OWNER'S RESPONSE TO MY REVIEW: BOLDFACED LIES. COULD BE THEY WERE OVERWHELMED WITH TOO MANY DOGS THAT WK & SHE WAS HAVING A BAD DAY WHEN WE CAME TO PICK HIM UP, BUT LIES ARE UNACCEPTABLE. HAPPILY MOVING ON :) We recently had a very bad experience with Leader of the Pack Canine Institute (LOTPCI). We had to find last-minute boarding for our dog and chose LOTPCI due to the mostly good reviews and convenient location. Once we were already out of town, they evaluated our dog and told us he "failed" their eval & therefore had to be put in "private" boarding, which consisted of a small room by himself wherein he could hear, see & smell the other dogs, but was not permitted to interact with them. We were told he was given 5- 6 "walks" per day. Our dog ALWAYS gets along with other dogs. We believe the reason he "failed" was due to his being stressed by being put in a strange/new place and was given an eval in a very unnatural manner. He was put in a room and dogs were introduced to him one at a time, increasing the number of dogs until for some reason he "snapped" at one and was then put in private boarding. We spoke with the director and requested he be given a second chance the second day, or even third day in, and were told they would not honor our request. We purchased 15 minutes of playtime wherein we were told someone would toss a ball for him (this cost an additional $15). We were used to a place where our dog ran free, under good supervision, slept, ate, played with the other dogs and the people, who always loved our dog, loved to play fetch with him because he is so energetic, athletic and accurate. He was always given an excellent report upon completion of boarding, having been the "social leader" of the pack, welcoming the new dogs into the pack and always willing to share a toy. He loved cuddling up with the people and other dogs at night. He was always a pleasure for them to have, from day one, at their facility. We were shocked to hear he was not going to be allowed to play with the other dogs here. Upon return from our trip, we went in to pick our dog up, we paid our bill, and were treated very rudely by the owner (Lisa? I didn't even know she was the owner, as she did not introduce herself.) She could clearly see that I was not happy with the fact our dog was isolated for five days, and rather than take my husband and me aside, and ask what the matter was, she gave me a cold, hard stare, and was very short, curt, and rude, asking me what the problem was. I started to explain to her my complaint, when her husband walked in, and she rudely interrupted me by telling him he would have to talk to me because she "just can't do this" and left the reception area. I started to explain to him our complaint when Lisa walked back into the front area and rudely interrupted me again, spatting out, pointing her finger at me, "Do you know why your dog failed the evaluation?! Because he SNAPPED at a dog! That's why! Your dog does NOT get along with other dogs!" I told them, yes, I do know the reason he was put in private boarding, but I was simply trying to explain why we were upset with this, as usually our dog gets along fantastically with others, & for a second time was rudely interrupted and not given a chance to talk. Her husband tried to get her to stop spatting words at me and to give me a chance to talk, & she wouldn't. She was clearly very defensive, and certainly not open for any type of negative feedback from customers. When she and her husband left the room to go get our dog for us, a young man at the front counter heard me saying to my husband "Wow, I had no idea she was the owner. That's no way to run a business. The customer should always be heard." This young man was apparently the owners' son and he said "That's my mom you are trash-talking and you need to get the hell out of our lobby!" Well, I didn't leave until my dog was brought out to us. He was ecstatic to see us needless to say, and the feeling was mutual. He was fine physically, however, it took several days to get him calmed down and for him to trust that we were not going to leave him again. He also had a very hoarse, "crying" bark for two days. We assume he was very stressed & barking a lot for those 5 days, wanting to hang with the pack. I do have to say the husband (didn't catch his name) was kind, polite, & tried to give me a chance to talk, but his wife sabotaged it. I believe the overall approach & attitude of the business, at least in our situation, was very closed-minded, strict, & not pro-dog socialization. They did also say at one point they had far too many dogs on site to take a chance putting our dog in with the group. Perhaps they might not want to have more dogs than what they can comfortably manage. Needless to say, we will never go back here. We found an amazing place called Priority Dog in New Tripoli that has open fields and a very kind, open, positive approach to dogs, not a closed, punitive approach such as LOTPCI. read more