Leading the Pack - Oakland, California

Saray Sanz

First time coming to this grooming salon and let me tell you that it was absolutely awesome. My girl Lola came back smelling so good and had the best haircut ever in her 5 years of being groomed. The price was a bit more than what I am used to but worth every penny. The staff was so friendly and salon is clean and doesn’t smell like other grooming place I’ve taken my Lola to. I will definitely be coming back. Thank you Leading the Pack for taking care of my Lola!

Elizabeth Davis

I had an excellent experience with Leading the Pack. Alma provides a personalized and attentive service by only taking a few dogs at a time, ensuring the grooming process is completed in under two hours. I prefer this approach over leaving my dog in a facility with many other dogs for an entire day, which can cause stress and reduce the quality of care. I highly recommend Alma's services for anyone looking for a more individualized and stress-free experience for their dog.

Shroder's Playmates

SHE WALKED IN LOOKING SCRUFFY AND WALKED OUT LOOKING POSH! Took my aunt's dog in to be groomed there for the very first time yesterday. She's a Chihuahua and Pomeranian mix. At 14 years old and deaf, she's also very sensitive to sudden movements and a little fussy in general. They were very considerate of her needs and went the extra mile to give her a very clean, polished cut and groom that has her looking like a million bucks! We'll definitely be back.

Charesa Garrett

My dog told me with his eyes that he wanted a new groomer. We'd had issues with a previous groomer he'd gone to for years, so I was skeptical about trusting a new shop. By chance, we met a woman and her similarly aged Yorkie while on a walk, and she said nothing but good things about Leading the Pack.

A week later we were there. We met with Brian, who was kind and very gentle with my older, (13+ year old) Yorkie. In about an hour my dog was sweet smelling and properly groomed. An added bonus--my usually anxious furry friend was calm and playful after his shampoo and cut.

Both my dog and I had an overall great experience. The shop is well put together and the staff is friendly. Thank you, Leading The Pack!

Aijay Adams

Thanks to Brian at Leading the Pack for giving our Mini Schnauzer his first styling! Superb service 🙂

Alma Kess

To those reading our reviews: I am the business owner and have been wanting to respond to some of these reviews but google makes it almost impossible for owners to do so.

I really wanted however to respond to Chelsea Nichols and her partner George Wharman and this was my only way of doing it.

Hello Chelsea and George:
I read your reviews ( all 3 of them since one just wasn't enough for you) and wanted to let you know that you left out some pertinent information.

At Huxley's first appointment back in August 2022 it was recommended to keep Huxley on a 4- 6-week grooming schedule to start desensitizing her to the grooming process as she was already 2 and had never been groomed this was especially important for her grooming future. Unfortunately, our recommendation was not heeded, and her second appointment was not made until 8 months later. This lack of consistency lead to fear aggression (not Huxley's fault). We cannot and will not risk injury to employees or the pups in our care, so we had you come pick Huxley with a similar recommendation to start desensitizing her to grooming. We do, however, have to charge for the time we block off for each pup to ensure we stay in business. The only way to prevent this from happening in the future is ensuring she is on a regular grooming schedule as recommended on her first appointment almost a year ago.

In the future, if you’re going to write a review make sure that you include all pertinent information and not just what suits you to bash a small business. I wish pet owners like you would take accountability for their lack of training and lack of consistency instead of shifting blame. I really hope you’re honest with the next groomer and let her/him know that Huxley is not used to the grooming process. We certainly don’t blame Huxley and wish her the best with her future grooms.

Best,
Alma
Leading the Pack

Chelsea Nichols

We came in to get our dog groomed today. It was our second time going here. On our first visit, we had an amazing experience. Our dog loved her groomer, a woman named Paola, and wasn't aggressive at all. On this second visit, she was given a different, male groomer and she became aggressive. We don't know why this happened, but we were called back to pick her up and were still charged the full price of grooming even though we didn't receive any services. We will never come back here again.

Kody Monigold

Alma and her staff are extremely caring, kind, and dedicated individuals. Their love for dogs, their commitment to safety, and pleasant customer service is unmatched in this area. I trust them implicitly with my pets and can’t recommend their service enough. Prices are competitive and reasonable, and their work speaks for itself. Great eye for detail and knowledge that comes from a ton of experience. And it shows! I can count on them each and every time!