In the beginning I was assured that they used the positive reinforcement technique. I believed what I was told, despite the reviews I read. When we got our Dori a 5 mo mastiff back we knew right away something was wrong. The life in her eyes was gone she was scared of every noise every person and every dog. She threw up all night the first night. She was skinnier than she was when we dropped her off. She always slept thru the night with us now she is waking up growling at who knows what. She never peed or pooped on the patio now she is. Which tells me she was not taken out enough. Every morning she would sit with me as I had my coffee she now lays curled up in her bed with a scared face a sad face. They stoled her innocence. They hurt my baby girl. The saddest thing is I paid for this and forgiving myself is hard. I am reminded everytime in the car we pass a big truck how damaged the experience left her, she shakes like a leave from fear. This was not the sweet gentle pup I intrusted to them. I'm not asking for my money because I was deceived I'm asking my lord to bring a reckoning to them. Find someone else to train your dog or take the time to do it yourself. Please. read more

They are horrible and not worth the 3500 that they charge. We put a German Shepherd in there for training for three weeks got them out he was untrained we asked for a refund and then they said the $3500 was only for boarding not training bullshit. read more

BUYER BEWARE! Very disappointed. When I originally agreed to have Desert Sky K9 train my Akita FOR $3,500, the MAIN reason I chose them over other facilities (that were almost $1k cheaper) was because they stated that they would provide boarding and work with my dog on any issues that might arise for the lifetime of the dog for free. It has been almost a year and I continue to see my dog having issues with introduction to other dogs. I decided to utilize the commitment Desert Sky K9 made to board and work with my dog for free last week. I dropped him off and told them my concerns. I asked them to please interact him with other dogs so I can be sure he will not be aggressive. Upon picking up my dog this evening, not only did they tell me they didn't do any work with him with other dogs but they NOW sprung on me that I owed them $45.00 a day for the boarding. I was completely shocked! I said I was told it was complimentary with a training refresh, they denied ever saying that and they told me QUOTE "We will board your dog and refresh training complimentary for the life of the dog." That means only the training is free not the boarding. Am I crazy or do you hear what I heard when reading that statement?!?!? Symantec deception clear and simple! MOST IMPORTANTLY - why was I not informed of this charge when I dropped my dog off? What business boards an animal without confirming the client understands the fee? I will tell you, a business that is not operating with integrity! They had my dog for an entire week and they didn't work with him to correct or refresh his behavior at all. Instead my poor little boy probably just sat alone for a week locked in a cage wondering what he did wrong! Buyer beware! This company uses deceptive practices to get clients and it is quite clear they do not even live up to the promises they do admit making. Very very disappointing! read more

Why are you false advertising Mark's 30 years of experience when HE IS NOT THE TRAINER? K9 company update your website (you are false advertising by telling people 'Mark' is the trainer and it's not appreciated). TELL PEOPLE THE HE PASSED AWAY! The videos say ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the son/mother taking over (I had to read a review?) and obviously the son doesn't have ENOUGH training experience and could be possibly abusive? Please company stop trying to hide behind your passed away loved one. Son K9 trainer you are going to get the wrong dog one day and get hurt because you don't really know how to handle dogs like mine who will BITE if they feel scared, thus the reason for me looking for proper training. He needs training from an EXPERIENCED HANDLER. I am glad I found out the real trainer is not able to train. I am sorry you lost a loved. I lost my mom in the last year and half and it hurt. However, I certainly wouldn't hide behind my loss at the expense of others. read more

We adopted a 2year old female German Shepherd. After training was completed, our dog has been 100% at listening, walking, fetching, assisting me with my disabilities, barking only when necessary, and a perfect household companion. "Little Mama" has become more than we asked for! You can trust Desert Sky K9, really! We highly recommend Desert Sky K9! We are extremely thankful! Phil & Joni Doyle read more

