Careers at Partners Dogs

Build a Career Doing Work That Actually Changes Dogs' Lives

We are a family-owned team that gets to change the trajectory of a dog and a family every single day. If you are driven, dog-obsessed, and want real mentorship instead of a quick certificate, we want to meet you.

Apply Now Contact Our Team

What is it like to work at Partners Dog School?

Partners Dog School hires trainers, daycare and daycamp staff, and client success team members across our Scottsdale and Cave Creek campuses, and develops them through hands-on mentorship rather than a quick certificate. We have been family owned and operated since 1997, and over 28 years our team has worked through more than 70,000 dogs. Many of our senior trainers started in entry-level roles and learned balanced, tool-agnostic training on thousands of real cases. If you care as much about the family as you do about the dog, there is room to grow here.

Meet the team you would join, or send your resume and a short note about why you want to work with dogs.

Apply Now Contact Our Team

Why Partners Dogs

Real work, real mentorship, real results

• Learn from people who have done it. You will be coached by trainers who have worked through thousands of cases, not handed a manual and left alone. We grow our own leaders from within.
• A method that respects the dog. We are balanced and tool agnostic. You will learn to read each dog and pick what actually works for that dog and that family.
• A team that has your back. Family owned since 1997 means leadership is onsite and accessible. No franchise runaround, no regional manager you will never meet.
• Room to grow. Many of our senior trainers started at the front desk or in the play yard. Show up, care, and improve, and there is a path here.

Apply Now

OUR CULTURE DECK

The 13 Pillars We Hire By

Swipe or scroll to explore all 13 pillars →

Our mission

Dogs, like children, are held in the highest regard. Our mission is to give every dog and their Pet Parent an extraordinary education and lifelong, delightful relationship together. In order to do that, we must constantly strive for excellence in education, innovation, and collaboration.

01

Judgment

Thoughtful · Strategic · Wise

• We make wise decisions despite ambiguity
• We identify root causes, and get beyond treating symptoms
• We think strategically
• We can articulate effectively
• We are good at using data to inform our intuition
• We make decisions based on the long term, not short term

There are those that walk by trash and wait for someone else to pick it up, and there are those that lean down and pick up the trash they see. Be the latter. When you see a problem, small or large, never think "that's not my job."

02

Communication

Concise · Clear · Positive

• We are concise and articulate in speech and writing
• We listen well and seek to understand before reacting
• We maintain calm poise in stressful situations to draw out the clearest solution
• We adapt our communication style to work well with everyone
• We provide candid, timely feedback to colleagues

Work hard to give people professional, constructive feedback. Up, down, and across the organization constantly. Ask others, "What could I be doing better?" Ask yourself, "What feedback haven't I shared?"

03

Curiosity

Growth · Initiative · Inquisitive

• We learn rapidly and eagerly
• We constantly pursue knowledge in all things
• We contribute effectively outside of our specialty
• We make connections that others miss
• We seek to understand our members and how we educate them
• We explore alternate perspectives
• We understand that learning is a skill that requires practice in order to progress

Pursue knowledge. Seek improvement. Test hypotheses. Be hungry. Wake up each day to disrupt with fury.

04

Courage

Ethical · Moral · Vulnerable

• We communicate what we think, as long as it's in the best interest of the school, even if it is uncomfortable
• We are willing to be critical of the status quo
• We make tough decisions without agonizing
• We take smart risks and are open to possible failure
• We question actions inconsistent with our values
• We are able to be vulnerable, in search of truth

Tough decisions are never easy. You won't feel brave, but rather scared to death. However, after much practice, you learn to ignore that fear in search of the greater good. That is the Courage Development Process.

05

Selflessness

Helpful · Eager · Considerate

• We seek what is best for the school, rather than what is best for ourselves or our group
• We are open-minded in search of grand ideas
• We make time to help colleagues
• We share information openly and proactively
• We are self-aware of our own quirks and pitfalls and we work tirelessly to improve them for the greater good

There are no "brilliant jerks." Teamwork is too important. Brilliant people are also capable of being good people.

06

Passion

Inspire · Care · Optimistic

• We inspire others with our thirst for excellence
• We care intensely about our members and the school's success
• We are tenacious and optimistic
• We are quietly confident and openly humble
• We radiate positivity and reject negativity

Sign your name on your work. Take pride in it. Place yourself in positions where your work ignites you.

