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Enrollment in a class at Partners Dogs starts with fit, not with a form alone. Contact the team by email at Enroll@PartnersDogs.com or by phone at 480-595-6700, and describe your dog, the skills you want, and any behavior that worries you. The team can then place your dog at the right level in the group class curriculum, which covers 130 or more skills across its levels, and confirm whether a PD360 Assessment should come before the first class. Every school program starts at 20 weeks and vaccinated, so have your dog's vaccination record ready. The team will confirm the campus, Scottsdale or Cave Creek, and the start date once placement is settled.

A submitted request at Partners Dogs starts the planning step of the treatment plan, rather than locking you into a program on the spot. The team reviews what you sent, then contacts you to discuss your dog, the behaviors you want to change, and the outcome you want at home. From that conversation, the team can recommend a PD360 Assessment as the first step, and then build a plan for that dog and household. If you have not heard back within the window the team gave you, email Enroll@PartnersDogs.com or call 480-595-6700 during office hours to check on your request.

After you submit a request to Partners Dogs, the team reviews it and contacts you to talk through your dog and the right starting point, often a PD360 Assessment. If timing matters because a camp date or a household change is coming, say so in your request and in any follow-up message. You can also reach the team directly by email at Enroll@PartnersDogs.com or by phone at 480-595-6700 during office hours, Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm and Saturday 8am to 2pm, closed Sunday.

Waiting time at Partners Dogs is best used on observation, not on new training experiments that could muddy the picture. Keep a simple log for a few days: the behavior, the trigger, the time of day, and what happened right before. Note any safety concerns separately, such as growling, snapping, or bolting, so the team can weigh urgency on the first call. Have your dog's vaccination record ready, because every school program starts at 20 weeks and vaccinated. When the team contacts you, that record lets the conversation move quickly toward a PD360 Assessment and then toward a plan.

Starting training at Partners Dogs follows the treatment plan arc: plan first, then immersion, then follow-through. The first conversation covers your dog, the behaviors you want to change, and the outcome you want at home. From there, the team recommends a PD360 Assessment, which builds the plan for that dog and household. Only then does the team settle the program, whether that is a camp, private lessons, or group classes. Parent training is built into the plan, because the dog goes home to the parents, and follow-up lessons, classes, and day training run for 8 or more weeks after checkout.

Enrollment at Partners Dogs is a conversation first and a booking second. The team asks about your dog, the behaviors you want to change, and the outcome you want at home, then recommends the starting point that fits. That starting point is usually a PD360 Assessment, which tracks 151 behaviors across nine dimensions. The assessment or lesson builds the plan, and the plan settles the program, the campus, and the timing. Every school program starts at 20 weeks and vaccinated. Once enrolled, parent training is built in, and follow-up lessons, classes, and day training run for 8 or more weeks after checkout.

The vaccines apply to training at the school; in-home training needs none, which is why it is open to puppies under 20 weeks. Beyond age and vaccines, the team needs a clear picture of your dog: the behaviors you want to change and the outcome you want at home. That picture usually comes from the PD360 Assessment. Dogs coming from a shelter or rescue need 30 days with no health issues before they come to the school. You can reach the team during office hours, Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm and Saturday 8am to 2pm.

Camp booking at Partners Dogs should follow the plan, not precede it. The first step is a PD360 Assessment, which builds the plan for that dog and household, and the camp dates follow from that plan. If you have a fixed window, such as travel or a household change, tell the team early so they can weigh dates against the plan. Contact the team by email at Enroll@PartnersDogs.com or by phone at 480-595-6700 during office hours, and ask directly about availability for the camp your plan recommends.

Enrollment at Partners Dogs opens the treatment plan arc rather than jumping straight to training days. First comes planning, through a PD360 Assessment, so the team understands your dog before the program starts. Then comes daily immersive training across the camp weeks, run to the plan and adjusted as the dog shows who they are. Parents are part of the treatment throughout, because the dog goes home to the parents, and the Pet Parent Guide video lessons, 8 or more hours that you can watch back, support that parent training and are free with camps. After checkout, extensive follow-up lessons, classes, and day training run for 8 or more weeks.

The structure at Partners Dogs runs in a clear order, and each step earns the next one. Planning comes first, through a PD360 assessment that tracks 151 behaviors across nine dimensions, and that step builds a plan for the dog and the household. Immersion follows, with daily training across the camp weeks, adjusted as the dog shows who they are, plus daily pupdates with videos and pictures so parents watch the work happen. Parent training is built in, because the dog goes home to the parents rather than to the trainers. After checkout, extensive follow-up lessons, classes, and day training carry the plan into home life for 8 or more weeks.

Age at Partners Dogs sets the starting line, not the ceiling. Every school program starts at 20 weeks and vaccinated; a puppy younger than that can start with online private lessons or in-home training, and an adult dog of any age beyond it can be assessed on the same footing. Placement then turns on behavior and goals, not on age alone: a young dog may need socialization and first manners, while an older dog may need a camp, private lessons, or group classes for a specific problem. A PD360 Assessment settles that placement, because it measures the dog in front of the team rather than assuming what an age group needs.

Experience at Partners Dogs shows up in two forms: the volume of dogs trained, and the supervised hours behind every trainer. The business was established in December 1997 and has trained 70,000+ dogs, with 30+ professional trainers plus daycare attendants, boarding staff, and support team members. The trainer education standard is the same at both campuses, from the first 30 hours of coursework to the 2,000 hours behind a Senior Instructor. Transform Camp, for the most severe cases, is led by Senior Trainers. See why Partners Dogs for more.

Starting enrollment at Partners Dogs means starting the treatment plan arc in its correct order. The first contact, by email at Enroll@PartnersDogs.com or by phone at 480-595-6700 during office hours, leads to a conversation about your dog, the behaviors you want to change, and the outcome you want at home. The team then recommends a PD360 Assessment, tracking 151 behaviors across nine dimensions, and that step builds the plan. Only then does the team settle the program, whether a camp, private lessons, or group classes, plus the campus and timing. Parent training is built in from that point, and follow-up lessons, classes, and day training run for 8 or more weeks after checkout.

A first call at Partners Dogs is a planning conversation, and it earns its keep by preventing a program choice made on a guess. Expect the team to ask about the behaviors you want to change, the situations where they show up, and what daily life should look like after training. Household questions matter too: who lives with the dog, how much practice time you have, and whether children, other dogs, or a move are part of the picture. From that detail, the team can explain what a PD360 Assessment would measure for your dog. Timing, campus, and program family can then be discussed with a real plan in view, rather than as abstract options.

Deciding on a program is easier after seeing the campus, and Partners Dogs provides virtual tours for Scottsdale and Cave Creek as a first look. A Scottsdale tour shows the indoor training arena, the outdoor enrichment yard, the luxury boarding suites, the DaySchool play floors and the quiet rest rooms where dogs sleep on raised Kuranda cots; a Cave Creek tour shows the desert training property, the outdoor work areas and the luxury boarding suites. You can also book by email at Enroll@PartnersDogs.com. If you are not sure which program fits, a PD360 Assessment gives you a plan for your dog before you commit to anything.

Preparation for a first session at Partners Dogs is mostly information, plus a few practical items the team confirms in advance. Bring your dog's vaccination record, because every school program starts at 20 weeks and vaccinated, and bring a short written record of the behaviors you want to change, when they happen, and what you have already tried. That record helps a PD360 assessment, which tracks 151 behaviors across nine dimensions, and it helps a first lesson stay focused on handling rather than on history gathering.

Start timing at Partners Dogs follows the treatment plan arc, so the PD360 Assessment comes before the program start, not after it. That planning step builds a plan for the dog and household, and the team then confirms which program fits, which campus suits it, and what timing is available. If travel, a move, or a baby due date sets a hard window, tell the team on the first call, so the planning step can be scheduled with that window in view. Contact the team by email at Enroll@PartnersDogs.com or by phone at 480-595-6700 during office hours, and ask directly about availability once the plan is built. More detail is on the training camp page.

Rescue adjustment runs in phases, and first-week behavior often reflects stress more than settled temperament. The 30-day wait lets any illness picked up in a shelter show before your dog meets other dogs, and it gives your dog time to decompress and show patterns across settings, so the scores reflect the dog rather than the shelter transition. Exceptions move faster: aggression, serious fear, or any safety risk should reach the team at once, and an in-home or online private lesson does not need a visit to the school. Once the assessment runs, the PD360 scorecard tracks 151 behaviors across nine dimensions, giving a baseline the team can re-score later. Book the conversation through the schedule a call page and ask about timing for your dog.

Most assessments end at intake: a call, a form, then a training plan built on impressions. PD360 works differently at Partners Dogs. A senior trainer evaluates your dog in person across nine dimensions tracking 151 behaviors, covering behavior, temperament, learning style, and real-world performance, and records a baseline scorecard before any program is recommended. The method stays open at that point. Because the evaluation is tool-agnostic, the plan is fitted to the dog in front of us rather than to a house methodology chosen in advance. The same scorecard is then re-scored at graduation and at follow-up benchmarks, so the before and after comparison uses identical measures. That continuity is the practical difference: you can see which behaviors moved, by how much, and what still needs maintenance work at home.

PD360 is Partners Dogs' proprietary in-person dog assessment and progress-tracking system, and it is the foundation of every training program we run. The 360 in the name reflects how broadly we evaluate your dog: behavior, temperament, learning style, environment, lifestyle, family dynamics, and tool compatibility, captured during a full assessment day at our facility. We built PD360 from training 70,000+ dogs since December 1997, because every dog is different and a quick online quiz cannot tell us how your dog handles a new environment, processes pressure, or interacts with a stranger. The assessment runs about 4-plus hours, with drop-off around 9 to 10am and pickup around 2 to 4pm, and your trainer walks you through a custom program recommendation at the end. The assessment is $199 for your first dog and $149 for a second dog. Once you enroll, the same PD360 framework continues as the progress-tracking system, with behavior scorecards, milestone trackers, real-world test results, and parent dashboard updates from your dog's lead trainer.

The PD360 Assessment captures a full picture of your dog and your household across one structured day at a Partners Dogs facility, with every section run by a senior trainer and recorded in your dog's profile. The behavioral baseline covers how your dog greets, settles, recovers from a startle, and handles handling. The temperament profile covers drive, confidence, sociability, reactivity thresholds, and sensitivity to pressure. Learning style testing shows whether your dog learns fastest from food, toys, praise, environmental rewards, or release of pressure. The environment and lifestyle intake covers household composition, other pets, schedule, exercise, sleeping arrangements, and neighborhood triggers. Tool compatibility testing identifies which equipment produces the clearest communication for your dog, and the family coaching review covers who handles the dog and who needs the most coaching. The day closes with a custom program recommendation and a realistic timeline, walked through with you at pickup.

The PD360 Assessment at Partners Dogs is $199 for your first dog and $149 for a second dog, charged one-time per assessment. For that fee your dog spends a full day at our Scottsdale or Cave Creek facility with a senior trainer running the structured evaluation across behavior, temperament, learning style, and real-world performance. The day includes the family interview and closes with a 30-minute pickup meeting where your trainer walks you through the findings and the recommended program, with the reasoning in plain terms. If you book the recommended camp or sign up for a membership on the day of your assessment, the fee becomes store credit, so the assessment becomes the planning step of the program rather than a separate cost. If we do not think Partners Dogs is the right fit for your dog, we will tell you that during the debrief rather than selling you a program.

An online quiz tells you what you already think about your dog. PD360 tells you what an expert sees when your dog walks into a Partners Dogs facility for a full assessment day. A quiz cannot watch your dog's body language change when a stranger enters the room, measure how fast your dog recovers from a startle, or see whether reactivity is driven by fear, frustration, drive, or habit. It cannot test which reward your dog actually works for in a new environment, or read the family dynamic and show who in the household needs the most coaching. A full assessment day captures all of that, in person, with a senior trainer. Across 70,000+ dogs trained since December 1997, we have learned that Pet Parents are usually right about what their dog is doing and often unsure about why. The right program plan flows from the why, and PD360 is how we establish it before you spend anything on training.

It depends on the program at Partners Dogs. PD360 is required for any case involving aggression toward dogs or people, any case with a bite history, any case considering Behavior Camp or Transform Camp, any case considering Aggression Rehabilitation, and any case where you are unsure which program fits. Those are the cases where a wrong placement wastes your money and your dog's time. PD360 is recommended but not required for Foundation Camp, where we can intake friendly dogs with standard goals over a phone call; for DaySchool, where phone intake works for most cases; for Private Lessons, which can start with a discovery call; and for Group Classes, which use standard enrollment. Even when it is not required, we recommend PD360 when another trainer has turned you away or when the behavior picture is mixed, because the assessment day gives every later decision a measured baseline.

Plan for the full day at Partners Dogs. PD360 runs 4-plus hours at our Scottsdale or Cave Creek facility. Drop-off is around 9 to 10am and pickup is around 2 to 4pm, with flexibility if those exact windows do not fit your schedule, and complex cases may run longer by design. The time includes greeting your dog and letting them settle, a structured behavior evaluation across multiple environments, rest periods so we see your dog rested as well as working, a family interview, and a program recommendation we walk through with you at pickup. If your case is complex, including aggression, bite history, severe anxiety, or multi-dog household conflict, we may extend the day. We never rush a behavior case to hit a clock, because the recommendation you act on for the next months of training is only as good as the observation behind it.

You choose the campus for your PD360 Assessment at Partners Dogs. Scottsdale is our urban training campus, with the easiest access from Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Paradise Valley, and Scottsdale proper. Cave Creek is our flagship campus, where founder Leighton Oosthuisen lives on-site, with larger outdoor evaluation spaces for high-drive and behavior cases. Both facilities run the same PD360 protocol, the same senior trainers rotate between them, and the same baseline gets recorded either way, so the recommendation does not change with the address. We default to whichever location is closer to your home unless your dog's case calls for the larger Cave Creek footprint; certain reactivity setups, for example, benefit from outdoor space and distance. If you would like to see the facility your dog would board at for Behavior Camp or Transform Camp, request the same location for PD360 and we will show you the kennels, training fields, and trainer team during your visit.

PD360 is built on the same methodology that drives every Partners Dogs program: balanced and tool-agnostic by design. We do not pre-commit to a methodology before we meet your dog; the dog tells us what works. Our primary method is positive reinforcement, and that is how every new behavior is built. We use the full operant conditioning model when it serves the dog, with most work happening on the reinforcement side. We use whatever equipment communicates clearly for the dog in front of us: treats, markers, a martingale or training collar, a slip lead, a prong collar, an e-collar, place, a crate, or a basket muzzle, and every tool is conditioned before it is used to ask for anything. The skill of the trainer determines outcomes, rather than the quadrant or the equipment. What we do not do: alpha rolls, dominance theory, yelling, training out of anger, or using any tool the dog has not been conditioned to first. The full methodology page carries the long version.

Yes, bringing your dog is the entire point of PD360 at Partners Dogs. It is a full in-person evaluation day, not a paperwork meeting; we need to see your actual dog in our actual environment to give you a real answer. On assessment day, with drop-off around 9 to 10am and pickup around 2 to 4pm, bring your dog on a martingale or training collar with a 4 to 6 foot fixed leash, since retractable leashes tell us little and manage less, and we will explain why during the visit. Bring current vaccination records for Rabies, DHPP, and Bordetella, required for any dog entering the facility. Bring at least one decision-maker from the household for the pickup debrief, ideally both primary handlers if there are two, plus a short written history of any incidents, prior training, or current concerns. If your dog has a bite history or significant reactivity, let us know when you book so we can prep the facility and choose the right space for the day. We have evaluated dogs every other trainer has turned away; yours will not be the first.

That seniority matters because an assessment is a judgment call about your dog's future, and it should be made by someone who has seen your dog's pattern many times before. The day has a set shape: a 30-minute drop-off meet between 9 and 10am, an evaluation across varied environments, and a 30-minute pick-up meet between 2 and 4pm with a verbal breakdown, plus a PD360 score sent to you. The trainer who conducts your PD360 is not necessarily the trainer who runs your full program, but the baseline they record and the plan built from it go into our system for the whole team. Our methodology and team page carries the complete breakdown and the next steps.

Dog training is a physical, environmental, and relational thing, and none of it can be captured over Zoom or in a web form. The first 90 seconds of a PD360 visit at Partners Dogs tell us a great deal. We see how your dog gets out of the car, how your dog handles a new building, new floor, and new smells, how your dog reacts to a stranger, whether they lock on or settle, how fast your dog recovers from a startle in the new environment, and how you and your dog communicate, which one is leading and which is following. We see what your dog actually does, which is sometimes different from what a loving Pet Parent reports. None of that translates to a quiz. In-person evaluation is also the only honest way to assess cases involving aggression or bite history; we have to see the dog. After training 70,000+ dogs since December 1997, we have learned the most accurate first impression of a dog comes from a senior trainer in a controlled environment, watching real behavior unfold.

A PD360 assessment at Partners Dogs replaces guesswork with measurement. A senior trainer evaluates your dog in person, covering behavior, temperament, learning style, and real-world performance, and records the result as a scorecard across 151 behaviors and nine dimensions. That scorecard becomes the baseline for the training plan, showing which behaviors are strong, which need work, and which carry safety risk. The same scorecard then tracks progress, since it can be re-scored at graduation and at follow-up, giving a before-and-after comparison on identical measures. The assessment is recommended for all camps and required before Behavior Camp and Transform Camp, where severity and staffing depend on an accurate picture. It is also the planning step for the camp plan: planning first, daily immersive training, parent training, and follow-up for 8 or more weeks after checkout. The assessment costs $199 for the first dog and $149 for the second, and that covers the in-person evaluation, the measured baseline, and the training plan built from it. More detail is on the assessment page.

PD360 at Partners Dogs names a system, not a single test. The system starts with an in-person assessment by a senior trainer, mapping your dog across 151 behaviors and nine dimensions, and it continues as the tracking framework for the whole program. Your dog gets a starting score from the assessment, and the same scorecard gets re-scored at graduation and at follow-up, so progress is measured on identical terms. The group-class grade levels carry graduation targets that climb from 184 points at Pre-School to 620 at Dogtorate. The 360 in the name points to the breadth of that view: behavior, temperament, learning style, and real-world performance together, rather than one skill judged in isolation. The knowledge base behind the system holds 225 or more behaviors, which supports the assessment picture without changing the 151 behaviors the PD360 itself tracks. The assessment is recommended for all camps and required before Behavior Camp and Transform Camp. It costs $199 for the first dog and $149 for the second, covering the evaluation and the plan it produces. More detail is on the glossary page.

The PD360 requirement at Partners Dogs is a safety and fit rule, not paperwork. Behavior Camp is led by senior instructors and covers behavior problems that need a root-cause reset. Transform Camp is led only by senior trainers and covers the most severe cases. Placing a dog in either camp without a measured picture risks understating severity, which puts handlers and other dogs at risk, or overstating it, which puts a dog in a more intensive program than the case requires. The PD360 prevents both errors by mapping the dog across 151 behaviors and nine dimensions before a recommendation is made. For Foundation Camp and other programs, the PD360 is recommended. The assessment costs $199 for the first dog and $149 for the second, covering the evaluation and the plan it produces, and it is the first step of your dog's plan. The PD360 Assessment page has the full details.

Planning first is the rule for camp programs at Partners Dogs, and the PD360 Assessment is the recommended way to do it. Your dog's plan starts there, then moves through daily immersive training with parent training built in, and follow-up for 8 or more weeks after checkout. For camps, the PD360 is recommended across the board and required before Behavior Camp and Transform Camp, because severity and staffing depend on the measured picture. For lessons and classes, the starting step follows the case: a defined skill may start with a lesson directly, while a behavior question usually starts with a PD360 Assessment, so the trainer can see the dog before recommending a format. The program quiz can narrow the field, but it does not replace the planning step where safety or severity is in question. The PD360 assessment costs $199 for the first dog and $149 for the second, covering the evaluation and the plan it produces. The programs page has more detail.

Behavior Camp, the usual reactivity program at Partners Dogs, requires the PD360 Assessment before check-in. On assessment day, your dog is evaluated across varied environments between a 30-minute drop-off meet in the morning and a 30-minute pick-up meet in the afternoon, where the trainer talks you through what they saw and a revised PD360 score is sent to you. The PD360 scores give the team and the Pet Parent a comparable baseline for reactivity triggers, obedience skills, and household routines. That baseline shapes the immersion plan, sets which triggers get worked first, and gives a reference for later progress checks. The assessment is $199 for the first dog and $149 for a second, and it covers a full behavior profile that guides the whole plan rather than a single test. Follow-through after camp then runs for 8 or more weeks, with lessons, classes, and day training. For assessment details, see the PD360 assessment page, and for handling, see the leash reactivity guide.

PD360 starts as your dog's assessment at Partners Dogs and then becomes the tracking framework for the program. It covers 151 behaviors across nine dimensions, and each behavior carries a level: Unknown is level 1, Teaching 2, Reinforcing 3, Proofing 4, and Maintenance 5. On assessment day you get a verbal breakdown and a PD360 score, and your dog's plan is built into our system from that baseline. A camp stay works each behavior through Teaching and Reinforcing at the school. Proofing comes after checkout, at home and in follow-up programs such as DaySchool, DayCamp, and group classes, and Maintenance continues at home. Because the levels stay the same from start to finish, the numbers stay comparable as your dog moves up.

Every PD360 at Partners Dogs ends with a 30-minute pickup meeting, where your trainer gives you a verbal breakdown of three things. First, the program we recommend for your dog, Foundation Camp, DaySchool, Behavior Camp, Transform Camp, Private Lessons, or Group Classes, with the reasoning behind the recommendation. Second, your dog's baseline: behavior, temperament, learning style, and reactivity thresholds, recorded in our system so real change can be tracked against it. Third, what your role looks like during and after the program, including the tools we plan to use. If you enroll, that baseline becomes the starting line for every progress update. Families who need time can decide later; the plan and your dog's revised PD360 score stay built into our system, so you can return months later without starting over.

Because the dog that sits in a quiet training room is a different dog from the one that ignores a sit when a delivery driver walks past the front door, PD360 progress tracking at Partners Dogs is built around real-world test results on purpose. We test door greetings with a stranger entering, with another dog entering, and with multiple people. We test leash walks in genuinely distracting environments, real sidewalks with bikes, joggers, and other dogs, rather than a back parking lot. We test recall off leash, at distance, with active distractions present, and settling in a restaurant patio, lobby, or coffee shop as well as our quiet training rooms. We test trigger passes in the specific situations that triggered enrollment, whether that is kids on scooters, big black dogs, the mail carrier, or the vacuum. The behavior scorecard captures performance on those real-world dimensions, and you see the tests on your parent dashboard. Commands are a useful proxy for training quality; outcomes in daily life are the proof. The our training methodology page carries the complete breakdown and the next steps.

Your parent dashboard at Partners Dogs is where every piece of PD360 data lives for your dog, and you can log in from any device. It holds your dog's PD360 profile, including the behavior scorecard, temperament profile, learning style, tool compatibility, and current baseline. It shows the active program and timeline, where you are in the program, what has been completed, and what comes next. The milestone tracker lists skills demonstrated, badges earned, and real-world tests passed. Photo and video updates come from your dog's lead trainer, especially during board-and-train, alongside daily or weekly trainer notes. Homework and handouts show what to practice at home between sessions and after the program ends, and upcoming sessions and follow-ups list group classes, follow-up lessons, and the 30, 60, and 90-day check-ins. It is the same dashboard our trainers use internally, so the record you see is the working record, complete and current.

Yes. During any board-and-train program at Partners Dogs, Foundation Camp, Behavior Camp, or Transform Camp, your dog's lead trainer posts daily pupdates to your parent dashboard: photos and short video clips of the work as it happens. You will see training clips of your dog working real exercises, so progress is visible with your own eyes. You will see real-world test footage of your dog handling the situations that triggered the enrollment in the first place. You will see off-duty photos of your dog playing, resting, and spending time with kennel friends, plus milestone moments such as a first successful off-leash recall or a first calm trigger pass. The pupdates serve your training as well as your peace of mind: parents arrive at handoff lessons already familiar with their dog's new responses. The same updates are the ones our trainer team reviews in weekly internal program meetings, so the record you see is the record we work from. The how board-and-train updates work page carries the complete breakdown and the next steps.

A behavior scorecard is the Partners Dogs document that converts how your dog actually behaves into a measurable, comparable score on the dimensions that drive real-world outcomes. Each dog's scorecard rates behaviors such as leash reactivity, recall reliability, settle quality, greeting manners, frustration tolerance, recovery from a startle, and resource guarding, on a calibrated scale your trainer is trained to apply consistently. We score at intake, which becomes your PD360 baseline, at mid-program, at end-of-program, and again at every follow-up benchmark. That gives you something most dog training has never offered: a before-and-after picture of your dog, in writing, with dates attached. You can see exactly which behaviors moved, which ones moved the most, and which ones still need maintenance work. Trainers use the same scorecard to plan the next session and to decide when a dog is ready to graduate to the next milestone, so the scores drive the program rather than just reporting on it.

A PD360 assessment at Partners Dogs teaches you your dog's behavior picture in measured form, rather than as a single label such as reactive or stubborn. The scorecard covers 151 behaviors across nine dimensions, including behavior, temperament, learning style, and real-world performance. A higher or lower score on a dimension tells the trainer where to start, and the pattern across dimensions tells the trainer why a behavior keeps repeating. You learn which behaviors are already reliable, which need building, and which carry safety risk that changes the program choice. You also learn what the training plan will target first, and how progress will be judged, since the same scorecard gets re-scored after the program. That baseline is the practical value: without it, progress is a feeling, and with it, progress is a comparison you can see. The assessment costs $199 for the first dog and $149 for the second, covering the evaluation and the plan it produces. The PD360 Assessment page has the full details.

PD360 scores at Partners Dogs live in two places that work together: the parent portal, where the scorecard is stored, and the trainer review, where the scores are explained. The portal gives you the record, including the baseline from assessment and later re-scores, while the review gives you the reading, including which behaviors moved, by how much, and what still needs maintenance at home. If you cannot find scores in the portal, contact the team through support@partnersdogs.com for service questions, and ask for the portal location and access steps for your dog's record. Do not judge a single score in isolation, since the value of the PD360 is the pattern across 151 behaviors and nine dimensions, and the comparison over time. The assessment is recommended for all camps and required before Behavior Camp and Transform Camp, and it costs $199 for the first dog and $149 for the second. More detail is on the Parent Portal page.

The PD360 count at Partners Dogs is 151 behaviors, measured across nine dimensions. That number matters because behavior problems rarely sit in one behavior alone: reactivity, for example, may show up alongside fear, impulse control gaps, and leash handling problems, and a narrow test would miss the pattern. The nine dimensions group those behaviors into a picture a trainer can plan from, covering behavior, temperament, learning style, and real-world performance. Every dog gets a baseline score, since any behavior that is unknown starts at a set level and teaching moves it, and the group-class graduation targets climb from 184 points at Pre-School to 620 at Dogtorate. Do not confuse the PD360 count with the wider knowledge base, which holds 225 or more behaviors, or with the group-class curriculum, which covers 130 or more behaviors. Those are different totals for different surfaces. The PD360 assessment is recommended for all camps and required before Behavior Camp and Transform Camp, and it costs $199 for the first dog and $149 for the second. More detail is on the PD360 page.

