Essential
PD360 AssessmentYour dog's personalized starting point Dog BoardingOvernight stays with trained care Snake AvoidanceRattlesnake safety training GroomingLow-stress bath, brush-out & nailsFoundational
Foundation Camp14-night basics + manners DaySchoolDaily training + structured enrichment Private Lessons1-on-1 coaching for you + your dog Group ClassesWeekly skills in a social settingCurriculum
Grade-Level Curriculum8 grades from Pre-School Puppy to Dogtorate Training JourneyWhat progress looks like, week by week Our MethodologyHow we train and why it lastsOur Omni-technical Method
We read your dog, build the right skills, and coach your family to use them. Our Omni-technical method brings training, environment, tools and rewards together in one plan.
Every program starts with the relationship between your dog and your family. That relationship is what makes training stick after we are not in the room.
We limit the patterns that create chaos and reward the ones that create calm, using structure and routine so your dog always knows what comes next. A dog who knows the boundaries and default behaviors responds the same way at home, on a walk or at a friend's door, and that reliability builds confidence.
We teach your dog the behavior first, then we teach you to keep it going. Every family leaves with written at-home protocols.
FIGHT, FLIGHT, FREEZE, FAWN
None of these are disobedience. They are what a nervous system does when it has to decide fast.
Behavior work builds the swap. A dog that charged the front door learns to go to place. We teach it somewhere quiet, reinforce it, then proof it against the trigger. The trigger still happens. The answer changes.
A lunge tells us what the dog did, but not the whole reason behind it. This example connects what you can see with the pressure response underneath it. The plan starts by reading the dog, then building and reinforcing a useful alternative.
Same lunge, four different fuels. We find the engine first.
TRIGGER, CHEMISTRY, RESPONSE, OUTCOME
Before we choose a tool, we read what drives the behavior. It runs four links.
Change one link and the chain shifts. Most plans work three at once: a lower-intensity trigger, a better response, a predictable outcome.
When a trigger appears, your dog responds, and something happens next. That outcome can make the response more likely the next time. The mail-carrier example makes the chain easier to recognize and shows why changing the setup and teaching another response belong in the same plan.
The behavior chain, worked three links at once.
WHY TWO DOGS NEED TWO PLANS
Two dogs can show the same behavior for different reasons. Breed and sex shape what a dog notices and how hard it pushes: the herding dog that stares and circles, the guardian breed that holds ground, the terrier that won't give up a scent. Those are starting conditions, not verdicts. A 2022 study in Science that surveyed more than 18,000 dogs and sequenced more than 2,000 found breed explained only about 9% of the behavior differences between individual dogs (Morrill et al., 2022, doi:10.1126/science.abk0639). That's why we train the dog in front of us, not the breed label.
Drives pull your dog toward what it wants (food, prey, play, contact, work) or push it away from what it doesn't (pressure, crowding, losing something valuable).
These are one request: space from a trigger, whether your dog is holding an area, an object or a person. Give the space and the request comes back louder. So we remove the space the behavior was buying. If your dog pushes past a cue it knows, a fair correction (verbal first, then leash or collar only if needed) interrupts it. Then we redirect into a default response and reward it every time. Your dog still gets an answer. It is a better one.
OMNI-TECHNICAL, OR BALANCED
We work every level of a behavior at the same time, and adjust moment to moment to what your dog tells us.
On a walk it can look like this: a calm "No" when your dog fixates on another dog, a paid check-in, a leash correction and a redirect into heel only if your dog already knows heel, more distance if your dog tips past threshold, then a big reward for the calm choice.
The nine levels we work at once
ASSESSMENT
A training plan starts with observation. PD360 gives the team a baseline for your dog's behavior and the factors around it, so the program, tools and family coaching can follow the dog in front of us. This walkthrough explains what the assessment contributes to that decision.
Why the PD360 comes before the plan.
PD360: nine dimensions and the 1 to 5 score
LEARNING TRANSFER
A behavior learned with one person in one setting still needs practice elsewhere. This example shows why Teaching and Reinforcing lead into Proofing and Maintenance, and why the family handoff matters. Watch for the change in setting, the clarity of the cue, and the practice that makes the response travel.