07

Innovation

Transformative · Changemaker

• We create new ideas that prove useful
• We re-conceptualize issues to discover solutions to hard problems
• We challenge prevailing assumptions, and suggest better approaches
• We stay nimble by minimizing complexity and finding time to simplify
• We thrive on change
• We do not fear the implementation of new ideas and methods
• We fail and fail again...until we succeed

Freedom and rapid recovery beats preventing error. The biggest threat over time is a lack of innovation. Therefore we are error-tolerant, but we want to make the mistakes count. A wise person makes mistakes, they just don't make the same one twice.

08

Inclusion

Diverse · Sociable · Empathetic

• We collaborate effectively with people of diverse backgrounds and cultures
• We nurture and embrace differing perspectives to make better decisions
• We focus on talent and our values, rather than a person's similarity to ourselves
• We are curious about how our different backgrounds affect us at work, rather than pretending they don't exist
• We recognize we all have biases, and work to grow past them
• We intervene if someone else is being marginalized

We are building a dream team. In order to do that we have to foster collaboration, support, information sharing, and discourage politics.

09

Integrity

Candid · Authentic · Transparent

• We are known for candor, authenticity, transparency, and being non-political
• We only say things about fellow employees that we can say to their face
• We admit mistakes freely and openly
• We treat people with respect independent of their status or disagreement with us

You only say things about fellow employees you would say to their face. That said, in the tension between honesty and kindness, we push honesty. No matter how honest, though, we treat others with respect.

10

Start with Why

Purposeful · Inquisitive · Clarity

• We begin with what feels right and rationalize after
• We communicate "Why" before "What" or "How"
• We align our actions with the "Why" of the school
• We know we are doing our job right if our customers can see "Our Why" in our work

"Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do. By WHY I mean your purpose, cause or belief. WHY does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care?" (Simon Sinek)

11

Impact

Consistent · Valuable · Productive

• We accomplish amazing amounts of important work
• We demonstrate consistently strong performance so our colleagues can rely upon us
• We make our colleagues better
• We focus on results over process

Avoid being busy for the sake of being busy. Effective work takes precedence over busy work.

12

Health

Compassionate · Perceptive

• We place the physical and mental health of ourselves, our clients, our dogs, and each other above all else
• We practice diligent, consistent and impactful care
• We're aware of the effect our health has on the health of our guests and peers

You cannot pour from an empty glass. You cannot give love to others before loving yourself. You cannot expect healthy choices from others before becoming a symbol of health yourself.

13

Trust

Reliable · Accountable · Loyal

• We are trusted by our clients, their dogs, and our colleagues
• We are trusting of others in order to accomplish extraordinary results
• We embody a culture of trust amongst our peers
• We are quick to trust and quicker to forgive
• We do not take advantage of others' trust, but rather appreciate and live up to it

"Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships." (Stephen Covey)

This is the same culture deck every candidate reads before their shadow day. If these pillars sound like how you already work, you will fit right in.

See What We Look For in Action

We train our trainers

The fastest way to get good with dogs is reps under someone who already is. New team members shadow experienced trainers, work real cases, and get honest feedback every day.

You do not need a certificate to start. You need to be coachable, observant, and genuinely care about getting a dog and its family to a normal life. We handle the rest, on the field, on real dogs.

PROMOTED FROM WITHIN

Your Path at Partners

1

Animal Care Technician

Day one. Everyone starts here.

Every trainer in the building started in this role. You keep our dogs happy, healthy, and safe: feeding, potty breaks, grooming, enrichment, and the daily routines that make the school run.

• Feeding and daily care routines
• Potty breaks, rotations, and clean, safe spaces
• Bathing, brushing, and basic grooming
• Reading body language and stress signals on a 10-to-1 floor

Master the six core commands (heel, sit, down, stay, place, come) and assist in group classes to earn your promotion. Promotions are earned by skill, never capped by openings.

2

DaySchool Teacher and Trainer

The teaching floor

Work each enrolled dog's daily behavior plan: structured training blocks, socialization, and progress that pet parents can see at pickup every evening.

• Run daily training plans for every dog in your group
• Track behaviors and progress in PD360
• Build confidence through structure and play
• Support camp dogs and daycare groups

3

Instructor

Typically 6+ months in

Teach dogs basic obedience, manners, and more, and coach the humans too. Instructors lead lessons and group classes and guide pet parents through their dog's education.

