Pack Leader Dogs

Pack Leader Dog Services is such an amazing company! Steve and his whole team do such a great job and really care about all the dogs. It’s amazing how they can really help you learn the tools to train your dog in a short period of time. We did a training session with Steve and I was amazed at how different our dog was by the end…the leash training especially! If you stick with the tools Steve and his team teach you then your dog will be very well behaved. We used to put our dog in daycare during the day but noticed her behavior became very different in a way we did not like so we now use Pack Leaders for walks 5 times a week and our dog’s behavior has significantly changed for the better. I have recommended Pack Leaders to several people who have all been 100% satisfied and I will continue to do so. I have nothing but great things to say about them and strongly recommend them for training, boarding and walks!

I cannot recommend Steve and Pack Leader Dogs enough. I have been using their services since 2015 and it has made an immeasurable difference in my dog Hachi's, as well as my own, life. Hachi was a rescue who I took home in 2012 while living in Denver, CO. He is and always was a great dog with a sweet, gentle demeanor but he had never been in an actual home before and thus never had any leash training or dog/animal socialization. He is a people dog for sure but when it came to his walks he was leash reactive and aggressive with dogs, other animals (squirrels, cats), loud stimulus (trucks, skateboards, motorcycles). When I made the move to Hoboken, his behavior worsened because it was near impossible to go for a walk without running into all of the above. I tried a few different methods and training techniques but nothing was working and it was making it very frustrating to manage. I found Pack Leader Dogs while searching online and Tamara (very helpful manager) set us up with the intro training session ASAP. It was absolutely amazing watching Steve assess the situation within minutes and communicate with Hachi in a way I didn't think was possible. By the end of the session Steve had Hachi walking past each of these stimuli without reacting whatsoever. He taught us how to better communicate with Hachi and show him that we were the leaders and that he didn't need to act this way. We also utilize their walking services each week where they continue to help reinforce these methods. Steve personally trains all his walkers, making them just as effective! Hachi still has things to work on, as do we as his leaders, but we are making tremendous progress all thanks to Pack Leaders. Hachi is now a much calmer, happier dog when we leave the apartment.

After adopting a 10-week old puppy in January 2016 we cycled through several training and walking options before settling on Pack Leader. Pack Leader's mandatory training before use ensures that owners understand the philosophy and how their dogs will be walked - which we loved! The whole "removing excitement" philosophy really made sense as we are dealing with a rapidly growing puppy. We love that the walkers all handle our dog in the same fashion, and that they are reinforcing the trainings in an identical way to how we are doing it at home. We also love the Pack Walks and the community that Pack Leader is building. Also - Tamara, the communications/operations director for Pack Leader is a gem - she is exceptionally responsive and always provides information in a quick and professional fashion that lets us react quickly! While there are an abundance of options in Hoboken, we'll definitely stay with Pack Leader because of its ecosystem of support, and because the training methods and philosophies are absolutely right for managing a very excited/high energy 50 lb puppy.

Also - I just thought I'd add .. I've met people with pretty strong opinions of Pack Leader due to watching the Dog Whisperer show. We've never watched the show, so can't comment on how similar/dissimilar our experience is to what's on TV, but never have we felt that our dog was fearful, or that he was negatively disciplined, or that any of the training tips were questionable or outside what we would consider helpful for having a well-mannered, loving, and social pet.

Steve and team at Pack Leader dogs are the best! We have a 4 year old rescue dog who never had any major issues, expect she's never been great on walks. She would pull a lot on her harness, but since she's small it wasn't too big of a deal. Now with a baby coming, we realized that trying to walk her WHILE pushing a stroller down the street would be a disaster. Steve brought his recommended training lead, and spent about 15 minutes with our dog working one-on-one before bringing her back to show us what she had learned. He then watched as we followed his walking guidelines and gave us suggestions and tips as we went. That was literally all it took, and she is a completely different dog on walks! We are no longer 'following her' on walks: she is attentive, engaged, and understands who the leader is. I never would have expected a complete change in behavior after just one session.
Highly recommend Steve, Tamara and the Pack Leader team.

Steve and the entire Pack Leader team are nothing short of phenomenal. We thought we knew what we were getting into when we rescued Maxie, our 7 year old Cane Corso / Pitt mix from the ACC in the Bronx, but the first few weeks were very challenging. Maxie was not potty trained, could not walk on leash, and was afraid of everything in sight. We thought we were bringing Steve in to train our rescue dog Maxie, but the reality was that he trained us. Steve taught us to read our dogs signs of fear, and how to help raise her confidence. He trained us to become more confident in our ability to make Maxie a happier dog, and it worked! Like my wife always says… a Happy Dog = Happy Wife = Happy Life .