The four phases in 90 seconds: Teach, Reinforce, Proof, Maintain.
LEARNING TO LEARN
A "smart" dog is usually a dog with practice reading patterns, and every pattern makes the next one easier to spot. A dog with nothing to work invents its own patterns, rarely the ones a Pet Parent would pick. Structured work settles a busy dog in a way a longer walk does not, and it is why the curriculum keeps climbing.
PROOFING
Distance, duration and distraction change what a familiar cue asks of your dog. The kitchen-to-trailhead example shows why reliable behavior is built through practice in changing conditions. If the response breaks down, reduce the challenge, rebuild a clear win, and progress from there.
The proofing dials, from a kitchen sit to a trailhead sit.
The proofing dials
Illustrative settings, not scores. Several dials can move at once.
TRAINING JOURNEY: SCOUT
Scout came to camp mounting guests the moment they walked in. His trainers reinforce his new manners, then proof them against the moments that used to set him off.
MAINTENANCE STARTS AT HOME
We teach the dog, then we teach you. In Scout's final episode his trainers walk Anna through the structure that keeps his manners at home. No two dogs are trained the same way, so we hand you a routine simple enough to live with. Maintenance belongs to you, and four rules go home with every family:
REWARDS AND CORRECTIONS
Rewards can go big. A right answer after a real struggle gets a party: exaggerated praise, treats, pats and play. The harder the win, the bigger the pay.
Corrections never go big. They start at the lowest level your dog notices:
Leash and collar wait until your dog knows the behavior. Escalation is sometimes needed, and only as far as your dog's response asks. Every correction ends in a redirect to a behavior your dog knows, and a reward.
Past threshold, you take back control. A dog over its arousal threshold can't think its way back on its own, so create distance first. Then you, the Pet Parent, use the tools your dog is already conditioned to, interrupt, redirect and reward the calm choice.
The correction ladder: lowest level first
The reward scale: smallest to biggest
WHY IT WORKS
The relationship comes first. Any equipment is chosen to serve it.
Limit the negative, reward the positive. We interrupt trouble patterns fairly and reward better ones generously.
Structure creates clarity. Routines and protocols make good behavior predictable.
We teach the dog, then we teach you. You keep reinforcing and proofing at home.
Respect the individual dog. Every dog learns at its own pace, so we stay tool-agnostic.
HARD LINES
Tool-agnostic does not mean anything goes. These lines prohibit abuse and dogma, not correction. A fair correction that disrupts and redirects is part of training. Anger, force for its own sake and engineered failure are not.
TECHNIQUE AND TOOLS
Positive reinforcement is the primary method and the base of every program. A skilled trainer can use all four quadrants in one moment: disrupt, redirect to a default, reward. The tools are technique. The relationship is what they serve.
The skill of the trainer decides whether a tool builds a confident dog or breaks one.
Positive Punishment is never where we start, and it never teaches a new behavior on its own. It is used only after your dog has learned the alternative and been conditioned to the equipment. A verbal interrupt is the one exception.
WHERE THIS METHOD MEETS YOUR DOG
Every price shows what is included and what it is worth. Membership comes first: the member price sits beside the base price. The PD360 Assessment starts every route, and its $199 is credited toward your enrollment.
The entry point for every new dog.
Credited as store credit toward your enrollment in your recommended camp or membership.
$199 for your first dog; $149 for a second dog.
Recommended before every camp, and required before Behavior Camp and Transform Camp.
See PD360 AssessmentFor reactivity, anxiety, fear and destructive behavior. 21 nights in a private suite.
Worth $9,661 if bought separately. Built-in savings: $3,417.
$6,244 your investment, private suite included.
Members pay less: Plus $3,913, Premium $3,587, Platinum $3,311.
See Behavior CampFor deep, lasting change. 28 nights in a private suite.
Worth $13,815 if bought separately. Built-in savings: $4,886.
$8,929 your investment, private suite included.
Members pay less: Plus $5,472, Premium $5,016, Platinum $4,630.
See Transform CampFor puppies, adolescents and everyday manners. 14 nights in a private suite.
Worth $5,959 if bought separately. Built-in savings: $2,450.