A training plan at Partners Dogs starts from the PD360 scorecard, not from a program name chosen in advance. A senior trainer evaluates the dog in person across 151 behaviors and nine dimensions, and the pattern in those scores sets the order of work. Behaviors that block safety or daily life come first, while strengths become the foundation for new skills. The pattern also sets the program: a wide behavior picture points to a camp, a targeted gap points to lessons or classes, and severity points to the camp level and the staffing it requires. The plan names the household routines to rebuild, since the dog returns to the parents, and it sets review points where the scorecard gets re-scored. That re-scoring is how the team knows whether the plan is working, rather than relying on impression. Follow-up lessons, classes, and day training for 8 or more weeks after camp checkout then target the behaviors that still need maintenance. The assessment costs $199 for the first dog and $149 for the second, covering the evaluation and the plan it produces. The PD360 Assessment page has more detail.

A self-assessment at Partners Dogs is a useful first step for Pet Parents who want a picture before booking the PD360 Assessment. You answer questions about your dog's behavior, triggers, and household routines, and the result points toward the program area that may fit, such as lessons, classes, or a camp. That snapshot helps you ask better questions at planning, and it helps the team understand what brought you in. It does not replace the PD360 assessment, because a self-assessment cannot measure a dog in person across 151 behaviors, cannot judge safety risk with a trainer's eye, and cannot set staffing for a severe case. For that reason, the trainer-run PD360 remains required before Behavior Camp and Transform Camp, and recommended for all camps. After the self-assessment, the next step is the PD360 Assessment, where the snapshot gets tested against direct observation. The PD360 Assessment costs $199 for the first dog and $149 for a second dog, and that price covers the in-person evaluation and the training plan built from it. You can start from the self-assessment link, which opens our program builder.

A self-assessment at Partners Dogs gives you a starting picture, built from your answers about behavior, triggers, and household routines. It highlights the areas that stand out, such as reactivity, anxiety, or obedience gaps, and it points toward the program type that may fit, whether lessons, classes, or a camp. That guidance is valuable for narrowing the field and for preparing questions for planning. It has clear limits, and those limits matter. A self-assessment cannot score a dog across 151 behaviors, cannot judge warning signs in person, and cannot set the staffing a severe case requires. It also reflects what you noticed, which may miss behaviors a trainer would catch in person. Treat the result as a direction, not a diagnosis, and let a PD360 Assessment test it. Where the self-assessment points toward Behavior Camp or Transform Camp, the trainer-run PD360 assessment is required before enrollment, and it costs $199 for the first dog and $149 for the second. More detail is on the PD360 self-assessment page.

Finishing the self-assessment at Partners Dogs starts the planning conversation, rather than ending it. You receive a direction based on your answers, pointing toward the program type that may fit, and you can review that direction against your own goals and household routine. The next step is confirmation: a PD360 Assessment, where a trainer meets the dog and tests the snapshot against direct observation. That step is required before Behavior Camp and Transform Camp, and recommended for all camps, because severity, safety, and staffing all depend on a measured picture. After confirmation, the team builds the training plan, naming the program, the skills, and the follow-up, so enrollment rests on evidence rather than on a questionnaire alone. If the self-assessment result surprises you, bring that surprise to the trainer review, since a mismatch between the snapshot and the dog in person often reveals a behavior or a trigger that the questionnaire did not capture. More detail is on the PD360 self-assessment page.

The program quiz at Partners Dogs works by gathering the details that shape a program recommendation, in a form Pet Parents can complete before talking to a trainer. The five areas you rate are manners and obedience, inappropriate behaviors, anxiety and socialization, reactivity and aggression, and stress and triggers. Those answers let the quiz point toward a program type, such as lessons, classes, or a camp, and toward a camp level where the picture suggests one. The quiz result is a direction, not a final program choice, because it cannot measure a dog in person or judge safety risk. Where the result points toward Behavior Camp or Transform Camp, a trainer-run PD360 assessment is required before enrollment. Use the quiz to narrow the field and to prepare questions, then let assessment confirm the program. More detail is on the program quiz page.

Pet Parents who give detailed trigger examples will take a little longer than Pet Parents who answer briefly, and that is normal, since the quiz is a narrowing tool rather than a timed test. The quiz is separate from the PD360 Assessment, an in-person day at the school with a 30-minute drop-off meeting between 9 and 10am and a 30-minute pick-up meeting between 2 and 4pm. After the quiz, the next step is usually a PD360 Assessment, where the quiz direction gets checked against your dog in person, or a call with the team. Save finer history for that conversation, where it can be explored properly. More detail is on the program quiz page.

The quiz result at Partners Dogs is a recommendation, not an enrollment, and that distinction protects you from a program chosen on a questionnaire alone. You receive a program direction based on your answers about your dog, the behavior, and your household routine, pointing toward lessons, classes, or a camp, and toward a camp level where the picture suggests one. The result also points to the next step, usually a PD360 Assessment, where a trainer meets the dog and confirms or revises the direction. The PD360 Assessment itself is required before Behavior Camp and Transform Camp, and recommended before every camp. If the recommendation surprises you, treat the surprise as useful information for the trainer review, since a mismatch often reveals a trigger or a history detail the quiz did not capture. Bring the quiz result to planning, and ask the trainer to explain the recommendation and the alternatives considered, so the final program rests on evidence you understand. More detail is on the program quiz page.

A quiz recommendation at Partners Dogs is a starting direction, and treating it as final would skip the step that makes a program safe and fitting. The quiz works from your answers, which reflect what you noticed, while a PD360 Assessment works from direct observation, including warning signs, recovery after a trigger, and handling response. A PD360 assessment adds measurement across 151 behaviors, giving a pattern that a questionnaire cannot produce. For that reason, the trainer-run PD360 is required before Behavior Camp and Transform Camp, and recommended for all camps, regardless of what the quiz suggested. If assessment revises the quiz direction, that revision is a good sign, not a contradiction: it means the program now rests on evidence from the dog in person. Ask the trainer at planning to explain what changed the recommendation and why, so you understand the final program and can judge its fit for your household. More detail is on the program quiz page.

Measurement at Partners Dogs starts before training, so progress is a comparison rather than an impression. A senior trainer evaluates the dog in person through the PD360 process, recording a baseline across 151 behaviors in nine dimensions. The same scorecard is re-scored at graduation and at follow-up benchmarks, so movement on individual behaviors shows up in numbers a Pet Parent can review. Real-world tests sit beside the scorecard: door greetings, leash walks, and trigger passes in the situations that brought the family to training. The method behind the scorecard is the balanced, Omni-technical approach described on the methodology page. The PD360 assessment costs $199 for the first dog and $149 for the second dog, is recommended for all camps, and is required before Behavior and Transform Camps.

A reassessment is useful when the question is broad, such as whether several behaviors have shifted, whether a new trigger pattern has emerged, or whether the next program step needs a fresh baseline. Partners Dogs tracks 151 behaviors across nine dimensions in the PD360, so a reassessment gives a comparable picture against the starting assessment rather than a general impression. For a single trigger, a follow-up lesson is the faster check, since the trainer can watch handling and adjust distance directly. For a stalled program, a reassessment can show which behaviors moved, which stayed put, and where the plan should focus next. The condensed camp arc is assessment, immersion, and follow-through. For the assessment itself, see the PD360 assessment page, and for walk handling, see the leash reactivity guide.

Read the profile in two layers. The behavior levels show where each of the 151 behaviors sits today, from Unknown at level 1 up to Maintenance at level 5 as training lands; the grade your dog holds, from Pre-School to Dogtorate, summarizes the obedience layer. Teaching and Reinforcing happen at our schools, Proofing happens at home and in follow-up, and Maintenance continues at home. The total score rolls those behaviors into one number that moves as levels move, and it is recalculated as your trainers log sessions, so the figure on your parent dashboard reflects this week's dog rather than assessment day. Scores exist to aim the plan: the lowest behaviors in the profile are the ones your program works on first, and your trainer reviews the movement with you at handoff and in follow-up.

Private lessons at Partners Dogs come in three settings, and the choice is a training decision, not only a convenience choice. Home lessons let a trainer work the behavior in the rooms and yard where it happens, which helps for door greetings, counter habits, and household routines. In-school lessons suit dogs that need a controlled setting first, or Pet Parents who want the school's distractions and equipment. Online lessons suit coaching, follow-up, and skills that transfer well through video. By default, private lessons happen at the schools, so ask for home or online lessons during planning if that setting fits better. The trainer will weigh the behavior, the distractions, and the safety of the setting before confirming. Private lessons cost $129 online, $179 in-school, and $279 in-home, and each price covers a coached lesson in that setting, with the home price also covering the trainer's travel to your home. More detail is on the private lessons page.

The honest answer at Partners Dogs is that lesson count follows the case. A single skill with a clear history may need a short plan, while a behavior with a long history, strong triggers, or safety risk needs a longer plan with follow-up built in. Household practice changes the count too, since a skill practiced daily between sessions moves faster than a skill practiced only in lessons. That is why planning starts with a PD360 Assessment. The assessment maps the behavior across 151 behaviors, and the trainer uses that picture to recommend a plan, to name the first skills, and to set review points where progress gets checked. If progress stalls, the plan changes, rather than running the same lesson count regardless of results. Ask the trainer at planning what the starting plan is, what progress should look like after the first sessions, and when the plan gets reviewed, so you can judge the work as it happens. More detail is on the private lessons page.

Practice between sessions at Partners Dogs is part of the treatment, not homework added for its own sake. A lesson teaches a skill and the handling for it, but the skill only becomes reliable when it gets repeated at home, in the rooms and routines where it matters. Your trainer sets the practice for the week, naming the skill, the setting, and the number of repetitions that fit your household, so practice stays short and doable rather than vague. The Pet Parent Guide video lessons, 8 or more hours that parents can watch back, help you check timing and handling before you repeat a skill. Bring problems back to the next session plainly, including the moments where practice broke down, because those moments tell the trainer what to fix. More detail is on the private lessons page.

Group classes at Partners Dogs run as a curriculum, not as a set of disconnected lessons, and each grade builds on the one before it, from Pre-School foundations to Dogtorate. A dog enters at the grade that matches its current skills, as shown by assessment or by prior class work, and moves up when it can demonstrate the grade skills under distraction. Grade follows performance, not age. When you compare levels, ask how progression is judged, since demonstration under distraction is the standard that matters.

Missing a class at Partners Dogs is a timing problem first, because group classes build skills in sequence. A missed lesson can leave a gap that the next level assumes is filled, so the fix is to close that gap before moving on. Contact the team promptly when you know you will miss, and ask what the missed lesson covered, what practice covers it at home, and whether a makeup option exists for that level. The Pet Parent Guide video lessons, 8 or more hours that parents can watch back, can help you review the skill, but video review does not replace coached practice where timing matters. Do not simply attend the next class and hope the gap closes on its own, since a weak foundation shows up later under distraction. More detail is on the group classes page.

Group classes run as a curriculum of 130+ behaviors, with each grade building on the one before it. A dog that moves up too early carries a gap that shows up later, usually under distraction, when the missing foundation matters most. If the dog shows the skills cleanly, starting higher saves time without creating a gap. If the dog shows partial skills, starting at the lower grade and moving up quickly is the safer route. More detail is on the group classes page.

A week at Partners Dogs looks different by program, because each service runs on its own rhythm. Camps run daily immersive training across their weeks, with parent training and follow-up woven in. DaySchool runs Monday to Friday 7am to 6pm and Saturday 8am to 4pm, closed Sunday. DayCamp and boarding follow the office rhythm, with office hours Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm and Saturday 8am to 2pm, closed Sunday. Private lessons and group classes are scheduled around those programs, and the exact days depend on the trainer, the class level, and the campus. That is why a single weekly timetable would mislead: the schedule that matters is the one for your dog's plan. At planning, ask the team to walk through your week, including camp days, lesson days, class days, and follow-up days, so drop-off, pickup, and home practice all fit the household week. If your week changes, tell the team early, since a missed day in a sequence can leave a gap the next session assumes is filled. More detail is on the pricing page.

A dog learning basic cues in a calm home moves faster than a dog learning the same cues plus impulse control, recall proofing, and household manners in a busy home, and that difference is normal. The useful measures are steadier responses, longer durations, larger distances, and calmer behavior around mild distractions, tracked skill by skill, rather than a single finish date. A PD360 assessment gives a measured starting point across dimensions, so milestones can be set for that dog and that household, instead of borrowing a timeline from another dog. The PD360 assessment page explains how the assessment sets a realistic timeline for your dog. A PD360 assessment at Partners Dogs costs $199 for the first dog and $149 for the second, and it tracks 151 behaviors across nine dimensions, so the plan starts from measured behavior.

Schedule changes happen: a class moves rooms, a trainer swaps, or a session shifts time. When your phone number or email changes, tell the team so your contact record stays current. If you ever arrive and find a change you were not told about, tell the front desk right away so they can trace the message and fix the contact record.

Progress updates work best when they are tied to specific skills, not to a general report that the dog did well. During camp, daily pupdates with videos and pictures show the work as it happens, and the handoff lesson lets the Pet Parent practice the same skills with coaching, so home practice starts from a clear picture. After checkout, follow-up lessons, classes, and day training carry the plan forward for 8 or more weeks, and each follow-up is a chance to ask which skills held, which slipped, and what to practice next. Keep a short home log of the skills, the places where they hold, and the triggers that still break them, and bring that log to each follow-up. The alumni page at Partners Dogs describes ongoing support after a program ends. For program questions, contact Enroll@PartnersDogs.com, or call 480-595-6700, and the team can point the Pet Parent to the right next step.

Pupdates are part of the camp treatment plan at Partners Dogs, not an extra you need to request. Each day during a camp stay, you receive updates with videos and pictures showing your dog's training, and those clips do two jobs at once. They let you see change while it is still forming, rather than hearing a summary at pickup, and they teach you the handling your dog is learning, because you watch how trainers cue, mark, and reward each behavior. Boarding stays carry the same idea, with photos, videos, and notes showing the day as it happens. If an update raises a question about handling at home, bring it to parent training or a follow-up session. More detail is on the parent portal page.

The portal keeps the booking record, the payment record, and the change in one place, so a change made there shows on the campus record without a second message to chase. That matters when dates move, because the deposit and cancellation terms travel with the booking rather than restarting with each message. A Pet Parent who changes a booking inside the portal should check the confirmation screen for the new date, the service, and any store credit or fee note, and keep that confirmation. When the portal will not accept a change, the campus team can take it by email at Enroll@PartnersDogs.com or by phone at 480-595-6700, and the same terms still apply. Full terms sit on the terms and conditions page.

The pupdate is part of the treatment plan, not a courtesy photo. Immersion works better when Pet Parents arrive at handoff already recognizing the cues, the reward timing, and the way their dog responds, and daily video is how that learning starts during the stay rather than after it. By checkout you have watched the skills move through Teaching and Reinforcing, which makes the proofing you and your trainer do at home in follow-up easier to run. Boarding stays include periodic photo updates; camp pupdates are daily because camp is a training program.

The difference between the two camps at Partners Dogs is case severity, who leads the work, and the depth of the plan. Transform Camp runs 28 nights at $8,929 and is built for severe aggression: multi-bite histories, bites toward family members, and outward, non-reactive aggression. Only senior trainers take those dogs on, because the cases carry the highest safety and judgment demands in the building. Behavior Camp runs 21 nights at $6,244 for moderate behavior issues such as reactivity, anxiety, fear of other dogs, resource guarding, destructive behavior, separation anxiety, and single reactive bites. Senior instructors lead Behavior Camp, with instructors supporting. Both prices buy a treatment plan rather than a stay: a PD360 plan built before check-in, daily immersive training, daily pupdates with videos and pictures, parent training, free Pet Parent Guide access, and follow-up lessons, classes, and day training for 8-plus weeks after checkout. Followed as designed, that consistency is what lets hurdles be handled as they appear, and it is why the outcomes hold at home. PD360 confirms which camp your dog needs, and we will not place a dog in a more intensive program than the case requires. The program decision center page carries the complete breakdown and the next steps.

Every dog that comes to Partners Dogs leaves the assessment with a recommended program. Vets refer families to us for the hardest cases, especially severe reactivity and aggression, and PD360 settles the plan: which program, what runs first, and what has to happen before the dog starts. A medical piece can shape the plan: if the behavior is sudden, new and out of character, comes with signs of obvious pain, or a dog with severe anxiety is on the wrong medication, we ask your vet to check it and treat what needs treating, and we build the training around that care. A serious safety risk shapes it too: for an unprovoked bite history with children or predatory aggression toward people, we have an honest conversation about realistic outcomes and the management the household needs, and if the household cannot run that management yet, building that readiness comes first. Timing shapes it most often: sometimes the household is not ready yet, with a newborn arriving, a move, or a recent loss. If timing is the issue, you keep your PD360 plan and start when you are ready; you pick the plan up where it left off when you are ready.

Partners Dogs does not run one generic day for every dog, because dogs arrive with different needs. DayCamp is trainer-led structure for dogs that need behavior work before group play, including reactive, fearful, and anxious dogs, newly adopted shelter and rescue dogs once they have had 30 days with no health issues, and dogs coming out of a behavior program. The day mixes focused training with supervised social time, and the goal for many DayCamp dogs is a pathway into DaySchool once behavior is stable. DaySchool, by contrast, suits social dogs already comfortable with off-leash group play, combining structured training with supervised play and enrichment. Camps take a different shape again, with daily immersive training across weeks under a treatment plan. The right type of training is therefore a fit question, not a menu choice made blind. A PD360 Assessment lets a trainer see your dog, name the need, and place the dog in the program whose day matches it. More detail is on the pricing page.

A specific behavioral issue at Partners Dogs gets a specific plan, and the plan starts with measurement. A PD360 assessment tracks 151 behaviors across nine dimensions, which lets a trainer see the full picture instead of reacting to one incident. The PD360 Assessment is recommended before every camp and required before Behavior Camp and Transform Camp. From that picture, the team recommends a program by severity and scope. Foundation Camp suits obedience and manners needs. Behavior Camp suits behavior problems that need a root-cause reset, led by senior instructors. Transform Camp suits the most severe cases, led only by senior trainers. Daytime programs and private lessons suit dogs whose needs fit a shorter, targeted format. Tell the team the exact behavior, the trigger, and what happens after it, including any bite history, because a program chosen on partial detail can miss the real problem. More detail is on the program decision center page.

The first step for a behavior problem at Partners Dogs is measurement, not enrollment in a named program. A PD360 assessment tracks 151 behaviors across nine dimensions, giving the team a picture that goes beyond the incident that brought you in. That picture matters because behavior problems that look alike can have different causes: fear, frustration, guarding, and habit each need a different plan. After assessment, the team recommends by severity and scope, from private lessons and classes for targeted needs, through Foundation Camp for obedience and manners, to Behavior Camp for behavior problems and Transform Camp for the most severe cases. The program quiz can help narrow the choice, but it does not replace assessment where safety or severity is in question. Contact the team through Enroll@PartnersDogs.com or 480-595-6700 to book the assessment, and bring honest detail about triggers, bites, and the settings where the problem appears. More detail is on the behavior index page.

The behavior scope at Partners Dogs covers everyday problems and serious ones, and the distinction that matters is severity, not the label alone. Everyday problems include barking, jumping on guests, pulling on leash, begging, digging, chewing, and potty accidents. Deeper problems include reactivity on leash, fear of people or dogs, anxiety and separation distress, resource guarding, and chasing. Serious problems include aggression toward people, aggression toward dogs, fighting at home, and bite histories. Foundation Camp suits obedience and manners needs. Behavior Camp suits behavior problems that need a root-cause reset. Transform Camp suits the most severe cases, led only by senior trainers. Daytime programs, private lessons, and group classes suit targeted needs and follow-up. A PD360 assessment maps your dog across 151 behaviors, so the recommendation rests on a measured picture rather than on a single label. If you are unsure whether your dog's problem sits in scope, ask, and bring the trigger and the history, since those details settle the program faster than a category name. More detail is on the behavior index page.

The camp-or-lessons choice at Partners Dogs turns on scope and intensity, not on enthusiasm for a program. Lessons suit a dog that needs coaching on a defined skill, such as leash handling, recall, or a household routine, where the parent can practice between sessions and the behavior does not carry a safety risk. A camp suits a dog whose behavior repeats across settings, has a long history, or needs a reset that daily immersive training can deliver. Camps also suit households where the routine itself needs rebuilding, since parent training and follow-up are built into the treatment plan. Assessment settles the borderline cases. A PD360 Assessment maps the dog across 151 behaviors, with a trainer watching how your dog responds to people, other dogs, equipment, commands, and rewards through the day. From that evidence, the team can say why a camp fits, why lessons fit, or why a camp followed by lessons and classes fits best. Ask for the reasoning in plain terms at planning, so the choice is a judgment you understand, not a package you accepted. More detail is on the behavior index page.

Talking to a trainer before enrollment at Partners Dogs is part of planning, not a sales step added on top of it. A PD360 Assessment gives the trainer a direct look at your dog, including triggers, handling, and response, before any program is recommended. That direct look matters, because a program chosen from a description alone can miss severity, fear, or a handling problem that changes the plan. Come with the details that matter: the behavior, the trigger, the history, any bites, and the household routines where the problem appears. The trainer can then explain why a camp, lessons, or classes fit, what the plan would cover, and what follow-up would look like. Enrollment contact runs through Enroll@PartnersDogs.com as the default customer contact, or 480-595-6700 by phone. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm, and on Saturday from 8am to 2pm, with Sunday closed. Service and client questions go to support@partnersdogs.com. More detail is on the behavior index page.

Choosing a program at Partners Dogs follows a sequence, and skipping the first step is where most wrong choices happen. Assessment comes first, through a PD360 Assessment, because the recommendation should rest on your dog rather than on a program name that sounded right. Severity sets the camp level: Foundation Camp for obedience and manners, Behavior Camp for behavior problems, Transform Camp for the most severe cases. Scope sets the format: a wide behavior picture points to a camp, while a targeted skill points to lessons or classes. Household routine sets the follow-up, since the dog returns to your home and the plan must fit the people, the other dogs, and the daily schedule there. The program quiz asks about your dog and your goals, and its recommendation helps narrow the field, but it does not replace assessment. At planning, ask the trainer to explain the recommendation, the alternatives considered, and what would change the recommendation, so the choice is one you understand. If the plan is a camp, follow-up lessons, classes, and day training carry it for 8 or more weeks after checkout. Build Your Program has the next step.

A program at Partners Dogs is built from evidence, and the evidence starts with you. Behavior history matters: when the behavior started, how often it appears, and whether it has grown worse. Triggers matter: the people, dogs, sounds, and settings that set it off, and the distance where the dog can still respond. Household routines matter: who handles the dog, what the daily schedule looks like, whether other dogs or children live in the home, and which routines break down. Safety history matters most of all: bites, near misses, and any moment where control was lost, described plainly. Goals matter too, since a program built for calm walks differs from one built for safe greetings at the door. The PD360 assessment adds a measured layer, tracking 151 behaviors across nine dimensions, so the plan rests on more than one incident retold at intake. Every school program starts at 20 weeks with the required vaccines in place, so vaccination and age details come with the rest of the intake picture. Bring videos where you can, since a short clip of the behavior often tells a trainer more than a long description. Build Your Program has the next step.

Program cost at Partners Dogs follows the plan, and the plan follows the PD360 Assessment, which is why a single figure would mislead. Private lessons cost $129 online, $179 in-school, and $279 in-home. Camp prices, suite included, are $3,509 for the 14-night Foundation Camp, from $6,244 for the 21-night Behavior Camp, and $8,929 for the 28-night Transform Camp, each covering the full treatment plan: planning, daily immersive training, parent training, daily pupdates, the Pet Parent Guide, and follow-up for 8 or more weeks after checkout. Daytime programs, classes, and the PD360 Assessment sit in between, with the PD360 at $199 for the first dog and $149 for the second. Financing is available through three third-party providers: PayPal Credit, LendingUSA, and Coach Financing. Rates and terms are based on your credit profile. Build Your Program has the next step.

The decision between a camp and lessons at Partners Dogs is best made as a short test, applied honestly to your dog. Scope asks whether the behavior appears in one setting or across many. A single-setting skill points to lessons. A behavior that appears at the door, on walks, and with guests points to a camp. Severity asks whether safety is involved. A safety risk points to a camp, where daily immersive training and experienced handlers carry the case. History asks how long the behavior has practiced itself into place. A long history points to a camp, where weeks of consistency can rebuild it. Household capacity asks whether parents can practice daily between sessions and hold routines consistently. Strong capacity supports lessons, while a household routine that itself needs rebuilding supports a camp with parent training and follow-up. Assessment tests all four questions with evidence. A PD360 Assessment lets a trainer see the dog directly and recommend a camp, lessons, or a camp followed by lessons and classes, with reasons. Either route includes follow-up shaped to the choice, since the dog returns to your home either way. More detail is on the program decision center page.

Doubt about whether training will work is common at Partners Dogs, and it usually comes from a history of advice that did not stick. The honest response is a smaller first step with evidence, not a larger promise. A PD360 assessment maps your dog across 151 behaviors, showing the pattern behind the problem rather than a single incident. On the assessment day, trainers work with your dog across varied environments, then walk you through what they saw at pick-up and send you a revised PD360 score. That day gives you something to judge: the trainer's reading of the problem, the plan proposed, and the dog's response to the first work. Results depend on the dog and on the plan being kept up at home. That is why a camp plan runs in order, from planning and daily immersive training to parent training and 8 or more weeks of follow-up, with hurdles handled as they appear. If assessment shows a problem outside training scope, such as a medical issue, the team will tell you so and send you to your vet first, rather than selling a program that cannot address the cause. More detail is on the program decision center page.

A side by side comparison at Partners Dogs is useful when it compares the right dimensions, and the program decision center is built for that. Compare by case type first: obedience and manners point to Foundation Camp, behavior problems point to Behavior Camp, and the most severe cases point to Transform Camp. Compare by length next: 14 nights, 21 nights, and 28 nights, each as a treatment plan rather than a stay. Compare by staffing: instructors leading Foundation Camp, senior instructors leading Behavior Camp, and senior trainers only for Transform Camp. Compare by follow-up: follow-up lessons, classes, and day training for 8 or more weeks after checkout, across camps. Compare by price last, with suite totals of $3,509, $6,244, and $8,929, each covering the full plan for that camp. A comparison page cannot replace assessment, since severity and triggers only become clear when a trainer meets the dog. Use the comparison to narrow the field, then use a PD360 Assessment to confirm the choice; it is required before Behavior Camp and Transform Camp. More detail is on the program decision center page.