Gail and Vincent are so amazing and easy to work with. Started talking to Gail a few months before I committed to their place, one time I even had an emergency scare and randomly called her because I had no one else to ask. They worked with my constant last minute schedule. Mayday isn't 100% perfect but can that really be expected with dog training? She has definitely improved and responding to simple commands that she wouldn't have before. They offer handling lessons after the training is over just to help me and Mayday improve with the training. Cannot express my gratitude enough with how they accommodated my constantly changing schedule and really worked with me to help me get the most out of Mayday's training. Thank you so much!! read more

Best place to get your dog trained. We have been associated with Desert Sky K9 for over 9 years. Our dog loves Vincent and Gail. They treated our dog as if he was part of their family. The training was excellent. Desert Sky turned our rescue dog into a very well trained family member. I highly recommend Desert Sky if you want your dog trained in a loving, positive manner. read more

Do Not take your dog to Desert Sky K9 for training. This company was very successful when Mark was alive and he was the true trainer. Unfortunately, after Mark passed his wife is still trying to run the company but they were unable to train my GSD puppy I took to them. When I picked up my puppy, the teenage son was trying very hard to show that my puppy was trained but Jake (my pup) wasn't listening to him. The son was so frustrated that he started to yell at Jake and when I said something about it, he started to yell at me. I took my dog home and when they handed me jake's bag of dog food that we brought, it was still 75% still full. Jake eats like a teenage boy, that bag should have been almost gone. Apparently they weren't feeding my dog the way they should have and that's why he had food aggression when he got home. I am sorry that they lost a loved one but that doesn't give them the right to rip people off for money when they're trying to say they can train a dog when they basically don't have the training experience that their father and husband did. Please don't waste $3,500 on this company. When my adult son went back to the company to talk about a refund because they were unable to complete their side of the contact, the wife said that the 3,500 was for 3 weeks of boarding and not training and slammed the door in my son's face. What a massive ripoff company. If you look at the good reviews for this company you will see they are over a year old when Mark was still alive. read more

My dog was initially trained by Mark. The training seemed to be good. However, when I picked up my dog from a subsequent boarding stay, the adult son, who helped with the business, pulled up at the same time and when my dog saw him she ran to get away from him. This was very unusual behavior for her. She was shaking and scared. read more

Had a chance to watch our grandsons' new mini labradoodle (Agnes) while they were traveling. Sweet, loving, full of energy but a real handful when in public. Walking her on a leash was a real challenge. In fact, it was impossible! At home, keeping her from barking and jumping on visitors and trying t lick them required holding her back by her collar or taking her into our arms. After some due diligence, chose Desert Sky to train her. Signed her up for a three week board and train. Missed her terribly! Three weeks later, still sweet, loving, full of energy but a very well behaved pup (though not perfect yet:). Walked her in public that evening. Neither cars, bikes, children, adults, dogs on leash, a dog off leash, distracted her from following my lead/ or commands. She is still inclined to jump on visitors when she greets them but if I give the right command ahead of time, she sits and lets people pet her. Mark and Gail and their son Vincent are very skilled and they love dogs. Never felt our Agnes was a commodity or product to them. We sure wish them a happy holiday. We sure wish them a happy holiday. We rh Mark read more

We have trained and boarded with Desert Sky K9 for nearly 10 years. MThey are incredibly responsive by phone and text, and you can tell how much they love the dogs. You feel very safe knowing they will take good care of your precious pet. read more

I took my dog to desert sky they said y dog would be there 2 weeks and would be able to sit stay place and walk next to me and sit when I. Stopped walking. I paid 1900.00 and when I picked her up she did these things she had. A collar on with spikes that dig into jeer neck and when I brought there home she would none of these things without these ttorcher collar and lease. I called them anddd told them and they said they didn't know I wanted off lleeasse. Wtf when would I want my dog to sit and stay outside and I leave her? This is ridiculous she never was taught too place at all. So basicallly I could have bought the pronged collar and taught her myself she will do nothing without the torcher collar. What a rip off. Also she fights me to get the collar and lease on her and she did it with them and they never addressed it.. RIP OFF DO OT USE THIS VCOMPANY read more

