Leighton Oosthuisen

About Leighton

I am Leighton Oosthuisen, founder and president of Partners Dog Training. I started this company in 1997 with a simple belief: every family deserves a dog that fits easily into normal life, and every dog deserves to be understood. More than 28 years later, our team has helped train over 70,000 dogs across the Southwest, and I still care about each family the same way I did on day one.

I live right here at our Cave Creek facility, so the dogs and the work are never far from me. I built Partners as a father first and a trainer second, which is why my son Christopher and I run it together as a family. When I am not on the training field, you will likely find me at a competitive pistol match, where the same focus and patience that shape a calm, reliable dog show up on the range.

Specialties & Programs

Training Philosophy

I have never believed in a one-size-fits-all method, and I built Partners around that conviction. We train in a balanced, personalized way, reading each dog and matching the approach to where that dog is in learning a behavior. We move through four clear stages: Teaching, where the dog learns the concept, Reinforcing, where it becomes consistent, Proofing, where it holds up around real distractions, and Maintenance, where it lasts for life. The goal is not a dog that performs for a treat in a quiet room. The goal is a dog that listens at the park, at the door, and around your kids, so your home feels calm and your life gets easier.

Ideal Client & Goals

I love working with families who want a dog that truly fits their everyday life, whether that means a puppy who grows up with good manners or an older dog that finally settles down. I have a soft spot for the harder cases, the dogs other trainers have given up on, because I have seen how much can change when you meet a dog where it is and give the family a real plan. If you want less stress, more trust, and a dog you can actually live with, we will get there together.

Experience

I founded Partners Dog Training in 1997 and have spent my career building it into the largest training program in the Southwest, with locations in Scottsdale and Cave Creek and a team of more than 50 trainers. Over that time our program has helped train more than 70,000 dogs, and I have personally shaped the balanced, four-stage approach that guides everything we do.

Favorite moment: My favorite moments are still the ones where a family walks in stressed and worn out by a dog they love but cannot manage, and a few weeks later they tell me the house finally feels calm. That never gets old.