Choosing a trainer is a judgment about method, staffing, and follow-through, and the right questions expose all three. Ask how the trainer assesses a dog before recommending a program, and whether that assessment is measured, as the PD360 is across 151 behaviors, or impression-based. Ask what method the trainer uses, and how they handle corrections. Partners Dogs uses balanced training: positive reinforcement is the primary method and the base of every program, and when correction enters, it starts at the lowest level the dog notices, only after the dog knows the behavior and is conditioned to the tool, with the tool chosen for that dog and that behavior. Ask who handles severe cases, and whether senior trainers take the hardest dogs, as they do at Partners Dogs for Transform Camp. Ask what parent training is included, because the dog returns to your home. Ask what follow-up runs after the program, and for how long, since Partners Dogs runs follow-up lessons, classes, and day training for 8 or more weeks after camp checkout. Ask how progress is measured, and what happens if behavior returns. A trainer who answers each question with specifics for your dog, rather than with slogans, is showing the judgment the work requires. More detail is on the program decision center page.

Camp choice at Partners Dogs is a severity decision, and severity is measured rather than guessed. Foundation Camp runs 14 nights for dogs that need core obedience, manners, and social skills, led by instructors. Behavior Camp runs 21 nights for behavior problems such as reactivity, anxiety, guarding, and destructive patterns, led by senior instructors, with a PD360 assessment required before the camp. Transform Camp runs 28 nights for the most severe cases, including severe aggression, led only by senior trainers, with a PD360 assessment required before the camp. The assessment matters because Pet Parents often understate or overstate severity from one incident, while the PD360 measures 151 behaviors and shows the wider pattern. A dog that looks like a Foundation case on one incident may show a behavior picture that points to Behavior Camp, and a dog that looks severe on one incident may show a pattern that Behavior Camp can carry. Ask the trainer to explain the recommendation and the alternatives considered, so the choice rests on evidence you can follow. After checkout, follow-up lessons, classes, and day training carry the plan for 8 or more weeks. More detail is on the program comparison page.

The program range at Partners Dogs covers the full arc from assessment to follow-up. Board-and-train camps are the primary programs: Foundation Camp for obedience and manners across 14 nights, Behavior Camp for behavior problems across 21 nights, and Transform Camp for the most severe cases across 28 nights. Private lessons run online, in-school, and in-home, for targeted coaching. Group classes run a curriculum of 130 or more behaviors across grade levels. DaySchool offers daytime training and supervised play for social dogs, while DayCamp offers trainer-led structure for dogs that need behavior work before group play. Boarding and grooming run at both campuses, and rattlesnake avoidance training runs March to November at both campuses. The Leash Reactivity Intensive offers focused work for dogs that react on leash. Every school program starts at 20 weeks, with Rabies, DHPP, and Bordetella given at least 7 days before arrival. A PD360 assessment, tracking 151 behaviors, helps place your dog, and follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue after camps for 8 or more weeks. More detail is on the programs page.

The starting program at Partners Dogs depends on what assessment shows, which is why starting with a program name alone can misfire. A PD360 Assessment comes first, mapping behavior, triggers, and household routines. From that picture, the team recommends the smallest program that can carry the case well. A defined skill, such as recall or leash handling, often starts with private lessons or group classes, where the parent practices between sessions. A wider behavior picture, such as reactivity across settings or anxiety that shows up daily, often starts with a camp, where daily immersive training can rebuild the pattern. Severity sets the camp level: Foundation Camp for obedience and manners, Behavior Camp for behavior problems, Transform Camp for the most severe cases. Starting smaller than the case needs wastes time, while starting larger than the case needs wastes money, so the assessment step exists to avoid both errors. Ask the trainer to explain why the recommended starting program fits and what would move your dog to a different starting point. More detail is on the programs page.

Combination at Partners Dogs is normal, because different programs do different jobs in one treatment plan. A camp provides daily immersive training across weeks and resets a behavior pattern. Private lessons after camp give coached practice in the household setting, where the behavior must actually hold. Group classes add practice around other dogs and handlers under a trainer's eye. DaySchool or DayCamp after camp keeps structure and training in the dog's week while the parent routine settles. The order matters: camp first where a reset is needed, then lessons and classes as follow-up, rather than classes first for a behavior that needs immersive work. Planning sets the combination, through a PD360 Assessment, so each step has a reason and a review point. Follow-up lessons, classes, and day training run for 8 or more weeks after camp checkout, which is the built-in combination most camp graduates use. Ask the team at planning which combination fits your dog and what each part is meant to achieve, so the plan reads as one treatment rather than a set of separate purchases. More detail is on the programs page.

Behavioral problems rarely have one cause, so the useful first step is the PD360 Assessment, not a quick fix chosen from a video. Log the behavior, the trigger, the time of day, the household context, and the response that followed, and bring that record to the assessment, because patterns in the log often point to the driver. The assessment measures skills and problem areas across nine dimensions, and that measured picture lets a Partners Dogs trainer build a plan for that dog and that household, rather than guessing from a single incident. Training then follows in stages: management to prevent rehearsal, teaching and reinforcing replacement skills, then proofing them in real settings at home and through follow-up. Where a camp is the chosen route, follow-up lessons, classes, and day training run for 8 or more weeks after checkout. If the change in behavior is sudden, new and out of character, see your vet, and if the problem involves aggression or fear, book the PD360 Assessment promptly. The PD360 assessment page explains how the assessment works.

Camp is a treatment plan, rather than a guarantee, so the honest answer starts with reassessment. Partners Dogs trainers review the dog's progress against the original plan, the household routines after checkout, and any medical or environmental factors that surfaced during camp. Options after reassessment can include extended follow-up lessons and day training, a different camp program, or a management plan built around the dog's limits. Parents receive clear safety routines for the patterns that remain, plus guidance on what to avoid. Lasting change in the relationship remains the aim, which is why follow-through for 8 or more weeks after checkout matters. A dog whose behavior stays unsafe receives a plain safety recommendation, without softening. See the Behavior Camp page for the treatment arc in full.

A dog park gives a reactive dog many triggers at once, with no distance control and no planned exit, so arousal stacks across encounters and the dog practices the outburst. Partners Dogs replaces that setting with planned reps: distance work, a calm replacement behavior, and proofing that raises difficulty in small steps. The program choice follows the assessment, with the Leash Reactivity Intensive as the shorter structured path and Behavior Camp as the immersive path for dogs that need more time. Structured day training fits after those skills exist, since staff can then control group size and distance. Park play returns only when the dog can recover calmly after a trigger at a workable distance. The reactive dog at the dog park guide sets out when a park can work and when it cannot.

The honest comparison comes down to who does the daily reps. In camp, Foundation at 14 nights, Behavior at 21, and Transform at 28, professional trainers install the skills with daily consistency, and the treatment plan continues with follow-up for 8+ weeks after checkout, so the trade-off is that you learn to maintain the training rather than install it. In Private Lessons, a trainer coaches you session by session at our schools, and your follow-through between sessions sets the pace, which is slower and suits milder issues and location-specific work coached in structured settings. Severe behavior cases need the consistency of camp, and most of those cases then use lessons to carry the work into the home environment. The programs are complements at Partners Dogs, and the assessment usually recommends the sequence. You can compare our training programs for the side-by-side view.

Both paths at Partners Dogs are built to change behavior, and the right choice depends on your situation. Private lessons fit schedule flexibility, since you book around your week, focused work on specific behaviors such as leash reactivity or recall, and heavy emphasis on Pet Parent coaching so you can reinforce the training at home. Camp programs fit dogs who need intensive work: focused training sessions inside a full day of structured immersion with professionals, socialization with other dogs in a structured environment, and a full behavior reset when the problem needs to be addressed at the root. Many families do both: camp first for the reset, then private lessons to maintain and polish specific skills with a trainer watching your handling. If you want a recommendation rather than a guess, ask for a personalized quote or start with a PD360 Assessment, and we will recommend the path that fits your dog.

Behavior Camp's four private lessons are a 1-hour check-in lesson, a 1-hour working demo, a 1.5-hour transition lesson and a 1-hour follow-up lesson, so the family learns the handling during the stay and after it. Daily pupdates with videos and pictures show the work while your dog is with us, and the Pet Parent Guide video lessons come free with camps. The Intensive is built for dogs with no bite history; for a dog that has bitten, the PD360 Assessment decides between Behavior Camp and Transform Camp. You can compare the Behavior Camp program page with the Leash Reactivity Intensive page, and the leash reactivity guide covers the handling side.

Partners Dogs treats Pet Parents as part of the treatment. Behavior Camp includes four private lessons: a 1-hour check-in lesson, a 1-hour working demo, a 1.5-hour transition lesson and a 1-hour follow-up lesson, and Transform Camp adds a second 1-hour working demo and a 1.5-hour in-home follow-up lesson with two instructors, 7 hours in all. That structure exists because handling at home, including distance, timing, and reward steps, decides whether camp gains survive. Private lessons outside a camp are $179 a session at the school. The Behavior Camp program page and the Leash Reactivity Intensive page carry the program details.

Behavior Camp has four private lessons: a 1-hour check-in lesson, a 1-hour working demo, a 1.5-hour transition lesson and a 1-hour follow-up lesson. Its follow-up after checkout runs 8 or more weeks of lessons, classes, and day training. Private lessons happen at our schools by default, with online and in-home formats available, and they suit a Pet Parent who can practice steadily between sessions. For the Intensive's day-to-day structure, ask the team before you enroll. The PD360 Assessment, required before Behavior Camp, reads your dog in person and recommends the path that fits.

The structural difference for aggression turns on how much daily handling the dog needs, how much risk the household setting carries, and how steadily the Pet Parent can practice. Partners Dogs aggression camps provide daily immersive training, with senior trainers taking Transform Camp dogs for the most severe cases and senior instructors generally leading Behavior Camp, plus parent training and follow-through for 8 or more weeks after checkout. Private lessons provide focused coaching in a single setting, at school by default, with online and in-home formats, and in an aggression case they run alongside or after the camp, where the Pet Parent practices safety handling between sessions. For safety handling, see the people aggression guide, and for lesson formats, see the private lessons page.

The structural choice for fear turns on how much daily, managed exposure the dog needs, and how steadily the Pet Parent can practise at home. Partners Dogs camps provide daily immersive training at a pace set by the plan, with parent training built in and follow-through for 8 or more weeks after checkout, using lessons, classes, and day training. Private lessons provide focused coaching in a single setting, at school by default, with online and in-home formats, and they suit a Pet Parent who can keep routines predictable between sessions. A camp suits a dog that needs daily, supervised work to build confidence, while lessons suit a dog whose triggers are limited and whose home routine is steady. For calm routines, see the general anxiety guide, and for lesson formats, see the private lessons page.

The structural choice for barking turns on whether the triggers are mainly at home, and whether the Pet Parent can practise household routines steadily. Partners Dogs camps provide daily immersive training, with parent training built in and follow-through for 8 or more weeks after checkout, using lessons, classes, and day training. Private lessons provide focused coaching in a single setting, at school by default, with online and in-home formats, and they suit a Pet Parent who can work door, window, and yard routines between sessions. A camp suits a dog that needs daily work across several routines, while lessons suit a barking pattern tied to one clear household routine. For cause checks, see the excessive barking guide, and for lesson formats, see the private lessons page.

The structural choice for leash pulling turns on how much daily walk practice the dog needs, and how steadily the Pet Parent can practise on real routes. Partners Dogs camps provide daily immersive training, with parent training built in and follow-through for 8 or more weeks after checkout, using lessons, classes, and day training. Private lessons provide focused coaching in a single setting, at school by default, with online and in-home formats, and they suit a Pet Parent who can practise short, calm walks daily between sessions. A camp suits a strong or highly distracted puller that needs daily work, while lessons suit a mild puller with a steady home routine. For walk steps, see the pulling on leash guide, and for lesson formats, see the private lessons page.

The structural choice for jumping turns on how often guests arrive, and how consistently the household can practise greeting routines. Partners Dogs camps provide daily immersive training, with parent training built in and follow-through for 8 or more weeks after checkout, using lessons, classes, and day training. Private lessons provide focused coaching in a single setting, at school by default, with online and in-home formats, and they suit a Pet Parent who can practise door and guest routines daily between sessions. A camp suits a dog that jumps on many people across many settings, while lessons suit a jumping pattern tied to one household greeting routine. For greeting steps, see the jumping on people guide, and for lesson formats, see the private lessons page.

The structural choice for guarding turns on item risk, household composition, and how steadily the Pet Parent can practise safe handling. Partners Dogs camps provide daily immersive training, with parent training built in and follow-through for 8 or more weeks after checkout, using lessons, classes, and day training. Private lessons provide focused coaching in a single setting, at school by default, with online and in-home formats, and they suit a Pet Parent who can practise management and trade routines steadily between sessions. A camp suits a guarding pattern across several items or a higher risk household, while lessons suit a single item pattern with a steady routine. For safe handling, see the resource guarding guide, and for lesson formats, see the private lessons page.

The structural choice for separation turns on departure length, household schedule, and how steadily the Pet Parent can practise routines. Partners Dogs camps provide daily immersive training, with parent training built in and follow-through for 8 or more weeks after checkout, using lessons, classes, and day training. Private lessons provide focused coaching in a single setting, at school by default, with online and in-home formats, and they suit a Pet Parent who can practise short departures daily between sessions. A camp suits a dog that needs daily, supervised work to build calm departures, while lessons suit a mild pattern with a steady home schedule. For departure routines, see the separation anxiety guide, and for lesson formats, see the private lessons page.

Structure decides this comparison, and the two paths differ on immersion, nights, and who holds the routine. A Partners Dogs camp runs 14, 21, or 28 nights by program, starting with planning through a PD360 Assessment, then daily immersive training, parent training built in, daily pupdates with videos and pictures, and follow-up lessons, classes, and day training for 8 or more weeks after checkout. Day training inverts the nights: the dog trains during the day and sleeps at home, so the Pet Parent holds the evening routine from the start. That shape suits a dog whose behavior needs professional days but whose home routine is already steady, and a Pet Parent who can practice each evening. Camp suits the opposite shape: a severe case, a household that cannot carry daily repetitions yet, or a behavior that needs many professional reps before home practice can work. The training camp page describes the camp path in full.

The structural difference is who does the daily work. In a Partners Dogs camp, trainers work with the dog daily for 14, 21, or 28 nights, starting with planning through a PD360 Assessment, with parent training built in, daily pupdates with videos and pictures, and follow-up lessons, classes, and day training for 8 or more weeks after checkout. In weekly group classes, the Pet Parent is the trainer: a coach guides each session in a group room, the dog practices with other dogs and Pet Parents present, and home practice between sessions carries the progress. Classes follow the grade ladder from Pre-School to Dogtorate. Choose camp when the behavior is severe, when daily professional repetitions matter, or when the household cannot yet carry the practice. Choose classes when the goals are everyday manners and the Pet Parent can practice steadily between sessions. The group classes page lays out the class path.

A training camp at Partners Dogs, also called board-and-train, is a treatment plan for both the dog and the parent. The dog stays at the school for the camp length, receiving daily immersive training run to a plan built before check-in. Parent training is built in, because the dog returns to the parents, not to the trainers, and the household must hold the new behavior. Daily pupdates with videos and pictures let parents watch the work while camp runs. After checkout, follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8 or more weeks, so home routines get corrected while they are still forming. That arc is what separates a camp from boarding with training added: boarding covers a stay, while a camp covers a plan, from assessment through immersion to follow-up. Every camp starts at 20 weeks and vaccinated. More detail is on the training camp page.

Camp length at Partners Dogs is a treatment decision, not a booking choice made on convenience alone. Foundation Camp runs 14 nights, which suits obedience, manners, and social skills that need immersive work without a deep behavior reset. Behavior Camp runs 21 nights, which gives the team time to work a root cause and to build and reinforce a replacement behavior at the school. Proofing that behavior in your own home comes after checkout, through the transition lesson and the follow-up weeks. Transform Camp runs 28 nights, which gives senior trainers time to work severe aggression patterns safely and to build handling the household can hold. The full treatment arc runs longer than the stay itself, since planning comes before check-in and follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8 or more weeks after checkout. Length therefore answers only part of the timing question: the stay is 14, 21, or 28 nights, and the whole plan, from assessment to the end of follow-up, runs longer. Assessment confirms the length, because severity only becomes clear when a trainer measures the dog. More detail is on the training camp page.

A camp day at Partners Dogs is structured around the treatment plan, not around a generic schedule. Daily immersive training carries the plan, working the behaviors the assessment flagged, in settings that move from controlled to realistic as the dog progresses. Rest sits between training blocks, because a tired dog cannot learn well and a dog that never rests cannot hold new behavior. Enrichment and supervised social time fill the rest of the day, giving the dog outlets that support training rather than competing with it. Daily pupdates with videos and pictures show parents the training as it happens, and parent training runs alongside, so handling starts before pickup. What parents should expect is a day built around their dog's plan, adjusted as trainers learn how the dog responds, with follow-up after checkout carrying the routine into home life for 8 or more weeks. More detail is on the training camp page.

Feeling like you are abandoning your dog is a normal worry before camp at Partners Dogs, and it deserves a plain answer. Camp is a treatment plan you chose for your dog, not a separation you imposed without reason, and the program keeps you inside that plan while the dog is away. Daily pupdates with videos and pictures arrive each day, showing training, rest, and progress, so you can see the dog coping and learning rather than imagining the worst. Parent training starts before pickup, so you learn the handling your dog is learning and arrive at checkout ready to carry it home. The Pet Parent Guide video lessons, 8 or more hours that you can watch back, let you prepare at home during camp. After checkout, follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8 or more weeks, so the connection between camp and home stays active. If worry runs high during camp, tell the team, and ask what the latest update shows about your dog's settling, since a concrete update usually eases worry faster than reassurance alone. More detail is on the training camp page.

Camp inclusions at Partners Dogs follow the treatment plan arc, and the same arc runs across all three camps, with length and staffing changing by severity. Planning comes first, through a PD360 Assessment, and a plan built for that dog and household. Daily immersive training follows across the stay, adjusted as trainers learn how the dog responds. Parent training is built in, because the dog returns to the parents. While camp runs, daily pupdates with videos and pictures let parents watch skills form and start learning the handling before pickup. The Pet Parent Guide video lessons come free with camps, and parents can watch them back whenever a routine needs a refresher. The loyalty program adds ongoing value, at 1 point per dollar, with a $50 referral credit available. After checkout, follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8 or more weeks, so the plan gets tested in real life and corrected while slips are still small. More detail is on the training camp page.

The training journey at Partners Dogs follows one arc, whether the program is a camp, lessons, or classes. Assessment comes first, through a PD360 Assessment, mapping behavior, triggers, and household routines. Planning follows, turning that picture into a program with named skills, a format, and review points. Immersion or coaching follows, depending on the program: daily immersive training across camp weeks, or lessons and classes with practice between sessions. Parent training runs through the whole arc, because the dog returns to the parents and the household must hold the new behavior. Daily pupdates with videos and pictures keep camp parents watching the work while it runs. Follow-up comes last and runs longest in calendar terms, with lessons, classes, and day training for 8 or more weeks after camp checkout, testing the plan in real life and correcting drift while it is still small. The Pet Parent Guide video lessons stay available to watch back through that arc. For many dogs, that sequence, assessment, plan, training, parent coaching, and follow-up, is what gives change its best chance at home. More detail is on the training journey page.

Journey length at Partners Dogs depends on the program, and the camp stay is only the middle of the arc. Planning comes first, through a PD360 Assessment, and the time that step takes depends on booking and on the dog's picture. The stay follows: 14 nights for Foundation Camp, 21 nights for Behavior Camp, and 28 nights for Transform Camp. Follow-up follows the stay, with lessons, classes, and day training for 8 or more weeks after checkout. Added together, a camp journey from assessment through the end of follow-up runs well beyond the stay length, and that longer view is the honest one to plan around. Lessons and classes run differently, with a rhythm set at planning and reviewed as the dog progresses, rather than a fixed end date. Do not judge the journey by the stay alone, since the follow-up is where home routines get tested and corrected. Ask the team at planning for the expected arc for your dog, including assessment, stay or lesson rhythm, and follow-up length, so household planning can match it. More detail is on the training journey page.

The parent role at Partners Dogs is active at every stage of the journey, not only at pickup. During planning, your role is honest detail: behavior, triggers, history, and household routines, given plainly so the plan rests on a full picture. During training, your role is learning: parent training teaches handling, timing, and management, and the Pet Parent Guide video lessons, 8 or more hours you can watch back, let you review before you practice. Between sessions, your role is practice: short, consistent repetitions in real settings, following the practice the trainer set for the week. After checkout, your role is holding the routine and reporting early: follow-up lessons, classes, and day training run for 8 or more weeks, and those sessions work best when you bring the moments where handling broke down, rather than waiting for the next session to mention them. More detail is on the training journey page.

Worry about the bond is the most common hesitation we hear before a first camp, and it is a fair question to ask out loud. Dogs hold onto their people: your scent on the items you send, your voice, and years or months of shared routine do not wash out over a 14 to 28 night stay. What changes at camp is your dog's skill set and daily structure. What stays the same is who their person is. Pupdates land daily with videos and pictures, your dashboard tracks progress, and pickup includes a handoff lesson where your dog shows you the new work with you holding the leash. Pet Parents tell us the greeting at pickup answers this question better than we can.

The rhythm is the method. Training sessions teach the skill, and the hours between sessions let your dog practice it while normal school activity goes on, which trainers call modeling and Pet Parents call real life. Meals follow your schedule. Food, water and rest are never withheld as a training tool, and arousal gets managed across the day rather than spent in one exhausting block. Senior and young dogs pace differently inside the same structure. If you want the clock times for your dog's day, ask the team for your dog's daily rhythm.

The pupdates show what your dog practiced that day, and the lessons are where you learn the cues, timing, and routines behind it, with a trainer coaching your handling. Your hands-on part grows as camp goes on and continues after checkout, with follow-up lessons, classes, and day training for 8 or more weeks, so the training carries into your home.

Foundation Camp is planned before your dog checks in. We recommend a PD360 Assessment: it scores your dog across 151 behaviors in nine dimensions, and the team builds the plan from those scores. The PD360 Assessment is $199 ($149 for a second dog). Your PD360 payment becomes store credit if you book your recommended camp or sign up for a membership on the day of your assessment. In camp, your dog trains daily in 2 or more sessions, with socialization between sessions, on Heel, Sit, Down, Free, Stay, Come, Place, and Watch, plus loose-leash walking and polite greetings. Instructors lead the program, and any trainer may work with your dog, so skills hold across handlers.

You are part of the treatment. Private lessons and 8 Pet Parenting group classes teach your family the cues and handling, daily pupdates with videos and pictures show the work as it happens, and the Pet Parent Guide gives you 8+ hours of video lessons to watch back, free with camp. After checkout, follow-up lessons, classes, and 16 DaySchool reinforcement days run for 8+ weeks, so hurdles get handled as they appear. The suite program is $3,509 for 14 nights, and enrollment earns loyalty points at 1 point per dollar. Rates sit on our program pricing page.

Foundation Camp is a 14-night immersive board-and-train at Partners Dogs in Scottsdale or Cave Creek, built for dogs that need a solid obedience and manners reset, and run as a treatment plan rather than a stay with training added. It is the right starting point for puppies from 20 weeks and fully vaccinated, adolescents, and adult dogs without significant behavior issues. Planning starts before check-in with a PD360 Assessment. During camp, instructors lead each case and trainers across the team work with your dog through 2 or more active sessions daily, with modeling time on the training floor between sessions, while daily pupdates with videos and pictures show you the work as it happens. Your dog learns Heel, Sit, Down, Free, Stay, Come, Place, and Watch, plus loose-leash walking, polite greetings, and everyday manners. The parent side is built in: private lessons, Pet Parenting group classes, and free Pet Parent Guide access, 8-plus hours of video lessons. Follow-up continues for 8-plus weeks after checkout, including 16 DaySchool days for reinforcement.

Foundation Camp is 14 consecutive nights of residential training at Partners Dogs in Scottsdale or Cave Creek, and the stay is the immersion phase of a treatment plan. Planning happens before check-in, with a PD360 Assessment setting the plan for your dog. Your dog receives 2 or more active training sessions per day, plus modeling time on our training floor between sessions, where dogs learn by watching trained dogs work and by settling around the activity of a working school. Instructors lead each dog's program, so the plan stays coherent across sessions and handlers, and daily pupdates with videos and pictures keep you connected to the work. Two weeks of that consistency is designed to install reliable obedience and manners on dogs without deeper behavior issues, because the trainers' experience sits inside every hour. After checkout, follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8-plus weeks, which is how the new behavior is carried into home life. If your dog needs more intensive work for reactivity, anxiety, or aggression, Behavior Camp at 21 nights or Transform Camp at 28 nights is the right call, and PD360 will tell you honestly before you commit.

Foundation Camp at Partners Dogs teaches the essential obedience command set, each one chosen for daily use. Heel gives you loose-leash walking next to you. Sit and Down give reliable positions on cue. Free is the release word that ends a command, which makes every other command clearer. Stay holds a position with duration and distractions. Come is a reliable recall. Place sends your dog to a designated spot and keeps them there, the skill that manages door greetings, meals, and guests. Watch gives you eye contact on cue, the attention reset behind most handling. The program also covers everyday manners: polite greetings, calm door behavior, and impulse control around food and toys. Commands are taught across 14 nights with daily sessions and then coached to your family in follow-up lessons, so you learn the same language your dog learned.

Foundation Camp is right for dogs that need a solid obedience reset and everyday manners at Partners Dogs: pulling on leash, jumping on people, not listening, and other typical training-gap issues. It is the starting point for adolescent dogs from 20 weeks, adopted adult dogs without behavior issues, and any household that wants reliable basic obedience installed by professionals and then coached to the family through built-in parent training and 8-plus weeks of follow-up. Foundation Camp is not the right program when the problem is behavioral rather than educational. Reactivity, anxiety, and destructive behavior usually need Behavior Camp, which addresses root causes across 21 nights as its own treatment plan. A multi-bite history or a bite toward a family member often points toward Transform Camp, and a single reactive bite often points toward Behavior Camp; the PD360 Assessment decides. If you are unsure which side of that line your dog sits on, take the program quiz or book a PD360 Assessment for an honest recommendation, because placing a dog in the right plan at the start is what makes the training hold.

Yes. Partners Dogs offers long-term financing for training, which is still uncommon among professional dog trainers. Financing is available for Foundation Camp, Behavior Camp, and Transform Camp, through our financing partners, including Coach Financing. Rates and terms are based on your credit profile. Once you select a program, we send an initial application. You can see your options without any obligation, review the financing terms that fit your budget, and sign the financing agreement once terms are agreed with the provider. All approvals and financing terms are issued through our third-party lending partner, so read the terms clearly before applying. For camp families, the practical point is timing: financing lets the treatment plan start when your dog needs it, with the cost of the whole plan, planning, immersive weeks, parent training, and 8-plus weeks of follow-up, spread across the term agreed with the provider.