$3,509 your investment, private suite included.
Members pay less: Plus $1,972, Premium $1,808, Platinum $1,669.
See Foundation CampThe lighter-budget start, from 20 weeks and fully vaccinated.
Priced per session.
$65 per session.
Members pay less: $58.50 (Plus, 10% off), $52 (Premium, 20% off) or $45.50 (Platinum, 30% off) per session.
See Pre-School PuppyThe method at work while you are at the office.
A membership shares its days across every dog in the family.
$65 for a single day.
Members: Plus $199 a month (4 DaySchool days or 2 DayCamp days, about $50 a DaySchool day), Premium $399 (8 or 4 days), Platinum $599 (12 or 6 days), and single days at $58.50, $52 or $45.50 (10%, 20% or 30% off).
See DaySchoolCREDENTIALED AND ALWAYS LEARNING
Every trainer is certified through Partners Dogs University: 30 hours of coursework before facility work, 1,000 supervised hours to Instructor, and 2,000 hours across breeds and behaviors to Senior Instructor. The standard is the same in Scottsdale and Cave Creek. Since 1997 our team has trained 70,000+ Arizona dogs.
AKC CGC Evaluators on staffCertified through Partners Dogs UniversityTraining Arizona dogs since 1997
Family-owned since 1997, with a 95% success rate. Two Arizona campuses, Scottsdale and Cave Creek.
See transparent pricingRead the reviewsTake the PD360 assessment to get honest answers
See the spaces the method needs. Walk our training halls, classrooms and yards in 360.
GO DEEPER
Yes, as part of a balanced toolkit, alongside treats, markers and leash work. A modern e-collar works through low-level stimulation, and its first use is a cue: your dog learns to read it like a tap on the shoulder that means "check in with me," and the check-in gets paid. It joins the correction ladder only once your dog is conditioned to it and knows the behavior, at the lowest level your dog notices, always followed by a redirect and a reward. Only a trained professional decides if and how any tool fits your dog.
Yes, fairly. We start with a calm verbal "No," and if your dog answers it, we stop there. Leash and collar corrections come only once your dog knows the behavior, and only as far as your dog's response asks. Every correction ends in a redirect and a reward. Corrections are never exaggerated. Rewards can be: a hard-won right answer gets a party.
Yes, in skilled hands. Since 1997 we have paired the right tool with the right dog, and today 30+ professional trainers start every correction at the lowest level the dog notices and put the dog's wellbeing and the relationship ahead of any single ideology.
Because limiting ourselves to one method limits outcomes for the dog. We keep every humane tool on the table and choose based on the individual dog in front of us.
Through Partners Dogs University, our own program at university.partnersdogs.org: 30 hours of coursework before facility work, 1,000 supervised hours to Instructor, and 2,000 hours across breeds and behaviors to Senior Instructor, with mentorship under senior trainers. Ask about your dog's trainer at your PD360 Assessment.
Alpha rolls, scruff shakes, dominance theory, hot-stove setups, yelling, hitting, or training out of anger. We never use a tool we have not first conditioned the dog to, and we never pre-commit to a method before we have read the dog.
Puppies start with treats, markers, play and light leash skills. Pressure-based tools are matched to the dog and the training stage, and a young puppy's stage is all about confidence. No tool is used before a dog is conditioned to it.
We start with a PD360 Assessment: a senior trainer evaluates your dog in person and builds an honest plan. Safety comes first, which can include a basket muzzle your dog is conditioned to wear. Aggression needs management for life, and we teach your family how. If another trainer has turned your dog away, this is the case the assessment was built for.
After 70,000+ Arizona dogs since 1997, almost certainly yes. Breed is a hypothesis, not a verdict. The dog in front of us is the evidence.
A dog trained by one person in one room tends to behave for that person in that room. Structure makes a skill travel: clear boundaries, a default behavior for everyday moments, and rules that hold, like "come always means come" and "Okay" means free. Your written protocols turn "my dog knows sit" into "my dog is reliable."
Written at-home protocols for daily situations: crate and place, greetings, walks, doorways and thresholds, guests, and more. Your trainer walks you through them at the handoff, with the steps, correction timing and pacing for your dog. Yours to keep.
