Leader of the Pack Canine Institute — Attraction in Upper Macungie Township

My partner and I have used LOPCI on multiple occasions. We never had any problems with their service in the past and felt comfortable leaving our dog in their environment. However, our most recent experience was terrible and has ultimately resulted in our decision to never using their facility again. Issues included not informing us that the dog cams were undergoing renovation during our dog’s stay, picking up our dog with an unacceptable physical appearance (which had never happened before during his other stays), and our dog contracting conjunctivitis during his stay there which led to an additional vet bill. My partner wrote a negative review on Yelp and we immediately heard back from the owner, Lisa. She was very apologetic in her voicemail and sounded sincerely genuine wanting to resolve our issues and make things better. As she asked, we forwarded a copy of the vet bill to her and she responded that she would take care of it immediately by mailing us a check for the stated amount. We were pleasantly surprised that they were owning up to their shortcomings. A week past by, but no check arrived in the mail. We messaged her to follow up on this, and when she responded the next morning, Lisa did a COMPLETE 180 degrees on her view of the situation. In her message, she started to attack us, saying we were belligerent and rude to her employees, blaming US for our dog's unhealthy appearance when we picked him up, and stating the conjunctivitis was due to our dog's allergies! Needless to say, we became very offended and responded back to her in an aggressive, but civilized manner. However, we must have hit a nerve with our words, enough so that she threatened to call her lawyer on us if we continued to contact her. I'm sure Lisa will rebuke this review by saying that there are two sides of the story. Well here they are: Problem #1: She said that we were rude to her employees and that we "needed help". We were merely voicing our disappointment of the fact that a major part of the expected service of their business was not included, and we were not informed beforehand of this change. If they were aware that the dog cams were not going to work on certain dates, then they should have informed their customers so that we could make a choice to either stay or go elsewhere. Also, to be vocal about an issue and to speak with passion and fervor should not automatically be seen as being rude or belligerent. Problem #2: She said at time of drop off, once we were told there would be no dog cams, that it didn't appear to be an issue. Of course it was an issue, and I did express shock and surprise when the staff member informed me, but as we were leaving for the airport in less than 10 hours, what other last minute boarding option did I have? Problem #3: When we complained about the physical appearance of our dog that was left in THEIR care for the past 5 days, she turned the table on us and said that we were bad parents and don't take care of our dog's grooming (for the record, we groom him everyday). Problem #4: The owner blamed US for the pink eye and said that it was due to our dog's many allergies. According to our vet, the conjunctivitis was a bacterial infection. The vet confirmed that this case was in no way caused by any allergy that our dog has. I am the last person to complain about anything, and my feeling is if a business provides adequate and professional service, then there would be no reason to write a negative review. But when a business owner decides to shift the blame back on its customers for its lack of professionalism, they need to be called out. It is extremly sad that it has had to come down to this point. After our recent experience, we have heard stories from other individuals who frequented this business in the past and who have endured the same backlash from its owner when she feels threatened by other people's viewpoints. I wish her business all the best; however, I will never recommend them to anyone. Save yourself the stress and petty drama and send your loved...

Update: changing the rating as the owner reached out to me and was very empathetic of my dogs situation upon seeing my review. She expressed genuine concern and followed up with me after my dogs vet appointment. She also provided transparency to the sanitizing protocol at the boarding place. After my dogs visit at the vet, the doctor confirmed from the lab test of my dogs stool that she did not have any parasites. My dog is doing a little better and I am hoping it was just stress colitis that affected her health this way as she wasn’t tested for any bacterial infections. She is a small dog prone to separation anxiety and this was her first time boarding so that may have taken its toll on her. Unfortunately she has also been sneezing quite excessively though so I am currently unsure if this is related or whether she has something lodged in her nose (she ate a bowl of rice quite recently). Will continue to monitor her and update owner if anything comes up.

Leader of the Pack was very accommodating to book a private boarding stay (my dog is vaccinated but not fixed yet) for my dog the same week I first reached out, and the person I worked with was very nice and attentive to the tips I gave (upon explaining different foods I brought/CBD treats, etc.). Gave a 3 star rating as my dog immediately came home ill after her first stay here. I thought perhaps she accidentally ate something she shouldn’t have and that within a day or two her stool would return back to normal. It’s been a week now and it’s only gotten worse (diarrhea every hour and having to stay up overnight to take her out) so I scheduled a vet visit for tomorrow where they’ll be testing a sample of her stool. Upon googling her symptoms, it seems there’s a high chance this was caused by coming into contact with another dogs stool. At the time I picked her up from both her boarding stay and 4hr evaluation, she had what I thought was mud all over her paws and mouth from a walk (very evident since she’s a small white pup). All this leads me to believe perhaps it was a mixture of other dogs feces with mud. I know illness is a risk that is inevitable upon any dog boarding facility, but I am leaving this review to hopefully help improve the attentiveness during the walks and minimize the contamination for others in the future. Perhaps this was something due to staff shortage as I know there were Now Hiring signs posted throughout the facility and a line of dogs waiting to be checked in each time I was there. If so, this is a friendly reminder that as a dog mom I would much rather be told that boarding is at capacity to figure out alternative plans than increasing the risk of my pup becoming ill. I can provide an update/potentially reassess review after the vet here tomorrow depending on the diagnosis if that helps as well, in case the diagnosis does not align with what...

Leader of the Pack has taught us so much! We’ve completed Puppy Manners & Socialization, Adult Beginner Obedience, and most recently Intermediate Obedience Course with our rescue puppy, Cosmo. The knowledge we have gained as a family is immeasurable! We’ve taken learned knowledge and applied it to our everyday life, establishing a true structure of pack leadership inside our home. The extra tips and tricks that we acquired during the different class levels have helped our entire family, kids included, to feel truly confident in our ability to maintain consistent training in our home during each stage of new puppy life. I can honestly say without the curriculum and structure of the classes we wouldn’t be at the stage of routine and training we are. The trainers and staff are so knowledgeable, supportive, encouraging, and celebrate alongside you in the most fun ways! One of the best things about Leader of the Pack is that they are home to so many elements of dog owning needs. Training and boarding all in one place. We have utilized their services for a few daycare days, as well as several overnight boardings in addition to the classes. There is a certain level of comfort achieved leaving your family dog overnight in a place that they’re familiar with after attending classes in the building together, especially when each trainer greets your dog by name! We view Cosmo as a member of our family, so deciding how and where to board him was a big decision. We are so comforted knowing how they will handle our dog when we’re away because during the classes we saw first hand the commitment they have for training and most importantly patience. In each class we’ve completed, they have continued to stress how important patience with your dog is. We would recommend Leader of the Pack to any family looking for “leadership” when it comes to their family dog(s) since their leadership has had a profound impact on the success of our family growing together as a...