Bring any special-diet food, medications, or items our team has specifically requested to Foundation Camp check-in at Partners Dogs. Bedding, toys, and most personal items can stay home unless we tell you otherwise; our trainers provide everything else your dog needs, including Kuranda cots, clean bedding, and training equipment, so nothing sentimental is at risk in a busy training building. You will also need current vaccination records on file before check-in. Required vaccines are Bordetella, Rabies, and Distemper/Parvo (DHPP). Records can be verified directly with your vet, uploaded to the Pet Parent Portal, or emailed to our team, and all vaccinations must be given at least one week before arrival. Settling the paperwork before check-in day keeps the morning focused on your dog: a calm handoff, a walk through the plan, and the start of the 14-night program.

The difference at Partners Dogs sits in the problem being treated, the length of the stay, and who leads the case. Foundation Camp is the starting camp for dogs that need solid obedience, manners, and social skills. Behavior Camp is built for dogs whose behavior needs a root-cause reset, including reactivity, anxiety, guarding, and destructive patterns. Foundation Camp runs 14 nights. Behavior Camp runs 21 nights, which gives the team more time to work through triggers and to reinforce new behavior. Staffing follows the same logic. Instructors can lead Foundation Camp, with any trainers working with the dog. Senior instructors lead Behavior Camp, with instructors supporting. Both camps follow the same plan. Planning comes first, through a PD360 Assessment, which is required before Behavior Camp and recommended before Foundation Camp. Daily immersive training follows, with parent training built in. Follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8 or more weeks after checkout. The Behavior Camp page has the full details.

Foundation Camp at Partners Dogs is a treatment plan, and the price covers the whole plan rather than a stay alone. It starts before check-in with planning built around a PD360 Assessment. That planning step sets the behaviors, the household routines, and the parent skills the camp will build. During the 14 nights, your dog receives daily immersive training run to that plan, with adjustments as the trainers learn how your dog responds. Parent training is built in, because the dog returns to your home, not to the school. While camp runs, you receive daily pupdates with videos and pictures, so you can watch skills form and start learning the handling before pickup. The Pet Parent Guide video lessons come free with camp, and you can watch them back whenever you need a refresher. After checkout, follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8 or more weeks. That follow-through is where home routines get corrected early, while hurdles are still small. The 14-night program is $3,509 with the suite. Your dog works at the Pre-School and Kindergarten grades: name recognition, sit, down, stay, come, leash manners, and calm social behavior. See the pricing page for current prices.

The Foundation Camp price at Partners Dogs buys a defined treatment plan, and it helps to know where that plan ends. Included are planning through a PD360 Assessment, daily immersive training across the 14 nights, parent training, daily pupdates with videos and pictures, the Pet Parent Guide video lessons, and follow-up lessons, classes, and day training for 8 or more weeks after checkout. Services outside that plan, and any stay beyond the camp length, are handled during planning, and the team confirms the cost and the fit before anything is added. That check matters, because an add-on should support the plan rather than interrupt it. Ask the team during planning which services outside the plan are available and what each costs. Ask about add-ons during planning, not at pickup, so the plan, the schedule, and the total cost are all settled before your dog checks in. The suite total for the 14-night program is $3,509. More detail is on the pricing page.

Regression after Foundation Camp at Partners Dogs is handled through the follow-through that is already part of the treatment plan. Follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8 or more weeks after checkout, and those sessions exist for exactly this moment. A trainer watches how you handle the skill at home, finds where the routine drifted, and rebuilds it in the setting where it failed, whether that is the door, the leash, or the kitchen. The sooner you report the slip, the smaller the correction. Waiting lets the old behavior practice itself back into place, and a practiced behavior takes longer to change a second time. Daily pupdates end at checkout, but the Pet Parent Guide video lessons stay available to watch back, so you can re-check handling before your next session. If the slip is large, or if a new behavior appears that camp did not cover, tell the team plainly so they can judge whether follow-up sessions are enough or a new plan is needed. More detail is on the pricing page.

Behavior Camp is built for dogs whose behavior has outgrown manners training: leash reactivity, separation anxiety, fear of other dogs, resource guarding, and destructive behavior. The plan starts before check-in with a required PD360 Assessment, which scores your dog across 151 behaviors in nine dimensions. The PD360 Assessment is $199 ($149 for a second dog). Your PD360 payment becomes store credit if you book your recommended camp or sign up for a membership on the day of your assessment. Senior instructors lead, with instructors as the secondary team. Training runs 3 or more times a day, working from Kindergarten to Middle-School in our grade-level system with the Foundation obedience set covered, and PD360 scores repeat mid-program.

Your family is part of the treatment. Private lessons transfer the handling to you: a 1-hour check-in lesson, a 1-hour working demo, a 1.5-hour transition lesson, and a 1-hour follow-up lesson. Alongside them come 8 Pet Parenting group classes, daily pupdates with videos and pictures, and the Pet Parent Guide, 8+ hours of video lessons, free with camp, to watch back any time. After checkout, follow-up lessons, classes, and 16 DayCamp reinforcement days run for 8+ weeks, so hurdles get handled as they appear. That follow-through is what gives the change its best chance to last at home. The suite program is $6,244 for 21 nights. Enrollment earns loyalty points at 1 point per dollar. Rates sit on our program pricing page.

Behavior Camp is 21 consecutive nights of residential training at Partners Dogs in Scottsdale or Cave Creek, and the nights are one phase of a longer treatment plan. Planning happens before check-in, starting with the required PD360 Assessment, so the daily work runs to a plan built for your dog and your household. Your dog receives 3 or more active training sessions per day, plus modeling time on the training floor and structured socialization between sessions, with daily pupdates, videos and pictures, sent to you through the stay. Senior instructors lead each case, with instructors supporting. Twenty-one nights gives a behavior case the daily repetitions new patterns need to start replacing old ones. After checkout, the plan continues: 16 DayCamp reinforcement days, follow-up private lessons, and Pet Parenting Classes carry the work into home life for 8-plus weeks.

Behavior Camp is a 21-night immersive board-and-train at Partners Dogs in Scottsdale or Cave Creek, built for dogs with moderate behavior issues: leash reactivity, separation anxiety, fear of other dogs, resource guarding, destructive chewing, growling, and socialization problems. It runs as a treatment plan for the dog and the parents. Planning starts before check-in with the required PD360 Assessment. During camp, senior instructors lead the case with instructors supporting, running 3 or more active training sessions per day on a program custom-built around your dog's case, while daily pupdates with videos and pictures keep you watching and learning. Parent training is built in: a 1-hour check-in lesson, a 1-hour working demo, a 1.5-hour transition lesson and a 1-hour follow-up lesson, plus 8 Pet Parenting group classes and free access to the Pet Parent Guide, 8-plus hours of video lessons you can always watch back. After checkout, 16 DayCamp days and follow-up lessons carry the plan home for 8-plus weeks. Behavior Camp also covers the Foundation Camp commands, Heel, Sit, Down, Free, Stay, Come, Place, and Watch.

Behavior Camp is built for moderate aggression and reactive bites at Partners Dogs: growling, leash reactivity, resource guarding, fear-based reactivity, and a single situational bite incident toward another dog or a person. Senior instructors lead these cases, with instructors supporting the daily work, and the camp runs as a treatment plan: PD360 planning first, 21 nights of immersive training, parent training built in, free Pet Parent Guide access for the parents' own video lessons, and follow-up lessons, classes, and DayCamp days for 8-plus weeks after checkout. For dogs with a multi-bite history, bites toward family members, or outward, non-reactive aggression, Transform Camp is the right program. For dogs with on-leash reactivity only, the Leash Reactivity Intensive may be the faster, more focused option. Every enrollment begins with a PD360 behavioral assessment so we can tell you honestly which program fits, and every dog leaves the assessment with a recommended program.

Every Behavior Camp enrollment at Partners Dogs includes the full treatment plan. The stay is a 21-night minimum at our Scottsdale or Cave Creek facility, with 3 or more active training sessions every day inside an immersive, structured environment for socialization and desensitization. During camp, you receive daily pupdates with videos and pictures, so you watch the work happen and start learning your dog's new skills while camp is still running. The parent side is included too: 4.5 hours of private lessons for you and your family (a 1-hour check-in lesson, a 1-hour working demo, a 1.5-hour transition lesson, and a 1-hour follow-up lesson), 8 Pet Parenting group classes, and free access to the Pet Parent Guide, 8-plus hours of video lessons you can always watch back. After checkout, 16 DayCamp days carry the follow-through, and follow-up continues for 8-plus weeks. Behavior Camp also covers the foundational obedience commands, Heel, Sit, Down, Free, Stay, Come, Place, and Watch, alongside the behavior modification work. Every behavior is tracked in PD360 through at least four stages of learning, and camp purchases earn loyalty points at 1 point per dollar. It starts with a PD360 assessment, which is required before Behavior Camp, and a plan built for that dog and household. The suite total for the 21-night program is $6,244, and it covers every part of that plan.

You can start Behavior Camp at Partners Dogs as soon as we complete the PD360 behavioral assessment and confirm Behavior Camp is the right fit. PD360 is required before enrollment because the camp is a treatment plan, and the plan starts with measurement: triggers, thresholds, learning style, and the household context the training has to survive in. Your $199 PD360 payment becomes store credit if you book your recommended camp or sign up for a membership on the day of your assessment. Once enrolled, we work with you to choose a check-in date that lines up with availability at our Scottsdale or Cave Creek facility. From check-in, the plan runs daily immersive training across 21 nights, parent training built in, and follow-up for 8+ weeks after checkout, which is why starting promptly after the assessment keeps the plan tight.

Behavior Camp at Partners Dogs is the camp for behavior that keeps repeating at home despite ordinary training. Reactivity toward dogs or strangers, anxiety that shows up as pacing or destruction, fear that turns into avoidance or snapping, guarding of food or objects, and separation distress all sit inside its scope. Single reactive bites sit here too, where the bite came from a reaction rather than from a severe aggression pattern. The distinction matters, because severe cases go to Transform Camp instead, where only senior trainers take dogs on. Behavior Camp starts with a PD360 assessment, which is required before the camp, so the team can see the full behavior picture across 151 behaviors before recommending a plan. Daily immersive training then works the root cause, not only the visible symptom, and parent training teaches the handling that keeps the new behavior alive at home. Follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8 or more weeks after checkout. If your dog's case sits near the line between camps, the assessment is the step that settles it. More detail is on the Behavior Camp page.

Daily pupdates at Partners Dogs are part of the Behavior Camp treatment plan, not an extra you need to request. Each day during the 21 nights, you receive updates with videos and pictures showing your dog's training as it happens. That matters for two reasons. You can see change while it is still forming, rather than hearing a summary at pickup. You also start learning the handling early, because you watch how trainers cue, mark, and reward the behavior your dog is learning. The updates follow the plan built from the PD360 assessment, so the skills you see connect to the behaviors the assessment flagged. If a video raises a question about how to handle the same moment at home, bring it to parent training or to a follow-up session, where a trainer can coach your timing on that exact example. After checkout, follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8 or more weeks, and the Pet Parent Guide video lessons stay available to watch back. More detail is on the Behavior Camp page.

Checkout day at Partners Dogs is when the treatment plan moves from the school to your household. Parent training before and around checkout teaches the handling, the routines, and the management your dog needs at home, because the dog goes home to the parents, not to the trainers. After checkout, follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8 or more weeks. Those sessions are where the plan gets tested in real life. A trainer watches a door greeting, a walk, or a mealtime routine, finds where the handling drifted, and fixes it while the slip is still small. The Pet Parent Guide video lessons stay available to watch back, so you can re-check a lesson before trying it again. Daily pupdates end at checkout, since the dog is home, but the follow-up structure replaces them with coaching in your own setting. That follow-through usually keeps regression low, because hurdles get handled as they appear instead of after they set in. More detail is on the Behavior Camp page.

Behavior Camp is a defined treatment plan, and knowing where it ends prevents surprises at checkout. There are four private lessons: a 1-hour check-in lesson, a 1-hour working demo, a 1.5-hour transition lesson and a 1-hour follow-up lesson. The follow-up lessons, classes, and day training run for 8 or more weeks after checkout. Pupdates come daily with videos and pictures, and the Pet Parent Guide video lessons are free with camps. Behavior Camp is from $6,244, suite included. Anything outside that plan is a separate conversation: ask the team during planning which services you want to add and what each costs, so the plan, the schedule, and the total are settled before check-in. That check matters most for behavior cases, because an add-on should support the plan rather than add a new demand while the dog is still stabilizing. More detail is on the pricing page.

Regression after Behavior Camp at Partners Dogs is handled through the follow-through that is already part of the treatment plan, with extra attention to triggers. Follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8 or more weeks after checkout. A trainer watches the behavior in the setting where it returned, checks whether the trigger, the handling, or the management slipped first, and rebuilds the skill in that setting. Early reporting keeps the fix small. A behavior that gets practiced again at home takes longer to change a second time, which is why the plan asks parents to report slips rather than wait for the next scheduled session to mention them. The Pet Parent Guide video lessons stay available to watch back, so you can re-check handling before your next session. Once the follow-up weeks end, a private lesson at our schools brings a trainer back in when a skill slips. If the slip involves safety, such as a bite or a serious escalation, get medical care first for anyone hurt: 911 for a person, your vet for a dog. Then call the team right away and tell them plainly what happened, so they can judge whether the follow-up sessions are enough or a new PD360 Assessment is needed.

After a reactivity camp, the dog returns to the home where the triggers live, so follow-up lessons focus on the Pet Parent as much as the dog. Partners Dogs builds parent training into the treatment plan, and the follow-through after checkout runs for 8 or more weeks, with lessons, classes, and day training. In a follow-up lesson, the trainer watches how the Pet Parent handles distance, timing, and rewards in a real setting, then adjusts the plan for that trigger and that household routine. That early check matters because small handling drift in the first weeks can look like a relapse, while a prompt correction usually restores the skill. The camp arc behind this support is assessment, immersion, and follow-through. The Behavior Camp program page describes the camp path, and the leash reactivity guide covers the handling steps between lessons.

Follow-through is where a camp plan becomes a home routine, and Partners Dogs structures it as follow-up lessons, classes, and day training across 8 or more weeks after checkout. Lessons check the Pet Parent's handling in real settings, classes add structured practice around other dogs and people, and day training keeps the dog's routine steady between home sessions. The Pet Parent Guide video lessons, free with camps, support that work at home, since a Pet Parent can watch a handling step back before a walk or a visit. Trainers use that period to catch handling drift early, adjust distance and reward steps for the triggers that appear at home, and raise difficulty only when the dog is steady at the current step. The condensed arc is assessment, immersion, and follow-through. For walk handling, see the leash reactivity guide, and for the camp path, see the Behavior Camp program page.

The plan starts with the PD360 Assessment, which Behavior Camp requires: $199 for a first dog and $149 for a second. Your $199 PD360 payment becomes store credit if you book your recommended camp or sign up for a membership on the day of your assessment. Parent training includes four private lessons: a 1-hour check-in lesson, a 1-hour working demo, a 1.5-hour transition lesson, and a 1-hour follow-up lesson. Pupdates arrive daily with videos and pictures, and the Pet Parent Guide is free with camps. Current rates sit on the pricing page.

Pupdates and the guide serve different steps in the same plan, and both are included with camp. Partners Dogs sends daily pupdates with videos and pictures while camp runs, so a Pet Parent watches the dog's new skills form and starts learning the handling before pickup, rather than meeting a changed dog cold at checkout. The Pet Parent Guide gives 8 or more hours of video lessons that a Pet Parent can watch back whenever a step needs refreshing, and it comes free with camps. Those two inclusions sit inside the wider treatment arc of assessment, immersion, and follow-through, with follow-up lessons, classes, and day training for 8 or more weeks after checkout. For handling steps, see the leash reactivity guide, and for the camp path, see the Behavior Camp program page.

Classes matter after a reactivity camp because they add structured practice with new dogs and people present, at a distance the trainer manages, which is a different test from a quiet walk. Classes run with up to 10 dogs and about five dogs per trainer, at both campuses. Past the included classes, the Standard 8-Week Program is $657, or $328.50 at the camp graduate rate. The Leash Reactivity Intensive is a separate 14-night program, so ask Enroll@PartnersDogs.com what follow-up it includes. For handling, see the leash reactivity guide, and for class options, see the group classes page.

Transform Camp was built for cases other trainers turn away: multi-bite histories, bites toward family members, severe sibling aggression, resource guarding hardened past warning, predatory drive, and stranger reactivity. The plan starts before check-in with a required PD360 Assessment, $199 for a first dog and $149 for a second. Your $199 PD360 payment becomes store credit if you book your recommended camp or sign up for a membership on the day of your assessment. Senior trainers only take these dogs on, working with 3 or more sessions a day, modeling time, and exposure work paced to the case. PD360 tracks every behavior through the stages of learning, up to College on our grade ladder.

The transition home gets the most planning, because that is where severe cases succeed or stall. Your family's private lessons are a 1-hour check-in lesson, two 1-hour working demos, a 1.5-hour transition lesson and a 1-hour follow-up lesson, plus a 1.5-hour in-home follow-up lesson with two instructors, 7 hours in all, alongside Pet Parenting group classes. The Pet Parent Guide gives you 8+ hours of video lessons, free with camp, to watch back at home. After checkout, follow-up lessons, classes, and 24 DayCamp reinforcement days run for 8+ weeks, so hurdles get handled as they appear. That consistency is what makes lasting change in the relationship possible. Transform Camp is $8,929 for the 28-night program, reflecting the senior team and the follow-through built in. Enrollment earns loyalty points at 1 point per dollar. Rates sit on our program pricing page.

Transform Camp is the most intensive board-and-train program at Partners Dogs: a 28-night residential treatment plan built for dogs with multi-bite histories, bites toward family members, or outward, non-reactive aggression, including severe sibling aggression, predatory drive, and stranger reactivity that has escalated past reactive incidents. It was built for the cases other trainers have refused. Planning starts before check-in with a PD360 Assessment, so the plan is built on the full case: bite history, triggers, household, and medical factors. Only senior trainers take these dogs on, and their years of experience sit inside every training hour across the 28 nights, with 3 or more active sessions daily, modeling time on the training floor, and structured exposure work. Daily pupdates with videos and pictures keep you inside the case as it develops. Parent training is built in: a 1-hour check-in lesson, two 1-hour working demos, a 1.5-hour transition lesson, a 1-hour follow-up lesson, and a 1.5-hour in-home follow-up lesson with two instructors, plus free Pet Parent Guide access. Follow-through continues for 8-plus weeks after checkout with 24 DayCamp days and Pet Parenting group classes.

Transform Camp is a 28-night residential program at Partners Dogs in Scottsdale or Cave Creek, and the stay is the immersion phase of a treatment plan for the dog and the parents. Your dog stays on-site for 28 consecutive nights and receives 3 or more active training sessions every day, plus modeling time on our training floor between sessions. Senior trainers lead Transform Camp cases, and the 28-night length is intentional: severe behavior change requires many repetitions before the new response holds, and shorter board-and-train programs often produce skills that fade within weeks. What protects the result is the full arc around the nights. Planning happens before check-in through PD360. Daily pupdates with videos and pictures keep you learning during camp. After checkout, follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8-plus weeks, so hurdles are handled as they appear in home life rather than after they set in.

Transform Camp is built for severe aggression cases at Partners Dogs: dogs with a multi-bite history, bites toward family members, or outward, non-reactive aggression, including stranger reactivity that has escalated past warning, severe sibling aggression, predatory drive, and fear-based behavior that has hardened past what Behavior Camp can address. Every enrollment starts with a PD360 behavioral assessment, where we map bite history, triggers, household context, and medical factors, then tell you honestly whether Transform Camp is the right call. When it is, the camp runs as a treatment plan for the dog and the family. Planning happens before check-in, senior trainers run the daily immersive training across the 28 nights, parent training is built in, daily pupdates with videos and pictures keep you inside the work, the Pet Parent Guide is free with the camp for video lessons you can always watch back, and follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8-plus weeks after checkout. Sometimes the right answer is Behavior Camp, for single reactive bites and moderate cases, and the most severe cases may need a longer timeline, with your vet looped in on any medical piece. Either way, your dog leaves the assessment with a program and a plan.

Every Transform Camp enrollment at Partners Dogs includes the full treatment plan for a severe case. It starts with a PD360 Assessment, which is required before Transform Camp, and planning that sets safety rules for camp and for home. The stay is 28 nights at our Scottsdale or Cave Creek campus, with daily training sessions focused on aggression modification, desensitization, and counter-conditioning, led by senior trainers, plus modeling time between sessions on our training floor. During camp you receive daily pupdates with videos and pictures, so you follow the case as it develops. The parent side is the largest of any camp: six private lessons, 7 hours in all, coach you and your family, ending with a 1.5-hour in-home follow-up lesson led by two instructors, and the package adds Pet Parenting group classes and free access to the Pet Parent Guide, 8+ hours of video lessons you can always watch back. After checkout, 24 DayCamp days provide structured reinforcement, and follow-up continues for 8+ weeks. Every behavior is tracked in PD360 through the stages of learning, and camp purchases earn loyalty points at 1 point per dollar. The transition phase, where we teach you to maintain the behaviors at home, is the most critical part of the program. The suite total for the 28-night program is $8,929, and that price covers the stay, the training, the lessons, and the follow-up.

Transform Camp is a 28-night program for the most severe cases, led by senior trainers, so the overnight setup has to hold for four weeks rather than a weekend. Each luxury suite is built in glass and stainless steel, with regular rotations throughout the day, and the suite is included in the $8,929 camp price. Daily pupdates with videos and pictures let you follow your dog's progress while the stay runs. The Transform Camp page carries the full program details.

The three camps at Partners Dogs differ by case severity, length, and who leads the work, while sharing the same treatment plan shape. Foundation Camp runs 14 nights for dogs that need core obedience, manners, and social skills. Instructors can lead Foundation Camp, with any trainers working with the dog. Behavior Camp runs 21 nights for behavior problems such as reactivity, anxiety, guarding, and destructive patterns, and senior instructors lead it, with instructors supporting. Transform Camp runs 28 nights for the most severe cases, including severe aggression. Only senior trainers take Transform Camp dogs on. Foundation Camp can start with a PD360 Assessment, while Behavior Camp and Transform Camp require the PD360. Every camp uses daily immersive training, builds parent training in, and continues with follow-up lessons, classes, and day training for 8 or more weeks after checkout. Camp prices include the suite: $3,509 for Foundation Camp, from $6,244 for Behavior Camp, and $8,929 for Transform Camp, each covering the full plan for that camp. The program decision center carries the side by side comparison, and a PD360 Assessment confirms which camp fits your dog.

Staffing at Partners Dogs rises with case severity, and Transform Camp sits at the top of that ladder. Only senior trainers take Transform Camp dogs on. Those cases include severe aggression, and the work demands judgment about safety, about when to push a dog, and about when to stop and reset. A less experienced handler could misread a warning sign or escalate a moment that needed distance, so the camp keeps these cases with the most experienced people in the building. The ladder below it stays consistent. Senior instructors lead Behavior Camp, with instructors supporting. Instructors can lead Foundation Camp, with any trainers working with the dog. That ladder is also how the camps are priced and planned: a PD360 assessment is required before Transform Camp, planning before check-in sets the safety rules, and parent training teaches the household the same handling the senior trainer used in camp. After checkout, follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8 or more weeks. More detail is on the Transform Camp page.

Transform Camp at Partners Dogs is reserved for cases where safety, not obedience, is the first problem. Severe aggression toward people or dogs, multi-bite histories, bites toward family members, and outward aggression that does not settle with ordinary training all sit in this camp. The line between Behavior Camp and Transform Camp is severity and risk, not effort. Behavior Camp covers moderate behavior issues and single reactive bites, led by senior instructors. Transform Camp covers cases where a mistake in handling could hurt someone, so only senior trainers take those dogs on. A PD360 assessment is required before Transform Camp, and it measures the dog across 151 behaviors, so the recommendation rests on a measured picture rather than on one incident retold at intake. Planning before check-in sets safety rules for the camp and for home. Daily immersive training runs for 28 nights, parent training is built in, and follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8 or more weeks after checkout. If you are unsure which camp fits, start with the assessment and let the result settle the question. More detail is on the Transform Camp page.

Checkout day at Partners Dogs matters most for Transform Camp graduates, because the household must handle the behavior safely every day. Parent training before and around checkout teaches the handling, the management, and the warning signs the senior trainer used in camp, in the settings where your dog will actually live. After checkout, follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8 or more weeks. Those sessions test the plan in real life: a trainer watches a greeting, a walk, or a mealtime routine, checks whether the handling held, and fixes drift while it is still small. The Pet Parent Guide video lessons stay available to watch back, so you can re-check a lesson before trying it again. Daily pupdates end at checkout, since the dog is home, but follow-up coaching replaces them with direct observation in your own setting. That follow-through usually keeps regression low, because hurdles get handled as they appear instead of after they set in. If safety slips at home, contact the team at once and describe what happened plainly. More detail is on the Transform Camp page.

Knowing where the Transform Camp plan ends prevents surprises at checkout. The PD360 Assessment comes first and is required before Transform Camp. Your $199 PD360 payment becomes store credit if you book your recommended camp or sign up for a membership on the day of your assessment. Inside the camp, the lessons with you are a 1-hour check-in lesson, two 1-hour working demos, a 1.5-hour transition lesson, a 1-hour follow-up lesson and a 1.5-hour in-home follow-up lesson with two instructors, 7 hours in all. For services outside the plan or nights beyond the 28, raise them during planning, so the plan, the safety rules, the schedule and the total cost are settled before check-in. That matters most for severe cases, because an add-on should support the plan rather than add a new demand while the dog is still stabilizing. The suite total for the 28-night program is $8,929.

Regression after Transform Camp at Partners Dogs is treated as a safety question first and a training question second. Follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8 or more weeks after checkout, and those sessions exist to catch drift early. A trainer watches the handling in the setting where the slip happened, checks whether management, timing, or the trigger changed first, and rebuilds the skill in that setting. Report slips at once rather than waiting for the next scheduled session, because a severe behavior that gets practiced again at home takes longer to change a second time, and a practiced slip can become dangerous. The Pet Parent Guide video lessons stay available to watch back, so you can re-check handling before your next session. If the slip involves a bite, a serious escalation, or a loss of control, get medical care first if a person or a dog is hurt (911 for a person, your vet for a dog), then contact the team and say so plainly, so they can judge whether follow-up sessions are enough or a new PD360 Assessment is needed. More detail is on the pricing page.

