terrible experience at a different boarding facility for our dog, so I was hesitant when she wanted to bring our dog here while we were on our week-long honeymoon. To say that this place exceeded our expectations is downplaying it. They truly treated our dog like a queen (and she got used to it). The welcoming process went smoothly.

Since she was switching rooms the last couple nights of her stay, they showed us where she would be sleeping. We told them about her arthritis and they provided her with not one, but two plush beds to sleep on and a rug in her kennel so she wouldn't slip and fall trying to get her balance. We got a chance to see her in the webcam while we were in Hawaii and my wife was so happy to see how our dog was being treated and making friends.

When we picked her up and took her home, you can tell she had an amazing stay. She was very energetic so my wife played with her for a while in the backyard. She even had a glowing report card. I can't express how much we appreciate this place and how they treated our girl.
Debi C.
Sep 22, 2015
We recently left our two pugs Dexter and Diego with them for an extended stay of 9 days and I have to say my dogs loved it so much. They came home exhausted. I would highly recommend this place if you don't trust most people with your pet, I don't even trust some of my own family. But they take such good of our babies. They spoil and pamper them just as we would.

One thing I loved is getting the emails thru our time away from them with pictures, very personally written telling us how they were, etc. Made us feel better, since I tend to get separation anxiety. I also love the remote camera access. This is our second time with them, first stay was five days. And we will be back to use their hotel again if the need arises. Thank you Ruffin it Resort.
Lindsay M.
Jan 15, 2015
I have always been nothing but impressed with Ruffin' It Resort. We have a very timid vizsla who needs daycare regularly to keep socialized. She is a very high-energy dog and we always know she will be exhausted after a day at Ruffin' It! Not only is it great for socialization, but it helps with the winter blues when it is hard to get your dog proper exercise.

After 5 years of sending her to Ruffin' It, we are firm believers! The staff is nothing short of wonderful, calling all "regular" pups by name. They really do pay close attention to the needs of every dog while they are in their care. They've given my dog a jacket to wear on cold days (when I should have been more prepared) and they always give you a great "report card" as a recap of the day. I would recommend Ruffin' It to anyone and always do when talking with friends.
Beth C.
Sep 17, 2013
My dog and I are new to town. I had to travel for business and needed a place to board my 15 lb poodle mix. I was excited about Ruffin' It based on their brochure. I was still a little nervous about dropping my dog off in a new place. She stayed four nights. when I brought her home, I immediately noticed two large scabs on her breastbone. I was horrified going through the scenarios in my head of how they got there.

The marks are most likely bite marks from another dog. I called Ruffin It back and left a voicemail asking what might have caused this injury. Four hours later I received a return voicemail from a manager. They obviously had no clue how the injuries were caused. I know stuff happens like this when dogs are around each other. I just can't believe no one on the staff knows what happened to my dog under their care.

When it happened, there was probably a lot of noise and, judging by the scabs, there had to be bleeding.it probably happened during the two hours of day care she had each day. I used to take my dog to PetSmart for daycare in another state twice a week. Nothing like this ever happened. The staff was very diligent about watching for this kind of thing and if something happened, I'm pretty sure I would have received a report.

I paid extra for my dog to be well taken care if during her first saty in a new place. This is not the first experience I was hoping for. I don't plan to return to Ruffin It.
Greg M.
Jun 12, 2013
We have taken our chocolate Labs to Ruffin It Resort for the past six years. Before our current dogs, we took our elderly Black Lab to Ruffin It. It is, without question, the premier boarding facility in Madison. Our dogs run into Ruffin It Resort when we arrive. We have boarded them for up to two weeks at a time, and without exception they come home and settle back into their normal routine without missing a beat.

The staff at Ruffin It Resort is exceptional. Renee (the owner) is a very caring person who takes the responsibility of caring for our dogs very seriously. I recommend Ruffin It Resort without reservation.
Chelsey K.
Jun 05, 2013
Previous review was filtered, but I encourage people to read it (scroll to bottom of page). For some reason, recent positive reviews all appear filtered. I absolutely love Ruffin' It Resort, and my lab loves it more. The quality of care she gets at her bi-weekly daycare visits is always outstanding. She plays hard, so a few bumps and scrapes here and there, but never anything serious. The dogs always look happy and the staff has been wonderful. Anyone in the area in need of daycare visits should definitely take the tour.
Karu S.
Apr 26, 2013
We have been sending our dog to Ruffin' it since he was a puppy about 8 months old. He loves it and is delighted to go everytime. He comes back tired and happy at the end of the day. We love it. The use primarily/exclusively positive reinforcement, so it is great for the dogs and inculcates good behavior in them without creating stress.
Kelly N.
Sep 05, 2012
Although it is one of the higher priced pet boarding places in the area, I truly think it is worth what you pay for. Our pup always has SO much fun while she is there and comes back home exhausted after a long weekend. The staff are all very friendly and seem to really enjoy working there. Added bonus: They have cameras that you can access through their website to see the dogs playing during the day! This is the only place I trust that my dog will be happy and stay healthy when we have to be out of town without her.
Jessie E. K.
Mar 26, 2011
The first time we boarded our dog, we brought her here. We did a visit, a sample day visit, and the staff was all very considerate and excited about her being there. We brought her for an overnight stay, and left specific instructions on her diet, her treats (and brought her food and treats for her) and paid for her to be in day care (out playing with other dogs instead of locked up.) We did everything we could to make it clear to the staff that this was her first time being boarded, and that she was a cuddle butt and would need to be with people and dogs.

When we picked her up, instead of being out in daycare playing, she was in the back in a kennel. When we asked why, they said since she was overnight shed gotten put back in her kennel (even though she wasn't spending the night that night.) We got no report card, no photo, and were charged way more than we'd expected and been quoted (over $100 for an overnight stay with 2 days of daycare).

The teenaged girls at the desk were unable to explain it to us, and didn't really seem to care to. Once we got home, though, I was unpacking her bag and found all of her food and treats in the bags I had sent them in. My husband called and asked them if that meant she'd been given the wrong food (that would consequently make her stomach upset) or if she hadn't been fed at all.

They told us that someone had called in to work that day, so in the shuffle, she hadn't been fed. Her first time being boarded, she was kept in a kennel, not played with, and not even fed. They refunded all of our money, and gave us a gift card, and a letter saying how sorry they were. As a business, they did everything they could do to make it right, but as a place to care for my dog, they did everything wrong. She's totally antisocial now, and we haven't boarded her since. After thus experience, we're too scared and not willing to put her through that again.