Healthier, Happier, & More Confident Dogs!

providing fun, educational, and purposeful activities for dogs

What is What Dogs Want Academy?

We are a team of certified family dog mediators, dog behavior and enrichment specialists and canine fitness trainers who understand a dog's behavior and their unique needs. A very special dog inspired us to create this program to meet these needs and brings out the best in every dog.

Our mission is to help dogs live their happiest, most fulfilled lives but we are also here for pet parents, to help you build stronger bonds with your dogs, find easy and fun ways to engage with them more and enjoy opportunities to watch your dog have fun being a dog.

What Dogs Want provides learning and fun for your dog in a small classroom-like setting. Located in central Phoenix, this is the ONLY enrichment center of its kind!

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How Do We Help Your Dog?

Our one-of-a-kind Enrichment Center is where dogs spend the day learning life skills such as problem solving, focus, impulse control, body awareness, conflict resolution and more! Working on fun, purposeful, educational activities builds confidence and engages both body and mind.

We understand all breeds are not the same, and not all dogs in a breed are the same. So we focus on the individual needs of each dog, learn who they are and what each dog wants!

Academy

Our unique What Dogs Want Academy is often described as a Montessori school for dogs. Our purpose is to help dogs build confidence through games that engage their minds, activities to engage their bodies, and opportunities to stimulate their senses.

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Private tutoring

Our private tutoring sessions are for dogs who may not enjoy a classroom environment. Perfect for dog selective, reactive or shy dogs, enrichment can build confidence, improve behavior and build stronger bonds between dogs and their humans.

Consultation Info

Academy

Our unique What Dogs Want Academy is often described as a Montessori school for dogs. Its purpose is to help dogs build confidence through games that engage their minds, activities to engage their bodies, and to stimulate their senses.

More Academy Info

Consultations

Want to do more for the pups in your care? We offer private consultations, break-out classes, field trips to our center and workshops for you to develop fun games, stimulating activities and opportunities for the dogs in your care.

Consultation Info

Philanthropy

Proud partner of #LOVEPUP

We have partnered with #LovePup to offer scholarships to their dogs waiting to find their new family. Dogs from this local rescue come to the Academy and work on manners, develop skills, and build confidence because enrichment is crucial for shelter dogs' health and happiness! Check out our Instagram @whatdogswant to see the adoptable dogs in action or learn more at:www.LovePupFoundation.org

Want to learn more about how to donate to the scholarship fund? Donate to our non-profit to support a shelter dog through school!

More About Philo Work

Reviews

"Arya has learned to be patient and wait for things she wants. She is much more polite and asks nicely by sitting to say please. She also has been socialized with other pups so that she understands that all pups have different personalities and boundaries. At home, that has translated to better interaction with our older, grumpy doggie. Arya also is better retrained and less impulsive than she was when she began with WDW. That has made her interactions with our kitty much better and he likes her now."

-MaraArya’s mom

"Redford benefits from the program in so many ways including productive, safe socialization with other dogs and humans. He also learns impulse control, and he is becoming more confident in general. Only one of our three dogs attends the program, but all three benefit because we continue to work on the activities at home with everyone."

MelissaRedford's mom

“Besides Saturdays, Wednesdays are my favorite day of the week! My boys Ruger and Duke, are so happy and excited to go to What Dogs Want with Stef and that makes me so happy on Wednesday’s too! She not only has taught them great things like sitting before a door is opened but they are so smart they also know what day it is and what time it is and they both wait by the door looking out the window on Wednesdays at 7:30 am waiting for her to pull up! Watching the joy and excitement they have as they run to the van also makes me so happy! I’m beyond grateful to Stef and her team for all the years of happy, well-behaved dogs! Thank you!"

Melissa F.

"Archie benefits from What Dogs Want in every way. He gets a chance to run and play, falls in love with the other dogs. He uses all his senses, smell, taste, sounds. There are games that challenge all parts of him. He comes home exhausted, curls up for a nap and he is ready to go again. He spent the last two months enjoying every part of What Dogs Want."

DonnaArchie's mom

"Our Jack Russell mix has been attending WDW twice a week since he was a pup. He’s now midlife and is just as excited to meet the bus on school days as he ever was. He’s a smart, high energy breed and the enrichment has made all the difference in terms of understanding and managing his personality and behavior at home. The program really delivers “what dogs want,” and need! We especially love the bus option and the videos of our dog and his doggo friends at work and play during the school day."

The Dessaules FamilyMelvin’s family

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What Dogs Want Academy.
Dog Enrichment in Phoenix, Arizona

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