Behavior Camp is 21 nights from $6,244 and Transform Camp is 28 nights at $8,929, both with a luxury suite and discounted with membership. Senior trainers lead Transform Camp cases. Behavior Camp includes a 1-hour check-in lesson, a 1-hour working demo, a 1.5-hour transition lesson and a 1-hour follow-up lesson, and Transform Camp adds a second 1-hour working demo and a 1.5-hour in-home follow-up lesson with two instructors, 7 hours in all. Both camps include 8+ weeks of follow-up lessons, classes and day training after checkout. Aggression also needs management for life: training builds the skills, and your household keeps managing, so handling at home is part of every plan. Until the assessment, keep your dog away from the situations where aggression has shown up. If your dog needs boarding outside a camp, High-Risk Boarding is $119 a night with a luxury suite, and a senior instructor does all the handling. The PD360 Assessment is $199 for a first dog and $149 for a second. Your $199 PD360 payment becomes store credit if you book your recommended camp or sign up for a membership on the day of your assessment.

Partners Dogs built PD360 for exactly this situation. A meaningful share of the dogs we see arrive with aggression, bite history, severe fear, or reactivity, and most trainers will not take those cases; we do. Moderate cases, such as reactivity, resource guarding, leash aggression, anxiety, or a single reactive bite, usually fit Behavior Camp. Severe cases, such as a multi-bite history, bites toward family members, or outward aggression, usually fit Transform Camp. No single fact decides the route: the PD360 Assessment weighs the whole picture and makes the recommendation. Whichever camp fits, it runs as a treatment plan, with the assessment as the planning step, daily immersive training, parent training built in, and follow-up lessons, classes and day training for 8+ weeks after checkout. If a medical piece such as pain is part of the picture, we ask your vet to check it while we build the plan, and if safety at home needs a harder conversation, we have it with you honestly at the pickup meeting.

Most trainers will not take aggression cases, and Partners Dogs does. Behavior Camp runs 21 nights, from $6,244 with the suite included, and its private lessons are a 1-hour check-in lesson, a 1-hour working demo, a 1.5-hour transition lesson, and a 1-hour follow-up lesson. Transform Camp runs 28 nights at $8,929, with senior trainers leading the case, and adds a second 1-hour working demo and a 1.5-hour in-home follow-up lesson with two instructors, 7 hours of lessons in all. The stay teaches and reinforces new behavior at the school, and proofing happens afterward, at home and in the follow-up weeks. A dog with a bite history that needs care while you travel can stay through High-Risk Boarding at $119 a night, where a senior instructor or manager does all of the handling. The PD360 Assessment is $199 for a first dog and $149 for a second.

Partners Dogs takes on aggression cases for the recommended program, and veterinarians refer families to us for exactly this work, especially severe reactivity and aggression. Severity is not the barrier; the plan is what changes from case to case, and two situations shape it before enrollment. Suspected neurological or medical drivers, such as seizure activity, pain-related aggression, or sudden-onset aggression in a previously stable dog, mean the medical side gets treated first, with your vet, and we build the training around that care. A household that cannot yet run the management plan a case needs builds that readiness first, with coaching, because rehabilitation only counts if the home can run it. Severe predatory aggression toward small children calls for a longer timeline and a strict management plan at home, built with the family during handler integration. We are upfront about the plan, the timeline, and the management commitment on the PD360 call, before enrollment.

The PD360 Assessment weighs severity, bite history, and the other factors it covers, then recommends Behavior Camp or Transform Camp; neither camp is the automatic answer for every aggressive dog. Transform Camp is built for the most severe cases, such as a multi-bite history or bites toward family members, and Behavior Camp suits less severe cases. Transform Camp's family lessons are a 1-hour check-in lesson, two 1-hour working demos, a 1.5-hour transition lesson, a 1-hour follow-up lesson, and a 1.5-hour in-home follow-up lesson with two instructors, 7 hours in all; Behavior Camp has one working demo and no in-home lesson, 4.5 hours in all. Both camps include daily pupdates with videos and pictures, and follow-up lessons, classes, and day training for 8 or more weeks after checkout. Training builds the skills, and aggression still needs management for life, so the family keeps managing at home. The PD360 Assessment is $199 for the first dog and $149 for a second. Your $199 PD360 payment becomes store credit if you book your recommended camp or sign up for a membership on the day of your assessment. At the pick-up meeting you get a verbal breakdown of what the trainer saw and which camp fits.

Aggression does not disqualify a dog at Partners Dogs, but it does change how the case is handled. The first step is the PD360 Assessment, which measures the dog across 151 behaviors in nine dimensions and gives the team a picture beyond one incident. That picture settles severity. Moderate aggression and single reactive bites usually point to Behavior Camp. Severe aggression, multi-bite histories, and bites toward family members usually point to Transform Camp, led only by senior trainers. The context of a bite, whether the dog was reacting to something or started it, weighs more than the bite itself, and the PD360 Assessment makes the call. The distinction is safety: a severe case needs handlers who read the early signs, keep distance, and interrupt the behavior before it builds, then teach the dog a better choice, because interrupting and teaching is how a dog learns self-regulation. Until the assessment, keep known triggers at a distance, manage the house with gates and leashes, and calmly redirect and reward rather than correcting. Bring honest detail to the assessment, including bites, near misses, and the settings where aggression appears, because a plan built on partial detail can miss the real risk. A camp plan runs in this order: the PD360 Assessment, daily immersive training, Pet Parent coaching built in, and follow-up for 8 or more weeks after checkout.

Safety during aggression work at Partners Dogs is a system, not a single rule. Assessment comes first, through a PD360 assessment, which maps triggers, warning signs, and history before any training begins. Training then happens in controlled settings, with experienced handlers, at a distance where the dog can notice a trigger without losing control. Distance shrinks only as the dog shows it can cope, and a session stops or resets when the dog passes threshold, rather than pushing through escalation. Staffing follows severity: only senior trainers take Transform Camp dogs on, while senior instructors lead Behavior Camp. Other dogs are never used as uncontrolled triggers, and people follow the handling rules the plan sets, including leash handling and space management. Parent training teaches the same safety rules for home, because the household must manage the dog safely every day. If a moment at home feels unsafe, the rule is distance first and contact with the team at once, with a plain description of what happened. More detail is on the aggression rehabilitation page.

Rehabilitation at Partners Dogs changes behavior, and management protects that change. For some dogs, management fades as the new behavior becomes reliable across settings. For others, especially dogs with severe aggression histories, some management stays for life, not as a failure of training, but as the realistic cost of a known risk. Management in this sense is practical: leash handling on walks, distance from known triggers, door routines, crate or place routines at busy moments, and supervision rules for guests and other dogs. The team names the management your dog needs at checkout, and follow-up lessons, classes, and day training for 8 or more weeks after checkout test whether that management can ease or must stay. Parents sometimes hear lifelong management as a verdict that training did not work. The honest frame is different: training builds the new behavior, and management keeps the old behavior from getting practiced again. More detail is on the aggression rehabilitation page.

Behavior Camp is 21 nights and Transform Camp is 28 nights, and each price covers the whole treatment plan, not only the stay: daily immersive training, private lessons for your family, and follow-up lessons, classes, and day training for 8 or more weeks after checkout. In Behavior Camp those private lessons are a 1-hour check-in lesson, a 1-hour working demo, a 1.5-hour transition lesson and a 1-hour follow-up lesson. Transform Camp adds a second 1-hour working demo and a 1.5-hour in-home follow-up lesson with two instructors, 7 hours in all, and senior trainers lead Transform Camp cases. Members get a camp discount. Financing is available through three third-party providers: PayPal Credit, LendingUSA, and Coach Financing. Rates and terms are based on your credit profile. Aggression needs management for life: training builds the skills, and the family keeps managing at home. More detail is on the aggression rehabilitation page.

A single lunge does not settle the question, since a reactive dog may be frustrated, fearful, or overaroused, while an aggressive dog may intend to drive a person or dog away. Partners Dogs separates those cases by watching the pattern across settings: the trigger, the distance, the body language before the outburst, and the recovery time after it. The assessment step matters because a program built for frustration can miss a case that needs safety management, and a program built for aggression can overcorrect a dog that mainly needs distance skills. Bring notes on recent incidents, including where they happened and what happened just before. The team uses that pattern to recommend a program family, and the leash reactivity walk-ready guide shows what a structured walk looks like once the plan is set.

Reactivity and aggression sit on different program paths at Partners Dogs even when they look similar at the gate. A reactive dog usually needs distance skills and a calm replacement behavior, which Behavior Camp and the Leash Reactivity Intensive teach and reinforce at the school. Practicing those skills around your own triggers at home comes in the follow-up weeks. Aggression routes to Behavior Camp or Transform Camp by severity, bite history, and the other factors the PD360 Assessment covers, and Transform Camp takes the most severe cases with senior trainers only. Foundation Camp can have instructors as leads with any trainers working with the dog, while Behavior Camp keeps senior instructors in the lead role. The PD360 Assessment weighs trigger type, bite history, and recovery pattern before a camp is named. Read the Behavior Camp versus Transform Camp guide to see the contrast in structure.

Leash reactivity shows up as lunging, barking, or fixating on triggers such as other dogs, strangers, bikes, and cars during walks. When it is one piece of a wider picture, such as fear, guarding, or reactivity at home, the PD360 Assessment helps decide whether the Intensive or Behavior Camp fits your dog, and it measures the triggers and threshold distances so the training starts from facts rather than guesses. Ask the team about dates at either campus.

The Leash Reactivity Intensive at Partners Dogs runs 14 nights and is right when on-leash reactivity is the only major issue: lunging, barking, or spinning toward triggers. Every training minute goes to that one problem. Behavior Camp runs 21 nights at $6,244 and is right when your dog also carries separation anxiety, resource guarding, in-home destruction, or other behavior problems alongside reactivity, including single reactive bites, meaning a situational, warning-driven incident toward another dog or a person. Behavior Camp addresses the full picture as a treatment plan: PD360 planning first, daily immersive training led by senior instructors, parent training, and follow-up lessons, classes, and day training for 8-plus weeks after checkout. A multi-bite history, a bite toward a family member, or outward, non-reactive aggression usually points toward Transform Camp, led by senior trainers. The PD360 Assessment decides which program fits before you enroll, so the plan's scope matches the case.

The Intensive is built for one problem, reactivity on the leash, and it stays separate from Behavior Camp for that reason. When the PD360 Assessment finds that a dog's reactivity reaches beyond the leash, it may point to Behavior Camp instead, a 21-night stay from $6,244 with a luxury suite, discounted with membership. That honesty is part of the offer: a single-issue program should tell you early if your dog's case is bigger than a single issue.

Fit for the Leash Reactivity Intensive at Partners Dogs turns on scope. If your dog walks well at home, listens in the yard, and loses control mainly when another dog or stranger appears on leash, the Intensive matches the problem. Training can stay on the leash moment, on distance, and on parent handling, without rebuilding the dog's whole behavior picture. If reactivity is one part of a wider pattern, such as fear at home, guarding, or aggression off leash, a camp usually fits better, because the wider pattern needs daily immersive training across weeks. Severe aggression goes further, to Transform Camp, where only senior trainers take dogs on. The fit check before enrollment settles this. A PD360 Assessment lets a trainer see the trigger, the warning signs, and the recovery after a reaction, and then recommend the Intensive or a camp with reasons you can follow. Bring honest detail to that check, including bites, near misses, and the settings where walks go wrong, since a program chosen on partial detail can miss the real problem. The leash reactivity guide explains the behavior itself. More detail is on the Leash Reactivity Intensive page.

The Leash Reactivity Intensive is built for one outcome, a dog who walks past triggers calmly on leash, and the PD360 Assessment comes first because fit matters here. When the picture is broader than the leash, such as anxiety or guarding at home, or the dog has a bite history, the PD360 Assessment points to the program that fits, such as Behavior Camp. The leash reactivity guide explains the behavior itself.

The outcome of the Leash Reactivity Intensive at Partners Dogs is practical, not perfect. Your dog learns a replacement behavior for the leash trigger, such as checking in, moving with you, or holding a calm position while a trigger passes at a workable distance. You learn the timing, the leash handling, and the distance management that make that behavior hold on a real walk. Together, those skills turn walks from a loss of control into a routine you can manage. The program does not promise a dog that never notices another dog or stranger, and no honest program could, since reactivity is managed through handling and training over time. What it builds is a repeatable response in the settings you trained, plus a parent who knows when to create distance and when to keep moving. Follow-up after the program protects that result, because home walks test the skill in new settings. The walk behavior usually holds and improves, since hurdles get handled as they appear. More detail is on the Leash Reactivity Intensive page.

The Intensive is built around the leash moment: the barking and lunging that happen when your dog meets a trigger on a walk. During the stay, trainers teach and reinforce a calmer response at the school; proofing that walk across new distances and settings comes afterward, at home and in follow-up programs such as DaySchool, DayCamp, or group classes. New families start with the PD360 Assessment, which maps your dog's triggers and shows whether the Intensive or another program fits.

A reactive dog needs practice that is structured enough to build confidence without flooding the dog with triggers, and a group class can provide that setting when the dog is ready for it. Partners Dogs uses classes as one follow-through component after camp, alongside lessons and day training, across the 8 or more weeks after checkout. In class, the trainer can manage distance, watch the Pet Parent's timing, and raise difficulty in small steps, so the dog practices the same handling learned in camp with new dogs and people present. Classes count as follow-up, so they are also where the dog proofs the skills from camp in a new setting. For handling steps, see the leash reactivity guide, and for class options, see the group classes page.

A reactive dog goes home to the Pet Parent, so follow-up support has to train the person holding the leash, and Partners Dogs builds parent training into the treatment plan for that reason. After camp, follow-up lessons watch the Pet Parent's distance choices, timing, and reward steps in real settings, and correct drift before it becomes a pattern. The Pet Parent Guide video lessons, free with camps, give the same handling steps in a form a Pet Parent can watch back at home, which helps before a difficult walk or a guest visit. Classes and day training add structured practice across the 8 or more weeks after checkout. The condensed arc is assessment, immersion, and follow-through. For handling steps, see the leash reactivity guide, and for the Intensive path, see the Leash Reactivity Intensive page.

A reactive dog's progress holds at home only when the Pet Parent can handle distance, timing, and rewards in real settings. The handoff lessons put the leash in your hands because reactivity tends to come back when a handler slips into old habits. Our camps take the same approach: Foundation Camp, Behavior Camp and Transform Camp build parent training into the plan, with follow-up lessons after camp that check your handling and correct drift, inside 8+ weeks of follow-up lessons, classes and day training. Behavior Camp, for comparison, includes a 1-hour check-in lesson, a 1-hour working demo, a 1.5-hour transition lesson and a 1-hour follow-up lesson.

Follow-through is where home routines get corrected early and where a calmer walk gets proofed, at home and in new settings, with difficulty rising in small steps. After a camp, that follow-through comes with parent training built in and the Pet Parent Guide videos to watch back. When you compare the Intensive with Behavior Camp, ask for the follow-up lesson count and length of each in writing, so you compare like with like. The Leash Reactivity Intensive page describes the program, and the leash reactivity guide covers the handling that follow-up should practice.

Private lessons at Partners Dogs pair you and your dog with a master trainer for fully individual work. Lessons are held at the Scottsdale or Cave Creek schools by default. In-home lessons cover Scottsdale, Cave Creek, North Phoenix, and the East Valley and suit a behavior that lives at home; they also suit a puppy under 20 weeks, since in-home training needs no vaccines. Online private lessons are another option for puppies under 20 weeks. A second dog in the same school lesson is $139. The curriculum is custom, built from your dog's PD360 Assessment around the specific behaviors you need, from leash skills to household manners. Because the coaching is aimed at you as the handler, the habits transfer to your daily routine, and lifetime trainer support is included with the program. The private lesson details page carries the complete breakdown and the next steps.

Yes. Children can participate in private lessons at Partners Dogs, and many families want exactly that, because a dog responds to the whole household and children who interact with the dog daily should learn the same cues, rules, and handling as the adults. Two limitations apply. Children must be well-behaved during the session, so the lesson stays a training environment. A parent must be present at all times during the lesson, without exception. Parents must also understand the potential risks of having children around dogs with behavioral issues. For severe aggression or bite-history cases, child-handler involvement is determined case by case during the PD360 Assessment, where we can judge the dog's pattern and the child's maturity together. When children do take part, trainers coach them directly, which usually improves consistency at home more than any handout.

Cancellations for private lessons at Partners Dogs made 48 hours or more in advance receive store credit on your account. Inside 48 hours, credit may be limited or unavailable, because your trainer's hour was held for your dog and cannot usually be refilled at short notice. If you need to reschedule with 48 or more hours of notice, the team will find the next open lesson slot at either campus, so training stays consistent. Giving us notice early protects the full value already in your account. Store credit stays on your account for future lessons and programs, so a cancelled lesson is postponed value rather than lost value when the notice rule is met.

You should bring a structured six-foot leash, a martingale or training collar, and some kind of reward to private lessons at Partners Dogs: high-value treats your dog already loves, or a favorite toy. Everything else is determined case by case during the lesson, and your trainer will make equipment recommendations as needed, based on how your dog responds in the session. For specific programs we may fit training-focused equipment, such as a slip lead or a properly fitted prong collar for reactive dogs under trainer supervision, or an e-collar for snake avoidance or off-leash work. Those tools are introduced when appropriate, conditioned before use, and fitted to the dog in front of us, not handed out as a default kit. Starting simple keeps the first lesson focused on your handling and your dog's learning style, which is what the equipment decision should rest on.

Private lessons happen at our schools by default, with a trainer working one-on-one with you and your dog so your handling improves alongside your dog's skills. That format suits focused problems that do not need a full camp, follow-up coaching after a board-and-train program, and Pet Parents who want hands-on feedback while they handle the dog themselves. Posted rates are per lesson: $179 at the schools, $129 online, and $279 in-home. How many lessons a case needs depends on the problem, since a recall problem, a leash problem, and a household-manners problem take different amounts of trainer time, so a consultation call scopes the plan before you book a series.

Private lessons work because they are personal: one trainer, your dog, and the people who live with the dog, working on the behaviors that matter in your home. The trainer opens with what you want to fix, coaches you through handling it, and closes with practice homework you can repeat at home. Because lessons teach you as much as the dog, the time is spent on your handling, not on watching the trainer work alone. A second dog in the same school lesson is $139.

Lessons suit the long list of home behaviors: pulling on leash, jumping on guests, ignoring recall, barking at the door, stealing food, and trouble settling. They also suit the early stages of harder problems, such as fearfulness or reactivity, where the trainer first changes how the dog feels and responds in controlled settings before adding distractions. Severe aggression cases may need a camp program instead, and the trainer says so honestly after assessment rather than selling lessons that cannot carry the case. Lessons shine when the problem lives in your house, your yard, or your walking route, because the trainer coaches you where the behavior actually happens. More detail is on the private lessons page.

Home is where most behavior problems live, which is why lessons come to the problem. An in-home lesson lets the trainer see the door your dog bolts through, the counter they surf, and the guests they jump on, then coach your handling in that exact setting. In-school lessons suit behaviors that need a controlled space or other dogs as distractions, and online lessons suit coaching and troubleshooting when travel is hard. The trainer builds a plan for the whole household, because the people at home deliver the repetitions between lessons. Bring everyone who handles the dog when you can, so the whole household learns one consistent approach. More detail is on the private lessons page.

A lesson is a coaching session, not a drop-off. The trainer starts from your goals and your dog's assessment, picks the skill or behavior to target that day, and shows you the mechanics: timing, rewards, leash handling, and body position. Then you practice while the trainer corrects your timing and answers questions, so you leave able to repeat the work at home. Homework is specific: which skill, how many repetitions, and what success looks like. Over a series of lessons, the plan progresses from easy settings to real-life distractions, and the trainer adjusts when your dog stalls or leaps ahead. More detail is on the private lessons page.

Dogs listen to the household, not to one person, which is why family attendance matters. When everyone attends, the trainer can show each person how to give cues, reward good choices, and handle the moments that usually unravel, such as guests arriving or the leash coming out. Kids get age-appropriate roles and safety guidance, so they can participate without becoming a distraction or a target for jumping. If the full family cannot attend every lesson, send the people who handle the dog most, and share the homework notes with the rest, so the dog never has to guess which rules apply to which person. More detail is on the private lessons page.

The choice turns on who does the daily work. In a camp, the dog lives the plan: daily immersive training for weeks, starting with a PD360 Assessment, with parent training built in and extensive follow-up for 8-plus weeks after checkout. That immersion suits severe cases, busy households, and behaviors that need many repetitions under professional eyes. Lessons put you in the trainer role, with a coach guiding each step and homework between sessions, which suits everyday manners and Pet Parents who enjoy training. Camps cost more because they carry weeks of daily professional work; lessons cost less per session because your practice carries the progress. For many dogs, either path can produce lasting change in the relationship between dog and parent. More detail is on the program comparison page.

The trainer shows the mechanics, timing, rewards, and leash handling, then watches you practice and corrects your timing on the spot. Lessons run $129 online, $179 at our school, and $279 in your home, and a second dog in the same school lesson is $139. Lessons happen at our schools by default, and the setting changes where the coaching happens, not the personal attention. Family members who handle the dog are welcome, because consistent handling across the household is part of the work. More detail is on the private lessons page.

One lesson buys one coaching session: assessment, demonstration, guided practice, and homework. It does not include overnight care, school days, or class places, and it does not include equipment you may need at home, such as a leash or training tools the trainer recommends. Dogs that need daily immersion or severe-case work may need a camp program instead, and the trainer says so after assessment rather than stretching lessons beyond what they can carry. Lesson series are priced session by session at $129 online, $179 in-school, and $279 in-home, so you can see exactly what a longer plan costs before committing. More detail is on the private lessons page.

Choosing the school is often a training decision. A facility session lets the trainer set the difficulty: a calm dog at distance, then closer, then moving, with the environment adjusted the moment your dog needs a win. That control is hard to stage in a living room. Home lessons earn their place when the behavior is address-specific: charging the front door, fence fighting with the neighbor dog, or a routine that only breaks down in your kitchen. A second dog in the same school lesson is $139. Puppies under 20 weeks can start with in-home or online lessons, since in-home training needs no vaccines and training at the school starts at 20 weeks. Many plans use both: school sessions to build the skill, a home session to install it where it will live.

The Puppy Program at Partners Dogs is a set of age-matched paths rather than one program, because puppies need different work at different stages. Before 20 weeks, early learning happens at home with vet-guided work, and online private lessons are an option; in-home training under 20 weeks needs no vaccines. On-site school programs start at 20 weeks. From 20 weeks to 8 months, once fully vaccinated, puppies can join Pre-School Puppy Classes, Foundation Camp, or Kindergarten Group Classes at our campuses. From 8 to 12 months, DaySchool, Private Lessons, and Elementary Group Classes build the foundation further. Placement follows the puppy in front of us: age, where the socialization window stands, and your household's schedule and goals. Starting at the right stage keeps early training positive and prevents the adolescent problems that bring many dogs to us later.

At Partners Dogs, puppies join on-site programs from 20 weeks old, once fully vaccinated for at least a week; that timing protects a young immune system in a building full of dogs. The weeks before that still matter. The critical socialization window closes around 16 weeks and shapes adult temperament, so foundational work starts at home from 8 weeks: name response, gentle handling, and calm exposure to household sounds, surfaces, and visitors. Use those weeks well: a Partners Dogs trainer can work with your puppy at home, where no vaccines are needed, or set the plan in an online private lesson. When your puppy qualifies, Pre-School Puppy classes build socialization and first obedience in a group of age-matched puppies, and the PD360 framework tracks each skill from the start. The puppy program page carries the complete breakdown and the next steps.

Partners Dogs offers four paths for puppies, matched to age and goals. Pre-School Puppy Classes cover socialization and basic commands in a small group, priced on the program page, and they are the best entry point for puppies from 20 weeks. Private Puppy Lessons are one-on-one, at the school, in your home, or online, for shy or reactive puppies or families who want a faster start, and in-home and online lessons are open before 20 weeks, since vaccines apply only to training at the school. Foundation Camp is $3,509 for a 14-night immersive board-and-train, open from 20 weeks and ideal for adolescents who need intensive structure, taught as a full program with follow-up lessons after checkout. DaySchool memberships start at $199 per month for day training and socialization, with Plus at 4 DaySchool days a month, Premium at 8, and Platinum at 12, the strongest long-term option for puppies who need consistent socialization. Many families sequence them: Pre-School first, Foundation Camp at adolescence, DaySchool for maintenance. The puppy programs page carries the complete breakdown and the next steps.

Every on-site program at Partners Dogs requires full vaccination: DHPP, which covers distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza, and parvovirus, plus Bordetella and Rabies, completed at least one week before your puppy's first visit. That vaccination timeline is why puppies join us at 20 weeks old; it protects your puppy in a building where many dogs train, board, and play. Foundation Camp is open from 20 weeks under the same rule. In-home training for puppies under 20 weeks needs no vaccines; the required vaccines apply to training at the school. One planning note for camp families: camp already includes group classes in its follow-up, so starting with classes first is a budget choice rather than a requirement. We will review your records at enrollment, and records can be verified with your vet, uploaded to the Pet Parent Portal, or emailed to the team, so the paperwork is settled before your puppy's first day rather than at the door. The puppy program page carries the complete breakdown and the next steps.

First-day drop-off is scheduled, not walk-in, because the team needs time with you and your puppy before the school day starts. Arrive inside the window the campus confirms at booking, and allow extra minutes for check-in: vaccination records, feeding and medication notes, and a short conversation about temperament, fears, and routines. Early arrival helps a puppy settle before playgroups fill up, and it gives trainers time for the first assessment steps while the campus is still quiet. Bring vaccination records and feeding notes in hand, so check-in stays quick and your puppy settles sooner. More detail is on the puppy program page.

Pack like the team has never met your puppy, because on day one they have not. Vaccination records confirm the 20-week and vaccinated starting point. Food and feeding instructions keep stomachs settled, and medication in its original container with written directions keeps doses exact. A familiar leash and high-value treats help trainers reward and handle your puppy from the first session. Skip favorite toys unless the team asks for them, since shared toys can spark guarding in a group room. Most useful of all is information: what scares your puppy, what they love, how they sleep, and what a normal day looks like at home. More detail is on the puppy program page.

Before that first day, your puppy needs to be at least 20 weeks old, with Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella given at least 7 days before arrival; other vaccines are optional. If your puppy is younger than 20 weeks, in-home training is open with no vaccine requirement, and an online private lesson is another way to start. At pick-up, ask what the team saw and what to practice at home before the next visit.

Week one is about routine, not results. Keep drop-off and pick-up calm and at a similar time each day, so the day starts and ends the same way. At home, short practice sessions repeat the skills from the day: name response, settling, and polite greetings in brief bursts, not long drills. Trainers track how your puppy handles groups, new people, and busy moments, and adjust the plan when a puppy tires fast or needs more challenge. The exact day count depends on the program, and the campus confirms it at enrollment. More detail is on the puppy program page.