I observed one of their trainers training at Goodyear Park in the morning of 7/5/2019. Initially I was impressed with how well trained the dog was and mentally tucked that away as I'm looking to train our new puppy. However as I walking I starting hearing how he yelled and shouted at the dog and started having second thoughts. But what made me really decide to never use this company was when the trainer told me "I'm about to kick your dog in the f***ing head". My pup got away from me and ran up to greet his dog. There was no aggression, he was simply greeting him. I ran up apologizing and complemented him on how well controlled his dog was only to be greeted like that. Obviously I don't know this guy, but my initial impression is that he does not have any sort of love for dogs. I'm not saying that I was innocent in this interaction. I should have had better control of my dog. But there was no call for his reaction. read more

Mark is a pro, and a good human being. He has trained 3 of my dogs and yes I have been to his home. He would never act in a manner as described below although I will tell you that if provoked he would most certainly respond to it. So in my opinion it sounds like Robert W. has nothing better to do than be a jerk face. Why would you put a rating on Yelp if you have never used these people professionally. It sounds like you need a civil action to handle your claims not an attempt to hurt the mans business. That posting in itself shows your intelligence level and true motivation. If Mark truly did those things described in your rating you would have called the police, they would have arrested mark or at minimum been subject to an injunction for harassment, Anyhow.. Mark is a not the man described below he is an outstanding person and dog trainer. Whatever problems Robert has have nothing to do with Marks abilities to train your dog. read more

Mark is a master trainer, and he is one of the very few people I would trust to train/babysit my dogs. Their grounds are always clean and dog friendly, including lots of space to run and even a pool for the dogs to swim in. They often have toys and equipment out to stimulate, entertain and enrich your dog during his/her stay there. They even take document your dog's stay there so you may see how well taken care of your dog is. I think it's fantastic! At Desert Sky K9, it is GREAT to be a dog. =] read more

We recently had our dog Logan trained by Mark at Desert Sky K9 and have had a wonderful experience. Mark and Gail clearly took great care of him as he was happy when we picked him up and adjusted well after the almost three weeks with them when he came back home. He was also excited to see them again the following week when we did a training session together. He seems like a happy, well adjusted and very well trained dog. He is now a great pleasure to take on walks as he heals and stays with me, does his commands regularly with ease and seems more confident that he did previously when he sees people and other dogs. I had gotten so stressed out just taking him for walks before the training. In our follow up training session Mark also gave some great tips for adjustments we can make with Logan which have helped tremendously. Mark and Gail are so responsive to all of our contact and questions and we look forward to boarding him there in the future since he clearly loves it and feels comfortable with them. Thank you so much for your help and support with our baby! read more

This is such an amazing company with the most incredible couple, Mark and Gail. I researched many dog training facilities and after visiting many in my area, Desert Sky was the one I chose for my 5 month old Pompoo. Many of the companies did not pass my telephone interview, however my first call to Gail at Desert Sky was like I was talking with family and truely shared a love of animals! Then I visited their establishment and met Mark and Gail. Mark was amazing and asked all the right questions and answers to ones I didn't even think of. I immediately felt at home and so did my little girl Stella. I enjoyed Marks comments on my behaviors, again, I didn't know I was doing! He was so helpful and extremely knowledgeable. I made my decision right away. A few weeks later I brought Stella for her two week Doggie Boot Camp. Sure I was nervous, but when Stella gave them so many kisses, I immediately felt at ease. Yes I called almost daily to check on her and received all the reviews, good and behaviors needing attention (you see she barked continually). I was astonished at what a well behaved young lady she was when we picked her up. What a delight to walk down the street with my little one walking perfectly at my side. You could see how proud Stella was that she was so well behaved. Desert Sky K9 (Mark) was a delight to meet as well as his wonderful wife, Gail. DO NOT HESITATE TO CHOOSE DESERT SKY K9 FOR YOUR TRAINING NEEDS! BEST INVESTMENT I EVER MADE!!!! read more

We took our 10 month old Belgian Malinois, Mika to Desert Sky K9 training and it made the world of difference. She was a handful on walks and now is a pleasure. She handles all of her commands well now. We would highly recommend Desert Sky K9 to anyone that wants a well behaved dog. Thanks Mark and Gail! read more