Crate Train your Puppy

We live in Arizona but decided to have our doodle trained at Puppy Steps before bringing him home. Puppy Steps was worth every penny we paid for his training. We received communication throughout Oslo's training and help and support after bringing him home. We are working towards therapy dog certification and are working with a recommended local trainer who is excited to work with a puppy who has such an exceptional foundation. Oslo surprised the trainer when at his first session Oslo found bells hanging on a post at the facility and rang them so I would take him out. Thank you Puppy Steps!

Brad and the team at Puppy Steps are awesome! They obviously care about the dogs and are diligent and thoughtful in training. Our puppy went through a two-month training and is very sweet and well-behaved (mostly :)). No nipping, barking, anxiety or destructive behaviors. Highly recommend!

Fantastic place! Took care of my puppy, trained her well, and kept me updated on her progress. Definitely recommend to others looking for a well trained puppy.

Puppy Steps is a lot of money, but as people who owned a dog previously and trained it on our own, we still feel the work Brad and his crew did for our new dog was worth it. For one, the socialization alone was wonderful. Our dog is generally good around other dogs and people, and Puppy Steps goes out of their way to get in good socialization at this impressionable stage. Although they can't do everything (our dog is not a fan of school buses, men in wheelchairs, skateboarders, or inflatable Santas), they manage to fit more in than most any owner is capable of early on. The training is great, too. Our dog has been home three weeks. In that time, he's only had one accident, which was on his second day. This was entirely our fault, since our 11 year old was left in charge of taking him out while my wife ran a quick errand. By the second night home, he was already sleeping through the night, although this may vary with the dog. He's had almost no problems with the crate either. Puppy Steps takes the time to understand the breed they're working with while holding all their dogs to a standard. They also take the time to understand the personality of the individual dog, and aren't afraid to communicate those nuances to the owners. Don't mistake that for an undersell. We preferred it to sugar coating. Our own breed is eager to please, but also has a stubborn streak. The streak seems to run a little deeper with our particular dog. Although initially tempted to be disappointed, we're actually left wondering where we'd be without the foundation Brad and his crew already gave our good dog, which we're able to build on much more easily and quickly than we could ever do ourselves. There are some things Puppy Steps is not, which they are very upfront about. They just can't be emphasized enough: 1. They are not an excuse for you not to research how a specific breed's instincts might affect your family, or how an individual dog's personality might be somewhat of a gamble, despite careful selection and training. 2. They are not an excuse to avoid your own homework you're given during your puppy's stay with them. 3.They are not an excuse to stop reinforcing and building on the training and socialization your dog already has. 4. They are not an excuse to not have every single member of the family on the same page in consistently using proper commands and social communication with the dog. 5. They are not an excuse to forget that while generally well-trained, your dog is still very immature. Again, Puppy Steps is upfront about this. Keep all this in mind, be a dedicated and conscientious dog owner, and you'll have a great experience. If we ever get a second puppy, we'll be sending it here again.

Puppy Steps Training is worth every single penny we paid! It is everything we were wanting in training our dog plus so much more. We loved receiving the daily emails letting us know how he was, what adventures he was having, and the commands he was learning. Every time we would visit him we were amazed at how much he had learned. The videos and handbook are invaluable! We still refer to them often as we are learning how to interact with our puppy. Everything is explained in such great detail and in a way that is easy to understand. The staff is so patient and supportive and willing to answer any questions (even after having our puppy home for weeks.) We can't imagine ever getting another dog without sending it to Puppy Steps. We recommend Puppy Steps Training without reservation to everyone we know.

We are the happy owners of 2 graduates of Puppy Steps and couldn’t be happier with our diploma owning Griffs. Lady and Rose both went through Puppy Steps training before we picked them up to come live with us. Given the excellent results of Puppy Steps training, I wouldn’t own a dog without first having Brad train them. Our dogs came to us well adjusted, crate trained, bell trained to go outside, obedient to commands, and happy. They fit right into our family routine with out the sleepless nights and disruption a new puppy can cause when it first comes home. Puppy steps in nothing short of a miracle in my book and worth every penny. It was hard to leave our puppies with brad and not be part of the early months in a puppy’s life. Brad and his team eased the pain by providing detailed updates on training and progress. They also provided photos and video to help us feel like we were a part of the training process. If you plan to use your dog for bird hunting there is another advantage to working with Puppy Steps. Brad successfully introduced our dogs to birds and shooting. He brought out their natural instincts to hunt and helped channel that drive in a positive way. Both of our dogs hunted successfully their first season. Rose was pointing and retrieving at 6 months.