The first day is deliberately light wherever your puppy starts. Playgroups are matched by size first, then by temperament and play style, so a new puppy plays with dogs of a similar size and energy. Training bursts stay short, covering name response, settling, and polite greetings, with rest breaks between them so learning sticks. Staff watch for tiredness, overstimulation, or worry, pulling the puppy out for quiet time when needed, and at pick-up the team tells you what they saw and what the next days should emphasize. Scottsdale and Cave Creek run the same curriculum, and trainers at both campuses meet the same training standard, so that shape does not change with the campus.

A training gift works best when it fits the puppy and the household, so Partners Dogs trainers advise givers to start with the team rather than guessing a program. Share the puppy age and vaccination status, since every school program starts at 20 weeks and vaccinated, plus the family schedule and the behaviors they most want help with. The team can then point the gift at the right program family, whether a camp treatment plan, lessons, or classes, and explain how the recipient books. A gift that includes follow-up matters, since training holds through parent coaching after the program.

The first 16 weeks build foundation skills in a controlled setting, and the next step tests those skills where life actually happens. Partners Dogs looks at recall around distractions, loose-leash walking past other dogs, place work during meals and door greetings, and calm settling in new places. Group classes suit a puppy that is steady in a busy room, DaySchool suits a puppy that needs daily reps with staff guidance, and a camp path suits a puppy with a behavior problem that home practice has not shifted. A PD360 assessment at the right age scores 151 behaviors across nine dimensions and names the weak spots, so the next program targets gaps instead of repeating skills the puppy already holds. The puppy biting guide is one example of an early skill that keeps maturing through this stage.

AVSAB argues for early socialization before vaccinations finish, and Partners Dogs answers that position with a risk split rather than a blanket yes or no. High-risk exposures, such as dog parks, pet stores with unknown dogs, and busy dog areas, stay off the list until vaccinations are complete. Low-risk exposures, such as calm visitors at home, car rides without dog contact, and household sounds at low volume, give the puppy novelty without the disease risk. The 20-week program start exists because group settings mix unknown dogs, and that mixing needs vaccination cover. A Pet Parent with a young puppy should ask the team and the puppy's vet together about the exposure list for that puppy, since breed, health, and local disease risk all bear on it. The puppy biting guide shows how short, calm sessions protect a young puppy's learning.

The 20-week rule protects puppies in a building full of dogs; it was never a reason to pause learning at home. Work in five-minute pieces: touch paws, ears, and collar and pay with food; play name games so your voice predicts good things; feed some meals in the crate with the door open, then closed for naps; ride in the car to nowhere stressful; let the vacuum, the doorbell recording, and the skateboard on the sidewalk become normal background. Our puppy socialization behavior guide sequences the first weeks, and our puppy training guide covers the home skills in order. When your puppy reaches 20 weeks with vaccines current, the Puppy Program picks up exactly where your home work left off.

Training at Partners Dogs treats the parent as part of the plan, so resources for parents are built into programs rather than added as an afterthought. Parents can watch the Pet Parent Guide video lessons back whenever a routine needs a refresher. Follow-up lessons, classes, and day training after a camp give parents coached practice in their own setting, which is where handling usually drifts. While a dog is at camp, daily pupdates with videos and pictures let parents watch skills form and start learning the handling before pickup. Classes after a program add a second layer, since parents practice around other dogs and other handlers under a trainer's eye. If you are choosing between programs, ask which parent resources each one includes, and which support keeps a new behavior working at home. More detail is on the pricing page.

Support after a program at Partners Dogs is structured, not left to chance. For camps, follow-up lessons, classes, and day training continue for 8 or more weeks after checkout. Lessons give coached practice in your setting, classes add practice around other dogs and handlers, and day training keeps structure in the dog's week while the household routine settles. The Pet Parent Guide video lessons stay available to watch back, so you can re-check handling before trying a skill again. Daily pupdates end at checkout, since the dog is home, but follow-up coaching replaces them with direct observation in your own setting. The loyalty program continues as ongoing value, at 1 point per dollar, with a $50 referral credit available. If a behavior returns after follow-up ends, contact the team through Enroll@PartnersDogs.com or 480-595-6700, and describe the setting and the trigger, so the team can judge whether a refresher, lessons, or a new assessment fits. More detail is on the training journey page.

Camp ends, but the treatment plan continues, and the follow-up structure is how a Pet Parent stays connected to the trainer who knows the dog. Follow-up lessons, classes, and day training run for 8 or more weeks after checkout, and each session is a chance to show home practice, ask about skills that slipped, and set the next step. Keep a short home log of the skills, the places where they hold, and the triggers that still break them, and bring that log to each follow-up, so the trainer can coach from evidence rather than memory. Use the Pet Parent Guide video lessons to refresh cues between sessions, since those lessons can be watched back at any time. If a skill regresses, book a follow-up promptly, rather than waiting for a pattern to set in. The private lessons page covers post-camp follow-up, including online coaching and lifetime trainer support. A private lesson at Partners Dogs costs $129 online, and that session is useful because a trainer can review home practice and adjust the plan for that dog without a trip to school.

Follow-up is built into every camp at Partners Dogs, because the dog goes home to the parents, not to the trainers. The arc runs from planning before check-in, through daily immersive training in camp, into parent training, and then into follow-up lessons, classes, and day training for 8 or more weeks after checkout. During camp, daily pupdates with videos and pictures keep parents learning, and the Pet Parent Guide video lessons stay available to watch back. The team sets the sequence for each dog at checkout, based on the dog progress and the household routine. The training camp page gives the follow-through outline.

Desensitization works by pairing storm sounds at a low level with calm rewards, then raising the level in small steps, and that learning needs maintenance across the dry months. Partners Dogs recommends a pre-season refresher: short sound sessions at a level the dog can handle, a safe resting place rehearsed before storms arrive, and a storm-night plan the household can run without improvising. If the dog handled last season well and slips this season, the usual driver is a gap in practice, a louder storm than the dog was proofed for, or a new household stress. A private lesson resets the sound level and the management plan. If your dog is still inside the 8+ weeks of follow-up after a camp, bring the storm plan to those lessons and classes. Severe panic is a case for a PD360 Assessment, which decides whether Behavior Camp is the next step, and a vet check belongs in the plan when the panic is sudden, new and out of character or the dog injures itself. The fireworks or thunder fear guide distinguishes thunder fear from fireworks fear, which need different sound plans.

Adolescence can look like defiance, and Partners Dogs reads it as a brain and body in transition. Recall may fail at a park, place work may fail at a busy door, and leash manners may fail around other dogs, all in a dog that passed those skills months earlier. The repair runs backward through the proofing ladder: distance, duration, and distraction each drop to a level the dog can handle, then rise again one step at a time. Rest, exercise, and consistent household routines matter here, since an overtired adolescent practices worse. Structured day training can carry reps during this phase, since staff can control distance and group size. If regression pairs with fear or aggression, the team looks at routine and training first, and checks for pain or a medical driver if the change was sudden. The daycare for adolescent dogs guide covers the 6 to 18 month window where this phase usually lands.

The choice turns on what the dog still needs after checkout. Partners Dogs uses DaySchool for graduates who are social and comfortable in a group, with staff-led reps, proofing around other dogs, and a structured day like the one they trained in. DayCamp fits graduates who still show minor reactivity or inappropriate behaviors, so they keep building toward DaySchool before they join it. DayCamp is not a fix for aggression toward people or dogs; if that is still active after checkout, the follow-up lessons in the plan carry the work. The team reviews the camp exit plan before recommending either service, and the mix can change across the 8 or more weeks as skills steady. The day at DaySchool guide lays out the curriculum DaySchool follows.

A camp graduate returns to the home where the old triggers live, and DaySchool gives those skills a second setting with staff guidance. Partners Dogs schedules DaySchool days around the graduate's exit plan, targeting the behaviors that were weakest at checkout, such as place work during busy periods, recall around other dogs, or calm greetings. Staff report back through pupdates and handover notes, so the Pet Parent can repeat the same handling at home. DaySchool fits manners, obedience, and settled behavior graduates well, since group size and distance can be set to the dog's level. The day at DaySchool guide shows how a DaySchool day is structured.

The Pet Parent Guide works as a reference library across the follow-through arc, not as a course to finish in one sitting. Partners Dogs recommends watching the video for the skill the trainer set as homework, practicing that skill in short sessions, then bringing questions to the next follow-up lesson. A Pet Parent struggling with place work watches the place handling back, checks leash position and reward timing, and then runs the same reps at home. The guide also helps other family members learn the same handling, since inconsistent handling across people is a common source of drift. Daily pupdates during camp show the dog learning the skill, and the guide shows the Pet Parent how to keep it. The guide is free with camps. The board and train versus private lessons guide shows where guide-supported lessons sit against camp paths.

Skills can drift in the months after camp, especially when routines change, a new dog joins the home, or a season brings new triggers. A private lesson works one-on-one on the behaviors that slipped, and besides the school lesson, lessons run in your home for $279 or online for $129. Group classes add regular practice around other dogs, and the camp-graduate discount never expires. The board and train versus private lessons guide compares camps with private lessons.

Separation work builds tolerance in steps, and a routine change can jump the dog back several steps at once. Partners Dogs answers a return by re-running the absence ladder: brief departures with a calm return, then slightly longer absences, with the dog's settling time as the measure. Departure cues, such as keys or shoes, get rehearsed without departure, so they stop predicting a long absence. Management matters during the rebuild: no long unplanned absences while tolerance is low, and a safe resting place the dog already knows. If panic includes self-injury, escape attempts, or house soiling that is new, a vet check belongs in the plan, since pain or illness can drive a sudden change. A private lesson resets the ladder when home practice stalls. The preventing separation anxiety guide lays out the prevention routine that doubles as the repair routine.

A fight after training usually traces to a trigger that returned: a valued item left out, a doorway greeting with no management, or arousal that built across a busy day. Partners Dogs answers by restoring separation first, then rebuilding joint time in small steps, with each dog practicing place work and calm greetings alone before any shared session. The crate serves as the separation place here, since it is the safest management tool after a scrap. Injuries get a vet check promptly, and the team should hear about any fight quickly, since repeated fights can make cohabitation harder to restore. If fights keep returning despite management, the assessment may recommend a camp path for one dog or a different household structure. The calmer multi-dog homes guide shows how separate training builds shared calm.

Potty regression has two drivers, and Partners Dogs separates them before retraining. The common driver is routine: it shows up after a move, a schedule change, a new pet, a gap in outings, or a dog left inside too long, and that pattern responds to a reboot: frequent scheduled outings, supervision indoors, and rewards for outdoor elimination. The less common driver is medical: sudden soiling in a dog who has been reliable, frequent small urinations, straining, blood in the urine, or a change in stool, and that pattern needs a vet visit promptly. Punishment never fixes either driver, since it teaches the dog to hide soiling rather than to signal. The crate supports the reboot as a management tool between outings, with a potty break immediately after rest. If soiling returns after camp, the team checks whether the home routine matched the camp routine, since a gap there is a common cause. The how to potty train guide lays out the reboot steps.

Recall maintenance runs on variety and reward rate. Partners Dogs recommends calling the dog at random moments, not only at the end of play, so Come never predicts the fun ending. Rewards stay generous after camp, with high-value rewards for the hardest recalls, such as a recall away from another dog or wildlife. New settings get a long line first, then short off-leash reps in a safe enclosed area, and a failed recall means the next rep drops back to an easier setting. Group classes and DaySchool both give maintenance reps around other dogs, and follow-up lessons let a trainer check timing and distance. If recall fails repeatedly in one setting, that setting needs a dedicated proofing plan rather than more freedom. The desert-ready recall guide lists the Arizona distractions worth keeping in the rotation.

Cooperative care maintenance is a use-it-or-lose-it skill, so it works best folded into everyday grooming and handling rather than kept as a separate chore. Ear lifts, paw handling, and mouth checks fit into regular brushing at home, with the start-button behavior giving your dog a way to pause the session. Raise the difficulty only when your dog offers the start behavior readily. Muzzle practice stays in the rotation too, so the muzzle remains a familiar safety tool rather than a clinic-only surprise. When your dog boards or grooms with us, tell the team which handling your dog is practicing.

Between sessions, enrichment carries training forward at home: sniff walks, food puzzles at the dog's pace, and gentle new problem solving keep the mind busy without taxing the body. The Pet Parent Guide videos let you rewatch the handling from camp at home. A vet check belongs in follow-up when stiffness, pain, or a sudden behavior change appears, since a medical change can look like training drift.

Checkout day starts the home phase of the plan. You leave with the take-home protocol pack, your dog's updated PD360 profile, and scheduled follow-up: private lessons where a trainer watches you handle your dog, Pet Parenting group classes, and day training days that keep professional reps going while you build yours. The follow-through runs 8 or more weeks because that is where camp skills either become home habits or fade. Partners trainers bring years of experience into every follow-up hour, and the consistency across those weeks is what turns a trained behavior into your dog's normal behavior. Start with the PD360 Assessment, and the whole arc gets planned around your dog before camp begins.

A dog performs for whoever communicates clearly and follows through consistently, which is why transfer is a designed step at Partners Dogs and not a hope. During camp, after the PD360 Assessment sets the plan, your dog learns the skills with professional handling. Before and after checkout, your trainers coach you through the same work: how to ask, how to reward, how to correct fairly, and how to read your dog's responses. The take-home protocol pack puts the routines in writing, and the 8 or more weeks of follow-up lessons, classes, and day training exist so a trainer sees you and your dog working together and fixes drift early. Follow the plan as designed and the skills hold at home, because home is where they were proofed.

Skills fade when the environment stops asking for them, which is a learning fact and not a defect in your dog. Partners Dogs camps are planned against that fact. Your dog's plan starts with a PD360 Assessment, the immersive weeks build the behaviors, and then the part most programs skip gets scheduled before you leave: follow-up lessons with a trainer watching your handling, group classes for real-world distraction, and day training to keep professional reps in the mix for 8 or more weeks. Hurdles get handled as they appear during those weeks instead of after they set in. Partners Dogs commits to effort and structure and does not promise specific behavioral outcomes; a followed plan is what gives the change its best chance to last.

Training transfers when Pet Parents can revisit exactly what the trainer showed them, and memory fades faster than video does. The Pet Parent Guide records the lessons: how cues are taught, how the daily routines run, and how to handle the moments that come up at home, from door greetings to leash work. Camp families receive it free as part of the treatment plan, and it stays available during the follow-up weeks when questions actually appear. The take-home protocol pack covers your dog's specific routines; the guide covers the teaching behind them. Pet Parents who are not in a camp can ask the team about getting the guide.

Group classes at Partners Dogs are weekly small-group training sessions at the Scottsdale and Cave Creek campuses, taught by trainers in groups capped at 10 dogs, usually about five dogs per trainer. Dogs progress through 8 cumulative grade levels, from Pre-School to Dogtorate, covering 130+ behaviors. The curriculum builds on itself: a behavior taught at Elementary is reinforced in Middle-School and proofed in High-School, with each behavior moving through at least four stages of learning before it counts as reliable. Open enrollment runs year-round, so a family can start any week instead of waiting for a new session to begin. Group classes run as the Standard 8-Week Program at $657, and Rally and Agility run as specialty classes alongside the grade levels for teams that want a sport outlet.

Partners Dogs teaches a modular 8-grade-level curriculum covering 130-plus behaviors, and the curriculum keeps growing as our trainers add new skills. Pre-School covers manners, socialization, confidence, and proper play, with separate Puppy and Adult tracks, and puppies join from 20 weeks. Kindergarten teaches heel, place, stay, free, and thresholds, the foundations every later level builds on. Elementary adds the everyday commands, Reset, Done, Leave It, and Off, plus impulse control. Middle-School adds structured off-leash work, grooming tolerance, and desensitization. High-School covers retrieve, pacing, and real-world proofing around children, sounds, and handling. College adds distance commands, Middle, Send Out, and functional household tasks. Masters builds complex routines such as Figure 8, Orbit, and Put Toys Away. Dogtorate is performance-level work, including frisbee and leg weaves. Rally and Agility run as specialty classes alongside the curriculum, and graduates can add AKC CGC prep and testing.

Kindergarten is where everyday manners take root at Partners Dogs. Your dog learns to wait at thresholds instead of bolting through doors, heel through turns, come to a front position on recall, and hold a stay or place until released with the free command. Manners work covers appropriate play with other dogs, calm handoffs between handlers, and desensitization to new sights and sounds, so confidence grows in the situations that used to unsettle your dog. Every skill is tracked individually in PD360 and moves through Teaching, Reinforcing, Proofing, and Maintenance until it holds up around real-world distraction as well as in class. That tracking is why Kindergarten works as the curriculum's foundation: Elementary and every level after it reinforce these exact behaviors, and your trainer can show you, per skill, where your dog stands before you test up.

High-School at Partners Dogs turns a well-trained dog into a genuinely useful partner. Dogs refine pivots, turns, and pacing so they match your speed instead of pulling ahead, master retrieve for practical tasks, and add the bye command for sending a dog past distractions. New practiced skills such as speak, high five, and hug keep sessions engaging while deepening cooperation between dog and handler. Manners work targets real life directly: calm behavior around children, and medical socialization, where your dog learns to relax while vitals are taken, a skill that makes vet visits dramatically easier for the dog, the staff, and you. High-School sits late in the 8-level curriculum, so every skill here is being proofed, worked around noise, movement, and other dogs, rather than introduced.

Pre-School lays the foundation the entire Partners Dogs curriculum builds on. Your dog learns name recognition, marker words that capture and reward good behavior in the moment, and fundamental obedience basics, the groundwork every later grade level reinforces and proofs. It is the smallest step up in the curriculum by design: 14 new skills for a 184-point PD360 graduation target, so early wins come fast and confidence builds quickly for puppies and for adult dogs new to structured training. Pre-School runs Puppy and Adult tracks, so a young puppy learns alongside age-mates while an adult beginner gets the same foundations at an adult pace. Placement follows a PD360 Assessment rather than age alone, and graduating Pre-School means the marker language and basics are installed well enough for Kindergarten to build on.

Elementary at Partners Dogs reinforces the manners your dog built in Kindergarten while adding more complex commands and impulse control. Key work includes play guidance, mastering impulse control around food, toys, and other dogs, perfecting the heel command, and solidifying the place command under more distraction. This level adds 15 new skills on top of the 44 already tracked, so your dog's PD360 record shows both the new material and the proofing status of everything learned before it. Elementary is also where tool-introduction work begins, when a dog needs it: your trainer guides which tools, if any, actually fit your dog, and every tool is conditioned before it is used to ask for behavior. Dogs typically arrive at Elementary from Kindergarten graduation or from the boarding phase of a camp program.

College at Partners Dogs is where your dog reinforces and proofs everything learned in earlier levels while adding complex, functional tasks. Distance commands teach your dog to hold a position and respond as you move away, which is the skill behind calm behavior when guests arrive or doors open. The Middle position gives tighter close-quarters control in crowds, elevators, and veterinary waiting rooms. Send Out directs your dog away from you with purpose, to a target or a place, which becomes a practical management tool at home. This level adds 13 new skills on top of the 84 already tracked, all still cycling through Reinforcing, Proofing, and Maintenance in PD360 until they hold up under real-world distraction. Dogs enter College after High-School, placed by demonstrated skill confirmed in a PD360 Assessment.

Dogtorate is the top of the Partners Dogs curriculum, built around dynamic, performance-level work. Your dog masters Frisbee catches, leg weaves, jumping through hoops, leaping into arms, and leg jumps, athletic skills that demand precision, timing, agility, and real physical control from both dog and handler. This level adds 16 new skills on top of everything tracked before it, and it runs on the longest rotating cycle in the curriculum, 24 weeks, to give each skill time to hold up under pressure and in new environments. Dogs enter Dogtorate after completing Masters, and placement is by demonstrated skill confirmed through PD360 tracking. Many teams stay at Dogtorate long-term for competition or performance, since there is no level above it; the cycle keeps the work fresh while the precision keeps deepening.

Middle-School at Partners Dogs refines obedience for real-world complexity. Your dog learns Out for moving away from objects or areas, Recall to Front for a direct return to you, and Flip to Heel for a smooth transition into heel position, alongside grooming tolerance and desensitization work. Off-leash reliability is a major focus at this level: dogs start building the dependable off-leash responses that High-School later proofs around noise, movement, and other dogs. Middle-School adds 15 new skills on top of the 59 already tracked, and the PD360 record keeps every earlier skill cycling through reinforcement and proofing while the new material is taught. Dogs usually arrive from Elementary, and the level also gives many dogs their first structured exposure to agility equipment, which some families later pursue in the dedicated Agility specialty class.

Masters at Partners Dogs pushes complex tricks and cooperative, performance-oriented skills. Your dog works on the Figure 8, holding a Right Side Position, the Orbit maneuver, and perfecting Catch, whether the target is a ball, a tug, or a treat. This is expert-level training: dogs reinforce everything learned so far in increasingly difficult environments, so the precision has to hold around distraction, movement, and an audience. Masters adds 15 new skills on top of the 99 already tracked, and the PD360 record keeps the earlier skills cycling through proofing and maintenance while the new routines are built. The level runs on a 24-week rotating cycle, the joint-longest in the curriculum, because routine work at this standard takes time to become reliable. Dogs enter Masters after College, placed by demonstrated skill, and competitive teams often extend their time here before testing into Dogtorate.

The first two grades at Partners Dogs set the foundation everything later assumes. Pre-School, for puppies and adults, focuses on basic commands, socialization, crate training, and reactivity reduction, with key skills in confidence building, name recognition, and crate work. Kindergarten keeps socialization going and adds manners, impulse control, and play guidance, working on staying in place, proper turns, and basic leash control. That order matters: a dog that cannot settle, respond to its name, and walk on leash without pulling will struggle in every later grade, since later skills assume those foundations under distraction. Classes run in short intervals with group formations, so the dog practices foundations with other dogs and Pet Parents in the room. Entry follows placement, and a dog that already shows these skills may start higher. The Kindergarten grade page shows the second level.

The middle grades at Partners Dogs turn foundations into reliability. Elementary refines commands the dog already knows, with Leave It and Off as the named examples, while building impulse control, appropriate play behaviors, and the first advanced obedience tasks. Middle-School raises the bar again with specialized commands like Out and Flip to Heel, and it adds the practical tolerances a real household needs: grooming tolerance, object desensitization, and off-leash work. The progression logic is visible here: each grade assumes the last one, so a dog that skipped the impulse control work of Kindergarten will feel the gap when Middle-School asks for off-leash control around distractions. Classes keep the interval format, with short exercises on a few behaviors, group formations, and as many reps as possible in a set time. The Middle-School grade page shows the fourth level.

The upper grades at Partners Dogs reward a dog that already holds foundations under distraction. High-School works on advanced tricks like Bye, practical tasks like Retrieve, and emotional bonding through commands like Hug, which tie skill to relationship rather than to obedience alone. College moves into complex behaviors like Open and Close Door, advanced positioning like Middle, and physical control through tricks like Bow and Sit Pretty. These grades suit families that want more than household manners: a dog that can retrieve on cue, hold advanced positions, and work through longer routines with precision. The class format stays the same at every grade, with interval exercises, group formations, and as many reps as possible in a set time, so the challenge rises through the skills rather than through a new format. The College grade page shows the sixth level.

The top two grades at Partners Dogs are performance grades, and they assume every foundation below them. Masters focuses on performance-oriented tricks like Figure 8, cooperative tasks, and mastering routines that require precision and advanced communication between dog and handler. Dogtorate caps the ladder with high-level agility and performance, including dynamic tricks like Leg Weaves, Frisbee Catch, and Jump Through Arms. A dog that reaches these grades can chain skills into routines, hold positions through longer sequences, and work with precision in a busy room. Families usually reach this point after years of classes, camps, or both, since the ladder builds one grade at a time. The grade skills are reinforced in other programs too, so camp work and class work support each other rather than pulling apart. The Dogtorate grade page shows the capstone level.

The progression system at Partners Dogs has four moving parts, and each one protects the dog from a gap that would show up later. Placement comes first: a call about the dog's needs, then an online PD360 assessment that evaluates progress, then entry at the grade that matches demonstrated skill. Advancement follows demonstration under distraction, which is the standard that matters, since a skill that works only in a quiet room is not ready for the next grade. Open enrollment means a dog advances once ready rather than waiting for a term to end. Repeating a level is built in, not a failure, since a second pass at a grade usually fixes the exact skill that blocked progress. Makeup classes cover missed sessions, so one absence does not strand a dog a full grade behind. Grade skills are reinforced in other programs, so camp, lessons, and classes stay consistent. The group classes page lays out the format.

The mapping question trips families up because grades and camps measure different things. Grades measure class curriculum: a ladder from Pre-School foundations to Dogtorate performance, with each grade building on the last. Camps measure treatment: Foundation Camp runs 14 nights, Behavior Camp 21 nights, and Transform Camp 28 nights, each starting with planning through a PD360 Assessment, then daily immersive training, then follow-up for 8 or more weeks after checkout. The bridge between them is skill: behaviors from each grade are reinforced in other programs, so camp work and class work use the same skills and the same handling. Private lessons fit the same bridge, since a lesson can target the exact grade skills a dog needs before entering a class. The grade levels page shows the ladder that placement uses.

Agility levels run in the standard 8-week group-class format, and camp graduates get 50% off group classes for life. The main grade ladder builds toward the same athletic work: Dogtorate, its top grade, includes leg weaves, jumps through a hoop or into your arms, and Frisbee catches. Agility needs no vet clearance unless a specific injury needs clearing. To place your dog, ask the team at Enroll@PartnersDogs.com or 480-595-6700 how a level is chosen, and check the agility grade page.

Rally suits dogs that already have their basic obedience in place, since every station builds on a skill the dog knows and asks for it to be done well. It runs as one of our group classes, alongside agility and the main grade ladder from Pre-School to Dogtorate. Families who never plan to enter a competition still get the teamwork and precision the course is built around. To ask whether your dog is ready for rally, email Enroll@PartnersDogs.com or call 480-595-6700.

No prior training is required for Kindergarten at Partners Dogs. Placement is confirmed with a PD360 Assessment so we can place your dog at the right starting grade, based on demonstrated skill, temperament, and training history rather than age alone. Many dogs graduate into Kindergarten from Pre-School, while adult dogs with some home training often place straight into it, and both groups work the same Kindergarten material: thresholds, heeling, recall, stay, place, and the free release. Enrollment is open, so there is no session start to wait for: join any week of the Standard 8-Week Program, and repeat any week your dog needs before testing up to Elementary. That repeat freedom is deliberate: dogs move up when the skills are solid, and the PD360 tracking shows you exactly which skills still need work. The class schedules page carries the complete breakdown and the next steps.

