About Barks and Recreation

Barks and Recreation is a boarding and daycare facility at 965 Reddoch Cove in East Memphis, just off Poplar between Bud Davis Cadillac and the Blue Plate Cafe, and describes itself as "the only luxury facility in Memphis with Indoor / Outdoor runs".

What they actually do

Daycare, boarding and grooming are the published services, with play groups divided "not only by size, but by age and play style as well" and every dog individually evaluated by several staff before joining a group. The business also runs Walter's Heart Worm Awareness Program, a fundraising effort in memory of a dog that pays for full heartworm treatment and a year of preventative for an adoptable heartworm-positive dog.

About training, specifically

Their Training page is an essay on why obedience training matters rather than a description of a course they run. It argues that "a well-trained dog is by far a happier dog" because reliability earns freedom, warns against expecting results without owner effort – "don't think for a moment that you can leave your dog for a training class, come back in a week or so, and take home your well-trained, well-behaved dog" – and closes by offering to talk it through: "At Barks, we have very definite ideas about training methods and we'll be glad to answer questions about different trainers and the methods they may use."

What that means for you

Read that as a boarding and daycare business with a view on training rather than a training school. If you need a trainer, call and ask directly which program, if any, they run in-house. Contact is 901-509-0909.