• Lead private lessons and group classes
• Coach pet parents through handoffs and homework
• Run evaluations and placements
• Keep dogs progressing through the curriculum

4

Senior Instructor

Typically 12+ months in

The hard cases and the big wins. Senior instructors take on tougher behavior work, mentor newer team members, and own client relationships end to end.

• Advanced behavior cases and camp dogs
• Mentor ACTs, teachers, and instructors
• Lead client consultations
• Help shape how we train

5

Leadership and Management

Typically 2+ years in

When manager and leadership seats open, we look inside first. By the time you lead a team here, you have done every job on the floor, and your team knows it.

• Run a campus or a department
• Grow the next generation of trainers
• Own outcomes for dogs, families, and staff

Why everyone starts at the start: We promote from within. Nearly everyone starts in the same place regardless of prior experience, because leading here means understanding every part of the school. There are exceptions, and people progress on different timelines, but the path is the same: learn it all, then lead.

See Open Roles

Daycare and DayCamp is more than playtime

Our DayCamp team does not just watch dogs. They run safe, well-matched play groups, reinforce the manners dogs learn in training, and read body language all day so every guest goes home happy and tired.

Office and DayCamp hours run Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm and Saturday 8am to 2pm. DaySchool runs Monday to Friday 7am to 6pm and Saturday 8am to 4pm. We are closed Sundays.

HOW HIRING WORKS

From Application to Welcome Aboard

Step 1Apply

Send your application online. It takes a few minutes, and a hiring manager reads every one.

Step 2Intro call

A quick phone conversation about your goals, your availability, and what you are looking for in the pet industry.

Step 3Culture and goals check

Read the culture deck (it is right on this page), tell us about your personal and career goals in a short form, and watch a short orientation video series about the school and the process. We only move forward with candidates who complete both.

Step 4Non-working shadow

Spend a morning on the floor. See the role in action, meet the team, and ask anything. You are interviewing us as much as we are interviewing you.

Step 5Paid working shadow

A full week working alongside the team, paid. By the end of it you will know whether this is your place, and so will we.

Step 6Welcome to the pack

An official offer with a 90 day onboarding period, paid online training through Partners Dogs University, your own Team Success Manager, and a growth checklist that maps your first 12+ months.

No dog training experience required for entry roles. We hire for culture and work ethic, and we teach the rest. Questions before applying? Email careers@partnersdogs.com.

Start Your Application

Client success: where families start

Before a dog ever meets a trainer, a family meets you. Our client success team listens to what is really going on at home, recommends the right program, and turns nervous owners into confident ones.

If you love dogs and love people, this is one of the most important seats in the building. Many of our team members started right here and grew into training and leadership.

TAKING CARE OF THE TEAM

Benefits and Perks

• Medical insurance (Aetna)
• Dental coverage
• Vision coverage (VSP)
• Life insurance, basic and voluntary
• 98point6 virtual care
• Pet insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Tip pool participation
• Gas card recognition program
• Paid online training
• Consistent 4 day schedules
• Ongoing education through Partners Dogs University

Insurance benefits become available after your onboarding period. Full plan details are shared during the hiring process.

Apply to Join the Team

Ready to work with dogs all day?

Since 1997 we have built this place around one idea: a well trained dog is a happier dog, and a calmer dog gives a family their normal life back. More than 70,000 dogs and 2,000-plus five-star reviews later, that mission still drives every hire.

Tell us about yourself. Send your resume and a short note about why you want to work with dogs to careers@partnersdogs.com, or reach out through our contact page. Let us know which campus you are near, Scottsdale or Cave Creek, and the kind of role you are after. We read every application.

Email careers@partnersdogs.comCall 480-595-6700

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need certifications or experience to apply?

For many roles, no. We hire for attitude and dog sense, then train you internally on real cases under experienced mentors. Experienced trainers and applicants with credentials are welcome too.

Which locations are hiring?

We hire across both Arizona campuses, Scottsdale on Shea Blvd and Cave Creek, for training, daycare, daycamp, and client support roles. Email careers@partnersdogs.com to ask what is open right now.

What training method does Partners Dogs use?

We are balanced and tool-agnostic. You will learn to read each dog and choose the approach that gets that dog and that family to a calm, normal life, not a single rigid method.

How do I apply?

Send your resume and a short note about why you want to work with dogs to careers@partnersdogs.com, or reach us through our contact page. We read every application.

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