Despite the name, Pre-School at Partners Dogs is open to more than puppies. It is built for puppies 5 to 12 months starting their training foundation, and it is equally the right entry point for adult dogs brand-new to structured training, who need name recognition, marker words, and fundamental obedience installed before anything harder makes sense. It is also a common starting place for adult dogs with moderate reactivity who need confidence-building work before joining higher-level classes, because the Pre-School environment is controlled and the wins come quickly. The Puppy and Adult tracks run separately, so your dog learns alongside peers at a similar life stage. Placement always follows a PD360 Assessment, never age alone: the assessment shows whether Pre-School is the right start or whether your dog places higher.

Yes, Rally is best suited to dog-handler teams at Partners Dogs who have completed at least Elementary and want a structured, competitive obedience outlet. The prerequisite exists because a Rally course asks for many obedience exercises in sequence, under mild pressure, and teams without the Elementary foundations spend the run rebuilding basics instead of competing. Rally is especially good for high-drive working breeds that thrive on having a job with rules and a score. Rally runs as a specialty class alongside the core curriculum, so most students are actively enrolled in, or have graduated from, other grade levels at the same time. That pairing works well: grade levels keep deepening the obedience, and Rally gives the team a regular place to test it in a course format.

Group classes at Partners Dogs build manners, real-world skills, and social confidence. They are not behavior modification, and enrolling a dog with a serious behavior problem in a class sets the dog up to fail in public. Dogs who are mildly uncomfortable or distractible around other dogs often do well starting in Pre-School on the Adult track, where confidence and desensitization come first. If your dog lunges, has a bite history, or panics around dogs or people, individualized work comes first: Behavior Camp for reactivity, anxiety, and resource guarding, Transform Camp for severe aggression, or the Leash Reactivity Intensive for on-leash reactivity, each run as a treatment plan with assessment, immersion, and follow-up. A $199 PD360 Assessment gives you an honest read on where to start, or you can take the 2-minute program quiz for a first indication.

Dogs join standard group classes at Partners Dogs from 20 weeks old, about 5 months, once vaccinations have had time to take effect. Pre-School runs two tracks so your dog learns alongside peers at a similar life stage: Puppy, for 5 to 12 months, and Adult, for 12 months and up. Puppies join on-site programs at 20 weeks, once fully vaccinated, and move into Pre-School when they qualify. There are no breed restrictions at Partners Dogs. We welcome dogs of every shape, size, and breed, including the breeds many schools quietly turn away. All dogs begin with a PD360 Assessment so we can place them in the right grade level based on skill, temperament, and training history, which is how a class stays productive for every team in the room.

The first level assumes beginners. Your dog needs to meet the universal starting point, 20 weeks and vaccinated, and to cope with a group room without panic or aggression that endangers others. Everything else is taught in class: name response, settling, leash manners, and polite greetings arrive as coached steps, not prerequisites. Dogs that are fearful, reactive, or aggressive around other dogs may need private lessons or a camp first, and the team says so after assessment rather than placing them in a group that sets them up to fail. Bring a hungry, exercised dog, treats your dog loves, and a leash you can handle comfortably. More detail is on the class levels page.

The requirements are deliberately light, because classes teach skills rather than testing them. Age and vaccination are the firm bar: every school program at Partners Dogs starts at 20 weeks and vaccinated. Temperament is the practical bar: a dog that panics or threatens others in a group room needs individual work first, and the team will tell you that after assessment. On the practical side, arrive with high-value treats, a standard leash, and a dog that has pottied and moved a little, so they can focus. Pet Parents should expect to participate fully, since classes coach you as much as the dog, and homework between classes is what turns a weekly session into real progress. More detail is on the group classes page.

Camp gives your dog skills, and classes give you the handling to keep them. After checkout, the plan includes extensive follow-up for 8-plus weeks: lessons, classes, and day training that carry the work into home life. Classes are where you learn to run the cues your dog learned, under distraction, with a trainer coaching your timing. Your trainer places you in the level that matches your dog's camp exit skills, so you are challenged without being overwhelmed. More detail is on the group classes page.

Each class runs 45 minutes, and the group itself supplies the distractions your dog learns to work through while a trainer coaches your handling. Classes follow the grade levels by name, and a dog can repeat a level until it is ready to test up, since grades go by performance, not age. Pricing is per dog: the multi-dog discount does not apply to group classes, while the camp graduate rate does. Current class options sit on the pricing page.

Classes at Partners Dogs are capped at 10 dogs and usually run about five dogs per trainer, taught by master trainers. That ratio keeps the coaching personal inside a group format. During the 20-minute interval block, your trainer works with you one-on-one while the rest of the class provides the social, real-world distraction that makes new skills stick, which is practice a private setting cannot reproduce. Class size is capped for a reason: beyond 10 dogs, individual feedback thins out and reactive dogs lose the working distance they need. If your dog needs more focused attention before joining a group, starting with a PD360 Assessment or a short run of private lessons builds the foundation first, and the assessment places your dog at the grade level where the group becomes an asset rather than an obstacle. The group classes page carries the complete breakdown and the next steps.

Dogs enter High-School at Partners Dogs already carrying off-leash commands and heel from Middle-School, and this level is where that reliability gets proofed. Known skills keep cycling through Reinforcing, Proofing, and Maintenance around controlled noise, movement, and other dogs, so obedience holds up in the situations that used to unravel it: a doorbell, a passing dog, a busy room. The point of proofing is honesty about where a skill stands; a recall that only works in a quiet classroom is not a finished recall. Not sure your dog is ready? The PD360 Assessment settles it. Every dog is placed by demonstrated skill rather than time enrolled, so if your dog needs more Middle-School reps first, that is the recommendation you will hear, and it is a normal step rather than a setback.

Yes, Masters is grade level seven of eight at Partners Dogs, the last stop before Dogtorate. It is where the complex-routine and freestyle-bridging work that carries directly into Dogtorate gets built, and dogs enter after completing College. Placement is always based on demonstrated skill, confirmed by a PD360 Assessment, so a dog tests into Masters when the College material is proofed rather than when a calendar says so. Competitive dog-sport teams often extend their time in Masters to fully develop routine work before testing up, because the precision built here, in Figure 8 work, the Orbit maneuver, and sustained Right Side Position, is the raw material Dogtorate performance is made from. Families who are not aiming at Dogtorate still use Masters as a long-term training home: the 24-week rotating cycle keeps advanced dogs challenged.

Kindergarten at Partners Dogs builds the foundation: thresholds, heeling, recall, stay, and place. Elementary reinforces every one of those skills under more distraction while raising the difficulty: tighter impulse control around food, toys, and other dogs, a more precise heel, and a place command that holds up around real-world temptation. Elementary is also where tool-introduction work typically begins, when a dog needs it, with your trainer guiding which tools fit your dog and conditioning each tool before it is used. A PD360 Assessment confirms your dog is ready to move up. Dogs who have completed Kindergarten are the most common Elementary starters, and dogs who graduated from the boarding phase of a camp program also place here, since camp installs the same Kindergarten foundations the level builds on. The PD360 record shows the proofing status of every skill, so the move up is based on evidence.

Yes, College at Partners Dogs builds directly on High-School. Dogs typically arrive already carrying retrieve, refined pivots and pacing, and medical socialization, and College adds distance work and functional household tasks on top of that foundation. A PD360 Assessment confirms your dog is ready for placement, and dogs move up by demonstrated skill, never by age or time enrolled. If your dog needs more reps at High-School first, that is a normal step, not a setback: the distance commands, Middle position, and Send Out work in College all assume a dog that already holds positions around distraction and retrieves reliably. Skipping ahead produces a dog that knows the shape of advanced skills without the reliability to use them at home, which is why placement stays evidence-based at every level of the curriculum.

Yes, Dogtorate is grade level eight of eight at Partners Dogs, the final stop in the core curriculum. Dogs enter after completing Masters and graduate at the 620-point PD360 target, the top of the group-class scoring ladder, which climbs from a 184-point target at Pre-School to 620 at Dogtorate. Most dogs who reach Dogtorate keep training there long-term for competition, performance, or to stay sharp, since there is no level beyond it to test up to; the 24-week rotating cycle keeps the material fresh. Not every dog needs to reach Dogtorate. Plenty of Pet Parents stop at the level that meets their dog's real-world goals, and the curriculum is built so each level is a legitimate finishing point, with skills recorded in PD360 at each level and proofed at home, wherever the team decides to land.

Yes to both parts. Off-leash training is a core emphasis of Middle-School at Partners Dogs: your dog starts building the reliability that High-School later proofs around noise, movement, and distraction, with skills cycling through Reinforcing, Proofing, and Maintenance in PD360 as the difficulty rises. Grooming desensitization runs alongside it, teaching your dog to tolerate handling, brushing, and nail work calmly, so vet and groomer visits get easier too. Middle-School is also many dogs' first exposure to agility equipment, a taste of what full agility classes look like later, offered inside the level so handlers can see whether their dog lights up for the sport. It is an introduction, not a substitute for the dedicated Agility specialty class, which runs its own three-level progression on weekends at both campuses.

Group classes at Partners Dogs run year-round with open enrollment, so you can start any week, with no waiting for a new session to begin. Each class is 45 minutes, held once per week. Our modular class structure means you can join any time and progress through the grade levels at your own pace, with no set start or end date; your dog enters at the level a PD360 Assessment confirms and tests up when the skills are proofed. Class schedules vary by location and level, since Pre-School through Dogtorate and the specialty classes all meet on their own rhythms. Check the current schedule at our Scottsdale or Cave Creek facility, or call 480-595-6700 to find the next class that fits your schedule. Starting mid-cycle is normal here; the rotating curriculum is designed for it.

Combining programs is how training sticks. A camp builds skills through daily immersion, then classes give you and your dog a weekly setting to practice those skills around distractions, with a trainer coaching your handling. Many Pet Parents pair a camp with the grade-level classes, DaySchool days, or private lessons as follow-through in the 8-plus weeks after checkout. The team matches the combination to your dog: a shy dog may need smaller classes first, while a confident dog may jump into a busier group. Combining is not about collecting programs; it is about giving the dog steady practice in new settings so home behavior holds. More detail is on the build your program page.

The level system works like school grades: early levels teach foundations such as name response, settling, leash manners, and polite greetings, and later levels add distance, duration, and distraction to those same skills. Classes draw on a curriculum of 130-plus behaviors and skills, so each level has defined content rather than a vague theme. Advancement is by demonstrated skill, which keeps classes honest: a dog that cannot yet settle around other dogs repeats the foundation work instead of struggling in an advanced room. Your trainer tells you which level fits your dog after assessment, and what the dog needs to show to move up. More detail is on the class levels page.

Moving up is a trainer decision based on what your dog can actually do. Through the level, your trainer watches the core skills in real class conditions: settling while other dogs work, recalling past distractions, walking on leash in a group, and holding cues when excitement rises. When those skills hold up consistently, the trainer recommends the next level and explains what new challenges it adds. If a skill still wobbles, the trainer names exactly what to practice at home and revisits the dog in a later class. That standard protects your dog from an advanced room they are not ready for, and protects the class from a mismatch. More detail is on the class levels page.

The class menu follows the level ladder: foundation classes for beginners, intermediate and advanced classes as skills solidify, and specialty classes for dogs ready for sport and title work. Agility, scent work, and Rally each have their own prerequisites, since a dog needs solid obedience before sport skills make sense. Your trainer recommends classes from your dog's assessment and your goals, not from a catalog alone, because the right class is the one your dog can succeed in. Dogs with behavior problems that need individual work start with lessons or camp and join classes when they can learn safely in a group. More detail is on the group classes page.

The 130-plus curriculum is the spine of the class program: a catalog of behaviors and skills organized into levels, so progress is visible and consistent across trainers and campuses. A foundation class works through early skills such as settling, name response, and leash manners, while higher levels layer distance, duration, and distraction onto the same base. Because the curriculum is shared, a dog that moves campuses or trainers keeps the same path, and the team can pinpoint exactly which skills are solid and which still need work. The curriculum also feeds the PD360 picture of your dog, since class skills overlap with the behaviors the assessment tracks. More detail is on the group classes page.

A class place buys the session, the curriculum, and the coaching. Each level works through defined skills in order, from foundations to advanced work, with the trainer demonstrating, coaching your timing, and correcting handling in the room. Distractions are part of the value: other dogs, other Pet Parents, and a busy room teach your dog to respond when it counts, in a setting full of real distractions. Homework between classes turns one weekly session into daily progress. Bring treats your dog loves and a leash you can handle, and expect to participate fully in every session. More detail is on the group classes page.

Group classes coach you and your dog together around other dogs and Pet Parents. Dogs that need one-to-one work for fear, reactivity, or severe behavior start with private lessons or a camp and join classes when they can learn safely in a group. Equipment you use at home, such as leashes and treat pouches, is yours to bring, and the trainer can recommend what suits your dog. Specialty classes such as agility, scent work, and Rally carry their own prerequisites and may price separately from the core level ladder. More detail is on the group classes page.

Scent work, also called nose work, is a dog sport where dogs locate specific target odors hidden in containers, rooms, vehicles, and outdoor areas. It mirrors professional detection work, scaled for pet dogs of every age, breed, and energy level. The effort is mental: fifteen minutes of searching tires a dog the way an hour-long walk does, without the physical impact. At Partners Dogs, scent work is taught both as a daily enrichment tool you can use at home and as a competitive sport leading to AKC Scent Work and NACSW titles. Beginner cohorts run in 6-week blocks at the Scottsdale and Cave Creek facilities, and because the dog leads the search, shy and senior dogs often excel at it. Teams progress at their own pace from first box searches to blind hides at advanced levels.

Agility is a timed dog sport where you and your dog run a sequence of obstacles, jumps, tunnels, weave poles, A-frame, dog walk, teeter-totter, and pause table, in an order set by a judge. At Partners Dogs, agility classes run on weekends at our Scottsdale and Cave Creek facilities on a full-spec course, so dogs learn on real equipment at real distances. Three progressive levels, Foundations, Intermediate Sequences, and Trial Prep, let your dog start where they are and move up as skills and speed develop. The sport builds athleticism, confidence, and off-leash communication, because your dog has to read your handling at distance and at speed. Agility starts at 20 weeks, like every other program. Before one year, puppies work the other obstacles, and jumps stay at a minimal height. No vet clearance is needed unless a specific injury needs clearing.

Partners Dogs runs three progressive agility levels on the same full-equipment course. Foundations introduces the equipment at safe heights and angles and teaches the handling vocabulary, including front cross, rear cross, send, and lead-out, with no prior agility experience required, in a 6-week block. Intermediate Sequences strings obstacles together with speed and accuracy, adding weave-pole entries, contact criteria, and short numbered courses. Trial Prep covers full-length courses, timed runs, mock trials, and start-line and ring procedures for AKC or USDAA events, so a first real trial feels familiar. Teams re-enroll level by level, which keeps training matched to the dog: a dog that needs a second round at Intermediate gets it, and a dog that is ready moves up without repeating material it has already proofed.

Scent work is one of the most accessible dog sports, and at Partners Dogs it is built for almost every dog. High-energy dogs get a cognitive load that burns mental energy faster than physical exercise, often producing a calmer dog at home. Shy or anxious dogs gain confidence because searching is autonomous, the dog leads and the human follows, so every find is a win the dog earned. Senior dogs and dogs with mobility limits work searches set at any height, distance, and surface; three-legged dogs, dogs with hip issues, and dogs over 13 are common in our classes. Reactive dogs often end up in scent work eventually; we time it after foundational reactivity work, starting with the Leash Reactivity Intensive first when reactivity is severe, so the dog can enjoy the sport.

Rally is a dynamic dog sport at Partners Dogs that refines leash handling, obedience precision, and partnership between you and your dog. It runs as a specialty class alongside the core grade-level curriculum rather than inside it, so teams typically train Rally while they continue progressing through the grades. On course, you and your dog move through a sequence of numbered stations, each asking for a precise obedience exercise, which makes Rally a true test of communication at speed. Beyond the sport itself, Rally strengthens your bond, gives your dog mental and physical stimulation, and gives you both a genuinely enjoyable shared activity: structured and scored, but relaxed enough that dogs and handlers have fun running it. Teams usually join Rally after completing at least Elementary, when the core obedience is solid enough to be tested in sequence.

Those basics matter because agility runs off leash in a room full of working teams. Canine Good Citizen prep is not a prerequisite: the CGC skill set is a useful checklist of the manners that make class easier, and a puppy who starts at 20 weeks builds those manners alongside the sport. If your dog reacts to other dogs in class settings, address that in the Leash Reactivity Intensive first, so the dog can enjoy the sport instead of rehearsing reactivity around the equipment. Our trainers scale the equipment to the dog in front of them.

Scent work at Partners Dogs asks less obedience than most classes. Your dog needs to be comfortable in a class setting and not reactive toward other dogs at a distance. Strong obedience is not required, because the work is built around the dog's nose: searching is largely autonomous, the dog leads, and the handler's job is to read the dog and reward the find. That low obedience bar is part of why scent work suits shy, senior, and mobility-limited dogs so well. If reactivity is severe enough that your dog cannot settle around other dogs in the room, the Leash Reactivity Intensive is the right starting point, then scent work after, so reactivity is treated as its own plan rather than rehearsed weekly in class. Cohorts run in 6-week blocks at our Scottsdale and Cave Creek facilities, and a PD360 conversation at enrollment can confirm whether your dog is ready to start.

Yes. Advanced scent work classes at Partners Dogs follow both AKC Scent Work and NACSW, the National Association of Canine Scent Work, rules, so you can move directly from class into trials without relearning a format. We host trial prep sessions before major events, covering ring procedure, blind hides, and handling under time pressure. Competition is optional; many families do scent work purely for enrichment, and the training looks the same either way. The sport is uniquely inclusive: three-legged dogs, dogs over 13, and reactive dogs all compete and earn titles in scent work, because dogs run searches one at a time and the work is the dog's own. If competition is a goal, our progression starts at Intro with primary box searches and builds through Foundations, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced, up to multi-odor blind hides, with your trainer telling you honestly when your team is trial-ready.

Agility classes at Partners Dogs build a partnership between the Pet Parent and the dog before they build speed. The dog learns to follow handler direction, to move with body awareness, and to approach obstacles in small, confident steps, with reinforcement for tries that move in the right direction. Sequences join only after the single skills hold, and proof in new settings comes last, one change at a time. That order protects confidence, because a dog that rushes obstacles before the foundation holds will guess, hesitate, or refuse, and each of those habits takes longer to fix than slow teaching would have. A trainer watches the dog, sets the step size, and adjusts the plan for that dog through the agility page and group classes.

Joint safety in agility depends on the dog in front of the trainer, so Partners Dogs does not give a blanket safety claim. Age, body shape, prior soreness, and training load all shape risk, and a veterinarian is the right source for a specific dog, for example a dog with a known joint concern or a specific injury. The teaching order protects joints too: base skills first, low and short early work, reinforcement for calm tries, and proof in new settings only once the skills hold. If the dog limps, hesitates, or avoids a setup, the session stops, the dog rests, and veterinary advice follows if soreness lasts. A trainer can review the setup through the agility page and group classes, but medical questions stay with a veterinarian.

Agility starts at 20 weeks, like every other program at Partners Dogs. Before one year, puppies work the other obstacles, and jumps stay at a minimal height. Agility needs no vet clearance unless a specific injury needs clearing. The teaching order stays the same: base skills first, low and short early work, reinforcement for confident tries, and proof in new settings once the skills hold. Starting demanding work too early risks poor movement habits and soreness that take longer to fix than waiting would have. A trainer can set the first step for a specific dog through the agility page and group classes.

Scent work at Partners Dogs suits a wide range of dogs, because the work uses the nose every dog already has, and the teaching order stays staged. The Pet Parent teaches the scent game first in small steps, reinforces the tries that move toward a clear search signal, and proofs the search in new places once it holds at home. A dog with strong scent drive often progresses sooner, while a shy or easily distracted dog may need smaller steps and a calmer search area, which a trainer can set. Health or mobility limits can shape the search setup too, and a trainer can adapt the game rather than force a standard version. A trainer can assess fit through the scent work page and group classes.

Starting scent work classes at Partners Dogs begins with placement, not with a class date alone. The Pet Parent contacts the team through Enroll@PartnersDogs.com, describes the dog, and asks for the starting level that fits the dog's foundation skills and scent drive. From there, teaching follows the staged order: the scent game first in small steps, reinforcement for confident tries, and proof in new places once the search holds at home. A trainer watches the search signal, sets the step size, and moves the dog to harder searches only when the easy version holds. That placement step matters because a dog placed too high will guess, while a dog placed well will build a clear signal fast. Details sit on the scent work page.

Judge the hoop by your dog's movement, not by a number. The hoop should sit stable and low at first, wide enough that the dog steps through without ducking the head, hunching the back, or brushing the sides, and the dog should move through it eagerly for several repetitions. If the dog hesitates, widens the path, or touches the hoop, the hoop is too narrow, too high, or too unstable for the current stage, so widen it, lower it, or steady it before continuing. Build height and narrowness slowly, only after the easy version holds, and keep sessions short. Partners Dogs group classes let a Pet Parent practice trick movements with coaching nearby, and a private lesson lets a trainer check the hoop setup for your dog.

Obstacle fear usually centers on one or two pieces rather than the whole course, so Partners Dogs trainers isolate the feared obstacle and rebuild it from below threshold. A bar jump starts on the ground, a tunnel starts short and straight with a reward visible at the exit, an A-Frame starts nearly flat, and weave poles start widely spaced with a lure guiding the path. Each step earns rewards, and the dog moves up only while the body stays loose. Excitement and refusal get the same treatment: excitement is channeled into a start line wait, and refusal is treated as information that the step is too big. Agility at Partners Dogs starts at 20 weeks like every other program; before one year, puppies work the other obstacles while jumps stay at a minimal height, and agility runs as part of our group classes.

The AKC Canine Good Citizen, or CGC, is a 10-skill test from the American Kennel Club. The items are accepting a friendly stranger, sitting politely for petting, appearance and grooming, loose-leash walking, walking through a crowd, sit, down, and stay on command, coming when called, reaction to another dog, reaction to distractions, and supervised separation. Together they describe the dog most families actually want: calm in public, polite with strangers, and steady around other dogs. At Partners Dogs, the 6-week prep program teaches every skill in order with weekly classes and practice between them, then an AKC-approved CGC evaluator administers the official test on-site at our Scottsdale or Cave Creek facility. Testing where you trained removes the new-building variable, so the result reflects your dog's manners rather than nerves about a strange room.

The AKC Canine Good Citizen prep program at Partners Dogs runs 6 weeks on a structured curriculum. Week 1 covers foundation, focus, and accepting a friendly stranger. Week 2 builds sit, down, and stay under pressure. Week 3 covers walking through a crowd and loose-leash polish. Week 4 covers recall and reaction to distractions. Week 5 covers supervised separation and a full mock test, so you know your dog's weak items before they count. Week 6 is the official AKC CGC evaluation, administered on-site by a Partners Dogs evaluator at the campus where you trained. Daily homework after each class keeps the work compounding between sessions. Make-up sessions are available for missed weeks when booked in advance, so one busy week does not cost your dog the test date.

Yes. Before AKC CGC prep at Partners Dogs, your dog should know basic sit, down, and come, and walk on leash without constant pulling. Dogs must be at least 20 weeks old and current on vaccinations, the same starting point as every other program. Every breed is welcome, purebred or mixed, because the CGC test is breed-neutral and judges the dog's manners rather than its pedigree. If your dog does not yet have foundational obedience, a private lesson first is the fastest way to become evaluation-ready, since a trainer can install and troubleshoot the basics one-on-one. Puppies new to training can start with the Puppy Program, where the same foundations are taught at a puppy's pace. Many CGC families also complete Kindergarten or Elementary group classes before enrolling in prep, which has the added benefit of proofing the basics around other dogs, exactly the distractions the test includes.

The AKC Canine Good Citizen title is more than a certificate at Partners Dogs. It is a prerequisite for several programs and communities: therapy dog programs, many apartment communities and rental properties, AKC sports including agility, rally, and obedience competition, and some hotel and travel programs. It is also the foundation skill set for scent work, agility, and other advanced classes at Partners Dogs, since those sports assume a dog that can greet politely, settle around other dogs, and respond under distraction. Beyond the credential, most CGC families tell us the dog they take home is the real prize: a settled dog around the doorbell, the in-laws, and the loose dog at the corner. The 6-week prep program teaches the 10 test skills in order, and the official test is administered on-site by an AKC-approved evaluator, so earning the title also gives you a measured, third-party-standard record of your dog's manners.

CGC preparation at Partners Dogs follows the teaching order: teach each skill first in small steps, reinforce the tries that move toward steady behavior, and proof the skills in new places and with mild distractions once they hold at home. A trainer watches the dog across settings, not only in one familiar room, and names which skills are ready and which need more work, so practice time goes where it helps most. That check also sets the test timing, because a dog tested before the skills hold across settings will struggle in the test room even if home practice looks fine. Preparation runs through group classes and the AKC CGC page, with a private lesson for individual gaps.

The CGC at Partners Dogs is a check on everyday manners and control, not a single trick, so preparation covers a set of skills that hold outside the home. The Pet Parent teaches each skill first in small steps, reinforces calm tries, and proofs the skills in new places and with mild distractions once they hold at home. Greeting people calmly, walking on a loose leash, and responding to cues around other dogs and people all matter, and a trainer can watch a specific dog and name which skills are ready and which need more work. That readiness check matters more than drilling one weak skill in isolation, because the test asks for steady behavior across settings. Preparation runs through group classes and the AKC CGC page, with a private lesson for gaps.

AKC titles at Partners Dogs start with the same teaching order as any other skill: teach first, reinforce the tries that move toward the behavior, and proof it in new places once it holds at home. Titles differ in what they test, from everyday manners to sport skills, so a trainer maps the path for a specific dog, names the skills that title needs, and sets the order for learning them. That map matters because a dog that jumps to a title test before the foundation skills hold will struggle in the test setting, even if the skills look fine at home. Practice in varied settings, with mild distractions added one at a time, builds the steadiness a title requires. A trainer can set that path through group classes, the AKC CGC page, and a private lesson where gaps need individual work.

Rattlesnake avoidance training at Partners Dogs conditions your dog to actively avoid Arizona rattlesnakes by associating the sight, sound, and scent of a live rattlesnake with a brief e-collar stimulation, set at the minimum level the dog notices. The goal is a dog that recognizes the same scent and sound in the wild and chooses distance on its own, a learned default that lowers the odds of a bite on a trail or in a yard. Sessions run at our Scottsdale and Cave Creek facilities with live Diamondback rattlesnakes. A first session is $109 and a refresher is $89, per dog. An annual refresher before the season starts is recommended.

At check-in, a trainer is paired with you and your dog, fits our e-collar equipment, and asks about age, background, and medical issues. During training, the trainer brings your dog to our desert habitat; when your dog shows curiosity toward a caged live Diamondback rattlesnake, a brief e-collar stimulation at the minimum level creates the avoidance association, and the trainer runs the dog away to encourage a flight response. At the debrief, we explain how your dog performed, identify the default stress response, Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Fawn, and talk through when a refresher makes sense for your dog. The stimulation level is set for the individual dog in front of us and timed by an instructor with at least two years of avoidance training experience. Rattlesnake avoidance is $109 per dog for a first session and $89 per dog for a refresher, and it runs March through November at both campuses.

Yes. Our rattlesnakes at Partners Dogs are live and intact. We do not defang or milk them, because we want the most natural training scenario possible: your dog learns to recognize the real scent and sound of a rattlesnake, the same scent and sound it would meet on a trail or in a backyard at the desert edge. For safety, the snakes are housed in double-mesh wire cages during every session, and there is no way a snake can reach your dog. Our Lead Rattlesnake Avoidance Instructors complete a minimum of two years of training before running sessions, so they can read every situation and adapt the repetitions to the dog in front of them. That combination, a real snake, a secure setup, and an experienced instructor, is why the avoidance learned here transfers to real encounters during the March through November training window. The snake avoidance page carries the complete breakdown and the next steps.

Safety in rattlesnake avoidance training at Partners Dogs starts with control. Trained handlers run each session with live Diamondback rattlesnakes secured in double-mesh cages, so the dog learns the real sight, sound, and scent of a rattlesnake without ever coming within reach of one and without a chaotic first experience. The pace is matched to the dog, and a dog that shows fear or shutdown gets a slower approach rather than pressure to continue. That care matters because avoidance training only helps if the dog leaves with a clear, calm avoidance response, not with panic that generalizes to every outdoor sound or smell. Before booking, ask the team how a session runs, what controls are in place, and what happens if your dog struggles, so you can judge the safety steps yourself. Partners Dogs is not opposed to rattlesnake vaccines, and the evidence of their effectiveness is unclear, so the team says that plainly rather than arguing for or against them. Training runs March to November at both the Scottsdale and Cave Creek campuses. More detail is on the pricing page.

Learned avoidance at Partners Dogs is a behavior, and behaviors fade without practice, so duration is a maintenance question rather than a fixed expiry date. A dog that completes avoidance training in spring and then has no snake exposure and no refresher work may show weaker avoidance by the next season. A dog whose parent keeps the avoidance sharp through practice and refresher sessions holds it better. That is why the team talks about refresher rhythm rather than promising a set number of months. The exact interval for your dog depends on the dog's first response, on exposure during the season, and on how consistently the parent practices. Training runs March to November at both campuses, and snake activity peaks from April to September, when the skill matters most. Ask the team at your session what refresher timing they recommend for your dog, and book it before the next season starts, rather than waiting for a close call to reveal that the avoidance has faded. The rattlesnake avoidance page has the full details.

Most Partners Dogs training carries on at home after the school, through proofing and maintenance, but rattlesnake avoidance is the one exception. A session teaches the avoidance response under controlled conditions. Do not set up snake scenarios at home. Improvised exposure can teach the wrong lesson, including fear of ordinary outdoor smells or panic that generalizes beyond snakes. At the debrief, your instructor explains how your dog performed, names its default response (fight, flight, freeze, or fawn), and recommends when to return. On walks, the parent's job is management: watch the ground and the brush, and keep the dog at a workable distance from cover. Training runs March to November at both campuses, and a refresher before the next season keeps the avoidance sharp. More detail is on the snake avoidance page.

Puppies are not too young for avoidance training once they pass the 20-week starting point that applies to every school program at Partners Dogs. The session teaches the puppy to recognize and avoid the sight, sound, and scent of a rattlesnake, using a controlled setup with a caged live snake and coaching that keeps the lesson clear without overwhelming a young dog. Early training gives a puppy its avoidance response before it ever meets a wild snake, and refreshers once or twice a year keep that response sharp for hikes and yard time. Training runs March to November at Scottsdale and Cave Creek, with the peak from April to September. The rattlesnake avoidance page has the full details.

Arizona dogs meet rattlesnakes in yards, on trails, and near washes, and a curious dog investigates with its nose first, which is exactly where a strike lands. Avoidance training builds a different reflex: notice the snake, back away, and look to you, instead of approaching. That lesson matters most for dogs that hike, camp, or roam larger properties, but even a suburban yard dog can meet a snake in a garage or garden bed. Training runs March to November, when snakes are active. It does not replace vigilance on walks, but it gives your dog a trained response for the moment you cannot reach them first. The Snake Avoidance page has the session details, and the Arizona guide covers the wider desert picture.

Sessions stay short by design, because avoidance learning works through clear, memorable repetitions rather than long drills. The trainer sets up controlled exposures where the dog meets the sight, sound, and scent of a caged live snake, and coaches the dog to notice and move away, with the lesson repeated a few times so the response sticks. Pet Parents watch the session, so you learn what avoidance looks like and how to handle a real encounter. Refreshers are recommended because avoidance, like any trained behavior, fades without practice. The rattlesnake avoidance page has more detail.

The session is built around a controlled setup that keeps the lesson clear and the dog safe. Your dog meets the sight, sound, and scent of a live rattlesnake that stays secured in a cage, with no direct contact between dog and snake at any point. A trained handler coaches the avoidance response at each exposure, repeating the lesson a few times so the response sticks, and slowing the pace when a dog shows fear or shutdown. Pet Parents watch the whole session, which matters because you need to recognize avoidance on a trail and handle a real encounter calmly. The trainer closes with a debrief on your dog's response and the home practice that keeps it sharp, and recommends when your dog should come back for a refresher. The $109 first session and the $89 refresher are both priced per dog, with no multi-dog discount. More detail is on the rattlesnake avoidance page.

A guarantee would misread what conditioning does. Avoidance training pairs the scent and sound of a live rattlesnake with a brief e-collar stim at tap level, timed by the instructor, so the dog connects the snake itself with the consequence and chooses distance. That learned default lowers the odds of a bite, and it stays strongest with refresher work and home practice. It cannot cover every field condition, since a snake under a rock, a dog running at full speed, or a night encounter in a yard can beat a trained response. Partners Dogs pairs the lesson with management on walks and in yards, plus a plan for getting your dog to an emergency vet right away after any bite, because the training, the yard, and the emergency plan work as one system. More detail sits in the rattlesnake avoidance guide.

The mechanism is operant conditioning with a concrete sequence. A dog meets the scent and sound of a live rattlesnake, receives a brief low-level e-collar stim at tap level after the collar is conditioned first, and learns to associate the snake with that consequence, then steers clear without a handler cue. An instructor times the stim and sets the level for each dog, which keeps the timing and the level consistent. What the proof base lacks is a completed peer-reviewed study showing bite outcomes in pet dogs, and a University of Arizona veterinary study into whether aversion training works is ongoing. Partners Dogs therefore presents avoidance training as a trained default that lowers risk alongside yard proofing and leash management, rather than as a proven shield. The rattlesnake avoidance guide lays out the limits in full.

Arizona vets land on both sides of this question. The University of Arizona calls the support limited, and other vets still offer it for high-risk dogs as possible extra time. The vaccine is labeled for protection against western diamondback venom, and the only published efficacy work was in mice, rather than in dogs. Whatever you and your vet decide, a bite stays an emergency either way, and a vaccinated dog gets the same emergency evaluation and treatment as an unvaccinated dog. Training addresses the earlier moment, teaching the dog to walk away from a snake, while the vaccine question stays a vet conversation. More detail is on the rattlesnake avoidance page.

The first ten minutes decide how much ground the venom covers, so stillness matters more than any home remedy. Give nothing at home: no Benadryl, no tourniquet, no ice, no cutting the wound, and no suction, since a Texas A and M vet school advises that no home medication works on snakebite. Note the time, the bite site, and anything you saw of the snake, and pass that detail to the clinic. Once your vet clears the dog, book rattlesnake avoidance training, which lowers the odds of a second bite alongside leash and yard management. More detail is on the rattlesnake avoidance page.

The fence works when it removes the routes snakes actually use. Snakes enter through gaps under gates, through drain blocks, and through vegetation touching the fence line, and they shelter in wood piles, brush piles, rock piles, and debris near the house. Clear those piles or move them away from the house, keep a clear strip along the fence, fix leaks around water features, and secure trash so rodents have nowhere to live, since a yard with a pack rat problem draws hunting snakes. For a block wall, check smoothness, since rough texture or ledges give footholds, then seal the bottom and fix every gate clearance. About half of snake bites happen in and around the house, and dogs usually meet snakes in their own yards at dawn or dusk, often bitten on the nose. The backyard rattlesnake guide walks the full audit.

Repellents fail for a simple reason: they depend on the snake choosing to leave, and camouflage means a Pet Parent often never sees the snake that is already there. Absence of sightings is not absence of snakes, and a nearby rock pile or a neighbor's overgrowth can bring snake traffic that no perimeter spray stops. Physical prevention wins because it does not depend on the snake's choices, and the article names the fence specification in full: 36 inches high, quarter-inch mesh, buried below grade, sealed gates, and no gaps larger than a quarter inch. Pair the barrier with attractant removal, clearing wood piles and brush piles, fixing water leaks, and keeping vegetation off the fence line. Training is the second layer for the snake that still gets in, teaching the dog to notice and move away. The backyard rattlesnake guide covers both layers.

Snake avoidance is the one program where the stim is paired with the snake itself; in other training the collar is conditioned first and used as a cue. Your dog first investigates the snake on their own terms: the rattle, the movement behind double-mesh cages, the scent. As the dog shows curiosity toward the snake, the instructor delivers a brief, low-level stim that startles rather than harms, and the dog learns the snake itself delivered the consequence. A few repetitions around the habitat build the picture, and the trainer runs your dog away from the snake to encourage a flight response. The snakes are live and never defanged, and the debrief covers what your dog showed us and when to refresh.

The two tools work on different problems. A vaccine, if it helps, helps in the hours after venom is already in your dog, and we say plainly that the research on its effectiveness is unclear rather than overselling either direction. Avoidance training works earlier in the chain: your dog learns the rattle, the coil, and the scent mean stay back, which is the outcome that keeps a hike from becoming an emergency drive. A trained dog may still need the emergency vet after a surprise encounter, and a vaccinated dog with no training still walks straight up to snakes. Most desert families here do both, training in the March to November season with an annual refresher, through the rattlesnake avoidance training our trainers run at both campuses.

Dogs that hike desert trails, or that live at the desert edge, have the most reason to keep refreshers current. The live scheduler on the snake avoidance page carries the current dates at both campuses. Book each refresher ahead of the months your dog spends the most time outdoors.

The initial session teaches your dog to recognize and avoid a rattlesnake by sight, sound, and scent, using a live snake secured in a reinforced cage. The $109 covers that full first session for one dog. Members get their membership plan's standard discount. The live scheduler on our snake avoidance page carries the current dates for both campuses. Any dog that hikes, lives on desert edges, or spends time in yards near open terrain is a good fit for this training, and an annual refresher before the season is recommended. Pet Parents watch the session, which teaches you what avoidance looks like and how to handle a real encounter on a trail or in a yard. More detail is on the rattlesnake avoidance page.

Snakes emerge as desert temperatures rise in spring and stay active through the hot months into fall, which is why the Partners Dogs training window runs March to November. Early-season training is the smart timing: a dog trained in March carries avoidance into the full season, while a dog trained in late summer has already spent months at risk. Snakes can still appear outside the main window on warm winter days, so year-round awareness on walks matters, but the formal training season matches peak activity. Both the Scottsdale and Cave Creek campuses run sessions through the season. Watch for snakes near garages, garden beds, and washes even in the shoulder months, when warm days wake them early. The rattlesnake avoidance page has the full details.

Avoidance fades without practice, which is why a refresher exists at all. The refresher repeats the work of the first visit, with a trainer watching for a clear avoidance response. Book it early in the season so the response is sharp before your dog spends time on desert trails, and plan on one refresher a year. A first session is $109 per dog, and the $89 refresher covers one session for one dog, with no multi-dog discount on either. Members get their membership plan's standard discount. More detail is on the rattlesnake avoidance page.

February is the whole advantage, because the work is finished before the risk rises. A professionally installed snake fence in place before the season lowers yard risk, and it does not replace avoidance training for a dog on a trail or in the desert. Book avoidance training in March as the second layer; Partners Dogs runs it March to November at both campuses, so the dog carries a trained response into the months when encounters rise. Through the season, keep the yard audit going: check gate clearances, drain blocks, and fence gaps after storms and after landscaping work, and keep vegetation off the fence line. Dogs meet snakes most often in their own yards at dawn or dusk, so the February fence and the March lesson protect the place the dog spends the most time. More detail sits in the rattlesnake season guide.

DaySchool is the daytime program at Partners Dogs for social dogs already comfortable with off-leash group play, run at the Scottsdale and Cave Creek facilities. Every DaySchool day includes obedience training, enrichment activities, real-world socialization, and rest periods, staffed at a 10-to-1 dog-to-trainer ratio. Dogs progress through 8 grade levels covering 130+ behaviors, and the curriculum is cumulative: a behavior taught at Elementary is reinforced in Middle School and proofed in High School, with each behavior moving through at least four stages of learning. That structure is what separates DaySchool from ordinary daycare; your dog is on a training plan with a grade level and a record, and the plan keeps growing as trainers add new skills. The drop-in rate is $65 per day, and memberships start at $199 per month for families who attend weekly.

DaySchool at Partners Dogs is for dogs already comfortable with off-leash group play: social dogs that enjoy other dogs and people and can settle inside a group day. Dogs need to be at least 20 weeks old and current on Bordetella, Rabies, and Distemper/Parvo vaccinations. We group dogs by play style, size, and energy to create a positive experience for every guest, and trainers supervise the groups through the day's training, play, and rest rotations. If your dog is reactive, fearful, anxious, or new to social environments, DayCamp is the right starting program. DayCamp provides structured one-on-one behavior work with a pathway to DaySchool once behavior is stable, so a dog is never thrown into group play before the skills are there. If you are not sure which side of that line your dog is on, a PD360 Assessment settles it before you buy a single day.

DayCamp works on the behaviors that keep a dog out of DaySchool today, with trainers on the floor at a 10:1 ratio. Some dogs do better staying in DayCamp longer, and that is a fine outcome: for a dog that needs it, the structure itself is a good life. DayCamp is not a fix for aggression toward people or dogs; those cases start with a PD360 Assessment, which decides between Behavior Camp and Transform Camp.

The assessment is a getting-to-know-you session, not a test your dog passes or fails. A trainer spends time with your dog one to one first, then introduces other dogs gradually while watching body language, play style, and how quickly your dog recovers after excitement. The team notes which dogs your dog enjoys, which settings wind them up, and where they need space or a quieter corner. That picture decides the playgroup, the rest breaks, and the training focus for the first school days. You hear what the team saw and what they recommend, and any concern about safety or fit is raised with you directly before regular school days begin. More detail is on the DaySchool at Partners Dogs page.

Matching starts at the assessment, where trainers watch whether your dog chases, wrestles, mouths gently, or prefers to hang back and observe. Dogs of similar size and similar intensity play together, and groups stay small enough that staff can watch every interaction and step in before excitement tips over. A dog that plays hard gets partners who enjoy that style, while a cautious dog gets a quieter group and time to build confidence. Groups are not fixed forever: trainers move a dog when their play style changes, when they tire, or when a different mix suits them better that day. More detail is on the DaySchool at Partners Dogs page.

Prevention comes first. Playgroups at Partners Dogs stay small and staffed through the whole session, with one trainer for every 10 dogs, and dogs are grouped by size first, then by play style and temperament. Staff redirect rough play and rising tension early, with a calm voice, body blocking, or a short rest break. When a fight does happen, staff separate the dogs with a leash or a barrier board rather than their hands, and move the other dogs out of the area. Each dog involved rests in its own space, and staff recheck it through the day, since a small puncture can hide under fur. If a dog shows tension in the sessions that follow, the team may shorten its play time or move it to a smaller group, and explains the plan to you.

A new dog never walks straight into a full playgroup. The team starts with a quiet one-to-one introduction beside a steady dog whose style suits the newcomer, in a space where either dog can move away. Trainers read the greeting, the play bows, the pauses, and the recovery after excitement, and they add dogs one at a time only while the newcomer stays loose and willing. If the new dog freezes, hides, or fixates, the team backs up a step and tries a calmer partner or a shorter session. That gradual build is why most new dogs settle into their group within the first days rather than spending week one on edge. More detail is on the DaySchool at Partners Dogs page.

DaySchool learning is practical, not abstract. Your dog practices the behaviors you actually need: waiting at doors, settling while you work, walking without dragging you, greeting guests without jumping, and responding when called away from distractions. Trainers coach in short sessions through the day, then let the dog practice the same skills during playgroup transitions and rest routines, which is where the learning generalizes. Progress is tracked against your dog's plan, and the team tells you what improved and what to practice at home. Unlike a single grade level, DaySchool adapts daily: the curriculum follows the dog, not a fixed class script. More detail is on the DaySchool at Partners Dogs page.

Puppies thrive in DaySchool when the day respects their limits. Sessions stay short, playgroups are matched to size and temperament, and rest breaks are built in, because a tired puppy stops learning and starts nipping. Trainers use the day to build early skills that pay off for years: name response, settling, polite greetings, and comfort around new people, sounds, and dogs. Socialization happens under supervision, so a bold puppy learns manners and a shy puppy gains confidence at a pace they can handle. Every school program at Partners Dogs starts at 20 weeks and vaccinated, so a younger puppy can start with online private lessons or in-home training until they meet that bar. More detail is on the DaySchool at Partners Dogs page.

Eligibility is simple: 20 weeks and vaccinated, then an assessment to match your puppy to a playgroup and a daily rhythm. Puppies attend the same school day as adult dogs but with the volume turned down: shorter training bursts, gentler play partners, and more rest, because young dogs learn in small doses and tire fast. Early school days build the foundations that matter most for puppies, including settling, polite greetings, comfort with handling, and confidence around new dogs and people. If your puppy is younger than 20 weeks, online private lessons and in-home training are options, and the team can talk through what to practice at home until they qualify for school. More detail is on the puppy program page.

Good treadmill work starts slowly: a dog meets the machine while it is still, then walks at an easy pace for short stretches with rewards for calm walking, and pace and time grow only as the dog stays relaxed. A dog should never be tied to a running treadmill or left on one alone, and a dog that panics should come off and start again at an easier step. Treadmill work pairs with training rather than replacing it, since a tired body is not the same as a calm, trained dog. At Partners Dogs, treadmill sessions are an optional add-on during a boarding stay, billed separately and listed on the program pricing page.

Safety comes from supervision and pacing, not from the machine itself. A trainer stays with your dog, starts slow, watches gait and breathing, and stops or slows the session if the dog tires, stresses, or loses form. Dogs with joint problems, heart conditions, or recent injuries need a vet conversation first, and the team asks about health history before the first session. Puppies, seniors, and unfit dogs start with shorter, slower sessions and build up over time. If your dog shows fear of the treadmill, trainers go back to introduction steps rather than forcing the issue, because a stressed dog is not exercising well. More detail is on the treadmill page.

The trainer weighs your dog's age, fitness, health, and how they handle the treadmill, then builds duration gradually across sessions so stamina grows without soreness or stress. Sessions sit inside the wider DaySchool day beside training, play, and rest, so treadmill time never crowds out recovery.

DaySchool hours at Partners Dogs are Monday through Friday, 7am to 6pm, and Saturday, 8am to 4pm, at both the Scottsdale campus, 8642 E Shea Blvd in the Pima Crossing Center, and the Cave Creek campus, 4640 E Forest Pleasant Pl, about 10 minutes north of the 101 and Cave Creek Rd. Drop-off is any time within those hours; pickup must be before close. Sunday is the one closed day each week. Behind the schedule is a staffed training day: dogs rotate through training sessions, supervised play, enrichment, and rest on a planned rhythm, with trainers matched to each group. Arriving inside open hours keeps your dog in that rotation from the start of the day, and the same hours apply at both campuses, so families can use whichever location fits the day.

The three tiers trade monthly training days against price. Plus, at $199 a month, covers 4 DaySchool days or 2 DayCamp days a month and takes 10% off Partners services. Premium, at $399 a month, covers 8 DaySchool days or 4 DayCamp days and takes 20% off. Platinum, at $599 a month, covers 12 DaySchool days or 6 DayCamp days and takes 30% off. Membership buys a standing training rhythm for your dog, with training that builds on your dog's plan month over month, and membership dollars earn loyalty points at 1 point per dollar. A separate $50 referral credit is available per verified referral when you send another family our way. Families who only need occasional days can pay drop-in rates instead: $65 for a DaySchool day and $115 for a DayCamp day, or buy a 16-day pack at $899 for DaySchool or $1,499 for DayCamp. One membership covers all the dogs in your household. The pricing page has the full details.

DaySchool at Partners Dogs requires current Bordetella, Rabies, and Distemper/Parvo (DHPP) vaccinations for every dog. We can verify records directly with your vet, you can upload them to your Pet Parent Portal, or you can email them to our team. All vaccinations must be given at least one week before your dog's first day, so protection is active before your dog joins group play and training groups. Dogs must be at least 20 weeks old to enroll, which matches the vaccination timeline and the maturity DaySchool groups are built around. Keeping records current after enrollment matters too; we flag lapsing vaccines so a renewal never surprises you at drop-off.

Medication stays on your schedule while your dog stays with us. At drop-off, hand the team the medication in its original container plus written instructions covering the dose, the time it is given, and whether it goes with food. Staff follow those instructions through boarding stays and DaySchool days, and the routine is part of the same staffed care that covers feeding, potty rotations, and exercise. Tell the team how your dog usually acts after a dose, and flag anything unusual you have noticed at home, so staff know what normal looks like for your dog and can spot a change early. If a dose is missed or refused, the team lets you know rather than guessing. Bring enough medication for the full stay plus a spare day, and confirm any refrigerated storage need at booking so the campus is ready before your dog arrives. More detail is on the dog boarding page.

A set monthly pattern works well for many dogs, especially as follow-through after a camp or as a steady training routine beside home practice. Choose days you can hold consistently, because a regular pattern helps your dog settle into the routine and lets trainers build on the last session instead of starting over. Tell the team which days you plan to attend when you enroll, and flag changes early so playgroups and training plans stay matched. More detail is on the DaySchool at Partners Dogs page.

The three providers are third parties, not Partners Dogs loans: PayPal Credit is a credit line, while LendingUSA and Coach Financing deposit an approved loan into your bank account. You apply directly with the lender, which approves the application and sets the rate and terms, so have the total you expect to finance ready when you apply. More detail is on the financing page.

A membership covers 4, 8 or 12 DaySchool days a month and bills on your enrollment date each month, so it pays to match the tier to the days your dog will really use. Ask the team to confirm in writing how your membership treats missed days and what happens at renewal. The memberships page lists the tiers.

Trainers coach sessions on the same grade curriculum our other programs use, and they build in rest breaks so learning consolidates. Because DaySchool counts as follow-up, it is also where behaviors learned elsewhere get proofed around real distractions. Progress updates tell you what improved and what to practice at home. Memberships cover 4, 8 or 12 DaySchool days a month, and a drop-in day is $65. DaySchool runs Monday to Friday 7am to 6pm and Saturday 8am to 4pm, closed Sunday. More detail sits on the DaySchool at Partners Dogs page.

The base school day includes training, playgroups, rest, and supervision. Grooming, private lessons, camps and boarding are separate services with their own prices, even when they pair well with DaySchool as follow-through. Get the full list in writing at enrollment: what your package covers, what costs extra, and what happens to unused days. See the DaySchool page for more.

The two daytime programs at Partners Dogs serve different dogs, and both run at a 10:1 ratio. DaySchool fits dogs already comfortable with off-leash group play; the day combines structured training with supervised play and enrichment. A membership covers 4, 8 or 12 DaySchool days a month (Plus $199, Premium $399, Platinum $599), with a member discount of 10, 20 or 30% by tier. DayCamp days are trainer-led, and the goal is a move into DaySchool once behavior is stable. DayCamp is not a fix for aggression toward people or dogs; that work starts with a PD360 Assessment. The same memberships can cover 2, 4 or 6 DayCamp days a month instead, so families who use DayCamp regularly pay less per day than the drop-in rate.

DayCamp at Partners Dogs is structured daycare for dogs that are not ready for off-leash group play yet: dogs with minor reactivity, fearful dogs, rescues that have had 30 days with no health issues since leaving the shelter or rescue, and dogs working through inappropriate behaviors on their way into DaySchool. Every day is built from focused 1-on-1 trainer time and small-group skill drills rather than open play, so the dog practices calm behavior around others at a distance the dog can handle. The goal is for your dog to earn a place in DaySchool once behavior is stable, and we are honest about pace; some dogs progress in weeks and some need longer. The drop-in rate is $115 per day. A membership covers 2, 4 or 6 DayCamp days a month (Plus $199, Premium $399, Platinum $599), and the 16-day pack is $1,499, so families who use DayCamp regularly pay less per day. DayCamp also serves as the reinforcement setting for many Behavior Camp and Transform Camp graduates.

DayCamp at Partners Dogs is the right program for dogs that cannot yet handle off-leash group play safely or calmly. That includes reactive dogs that lunge, bark, or freeze around other dogs or people; newly adopted dogs fresh from a shelter, rescue, or breeder who need decompression before group play; fearful or anxious dogs that shut down in crowds or panic when separated; and over-aroused dogs that cannot self-regulate. DayCamp is also the recovery setting for dogs coming off Behavior Camp, Transform Camp, or the Leash Reactivity Intensive, where continued structure protects the camp work while it settles. Households in transition use it too, when a new baby, surgery, or travel means a dog needs a calm daytime environment with supervision. A PD360 Assessment confirms fit and identifies the right starting point, so the plan starts from measured behavior rather than a guess.

DayCamp is for dogs with minor reactivity and inappropriate behaviors who are working their way into DaySchool, so each day runs as trainer-led structure; it is not a program for aggression toward people or dogs. Membership days can be used by any dog in the household, and each tier also takes 10, 20 or 30% off other services. We recommend the PD360 Assessment because it evaluates fit, identifies triggers, and sets the behavior plan your dog's trainers run each day. Some dogs need a short series of private lessons first to establish baseline obedience before joining DayCamp, and the assessment tells you honestly if yours is one of them. Current rates are posted on the pricing page, and every DayCamp day works from the plan, with progress reviewed as your dog moves toward DaySchool readiness.

The difference is the job of the day. DaySchool runs to a training rhythm: coached sessions, practice of the skills your dog is learning, matched playgroups, and rest breaks that let learning stick. Trainers track progress and adjust the plan as your dog improves. DayCamp is trainer-led from drop-off to pickup: mornings bring small-group training on obedience, manners, and impulse control, and afternoons bring supervised social time with coaching built in. Each dog works toward tracked milestones and a place in DaySchool's open play once the behavior is solid, and DayCamp is not a fix for aggression toward people or dogs. Both run at our campuses with staffed care through the day, and the team can help you pick the one that matches what your dog needs right now. More detail is on the DayCamp at Partners Dogs page.