At Positive Partners Dog Training, LLC, we specialize in making training as simple and effective as possible and prioritize making your training successful, without taking hours a day. With our help, you can teach your dog the house rules, set up a regular schedule, and enjoy life again.
We’ll coach you through the entire process so you can continue to use your training skills for your dog’s entire life. Our goal is to teach you how to train your dog so that you’ll feel confident and ready to take on the world together after we’re done with our program!
Private Lesson Terms & Conditions
Guarantees: Positive Partners Dog Training, LLC will make every reasonable effort to help their clients achieve their training and behavior modification goals, but can not ethically make any guarantee of any dog’s performance or behavior as a result of providing professional animal behavior consultation.
Student Compliance: Clients and the members of their household must follow training instructions without modification, work with their dog daily as recommended, and constantly reinforce training being given to their dog.
Cancellation Policy: If the client fails to give at least 24 hours’ cancellation notice, or is not present at the time of the scheduled appointment, full session fees are still due within 24 hours, and will be automatically charged to the client’s card on file. For program students, the session will still be counted as one session and deducted from the program.
Refunds: There are no refunds for used training hours or classes, or for disagreements on methodology and techniques. A refund may be requested if the client is unable to complete their private lesson program as planned. Refunds will not be granted for incomplete programs if it has been more than 6 months since the last scheduled and completed lesson. In the event of a canceled program, I will be refunded the remaining balance of my program time, less the fees for completed lessons, billed at $165 an hour.
Programs: It is best to meet with PPDT every 2 to three weeks for training. Clients understand that a lapse in training lessons will delay progress and may mean they are unable to meet their goals with their dogs.
Group Class Policies & Rules
Guarantees: Brianne Harris of Positive Partners Dog Training will make every reasonable effort to help students achieve their training and behavior modification goals, but can make no guarantee of a dog’s performance or behavior as a result of providing professional animal behavior consultation.
Student Compliance: Students and members of their household must follow Brianne’s instructions without modification, work with dog daily as recommended, and constantly reinforce training being given to their dog in order to see progress in training and to meet their training goals.
Refunds: All group class sales are final once class begins. There are no refunds for unused training hours, classes, services or for disagreements on methodology.
Absences: There are no makeup classes for missed lessons. Students will receive emailed homework support for all class sessions.
Class Date/Time Changes and Cancellations: If class is cancelled due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances, students will receive notice no later than 1 hour before class. Students understand it is their responsibility to know when classes are held, and to check their email prior to class in case of emergency cancellations.
Please thoroughly read the below rules. Students who do not follow class policies may be asked to leave a class session. Repeat offenders will be asked not to return to group lessons. There are no refunds offered for lost lesson time due to students not following policies.
- NO DOG-DOG INTERACTIONS OR MEET-AND-GREETS before, during or after class.
- Your dog must be ON LEASH with the leash IN YOUR HAND at all times.
- Potty your dog in the designated potty areas, but do not let them urinate on or walk in landscaping. Please bring your own bags for waste. Clean up after your dog and then drop the bag in the white paw print can.
- Bring your class supplies in and set up your station BEFORE bringing in your dog.
- Please ask before you pet another dog.
- If you or your dog needs a break during class, by all means, take one. Go out to the potty area and let your dog relax, or just sit quietly and watch while others work their dogs.
We can help you with:
- Reactive & Fearful dogs
- Puppies, adolescents, and adults – no dog is too old or too young
- loose leash walking skills
- basic obedience
- crate training
- therapy dog training
- shy dogs
- dogs that bark or lunge on leash
- Puppy or Adoption Preparations
- Potty Training
- problem barking
- and more!
How do we train?
- Rewards-Based Methods
- Goal oriented plans
- toys, food, treats, affection, praise are used to reward dogs
- Relationship-centered lessons
- Simple, effective, and time-saving lessons
- Confidence building for dogs and owners
- Learning through fun and games
- No stress, no pain, and no fear
- Clear boundaries, expectations, and communication with your dog
Credentials
- BS Psychology; Appalachian State University 2012
- Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (certificate issued by the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers)
- Alliance of Therapy Dogs Tester/Observer
- AKC Canine Good Citizen, Community Canine, Urban Canine Good Citizen, and STAR Puppy Evaluator
- AKC Trick Dog Evaluator
- APDT Professional Member
- Pet Professional Guild member
- Project Trade member
Meet Brianne
(she/her/hers)
Hey there! I am Brianne, your very own compassionate and patient dog training coach.
I am a Certified Professional Dog
I’m also a proud member of the force-free Pet Professional Guild, a tester
I earned my B.S. in Psychology from Appalachian State University in 2012, with a focus on Principles of Learning, Behavior Modification, and Cognition.
Like many of my students, I have always loved animals. My childhood scrapbook is full of pictures of me with a wide range of stray animals I tried to convince my parents to let me keep. I was 12 years old when I finally won my parents over and we kept a stray puppy. Her name was Doodles, and she was a Granville County Special – a total mystery mutt!
It didn’t take long before I taught Doodles a variety of tricks; sit, down, shake, roll over, high five, and even how to jump over a broomstick. I have many fond memories of packing my pockets with dog cookies and heading out with Doodles and my little sister in tow for “adventures” in the neighborhood. Doodles was a willing and constant companion, no matter the journey we were on. She saw me through more challenges and trials in life than I could possibly name. She lived 17 wonderful years, and I am eternally grateful for the lessons she taught me.
Today I continue to make memories and learn lessons from the many animals in my life. Through my work at Apple Hill Farm, an alpaca and angora goat farm that is open to visitors, I help people get back in touch with what’s real as they take a break from the hustle and bustle of life to experience a real farm.
As a dog trainer, I coach my students through their journey with their dog. Together, my students and I teach our dogs tricks, help them refine their manners, and we can help shy, fearful, or aggressive dogs find harmony in their lives. It is always an honor to begin work with a new student; we have so many lessons we can share with each other!
Credentials
- Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (certificate issued by the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers)
- BS Psychology from Appalachian State University, Dec ’22
- Fear Free Certified Professional
Meet Eli
(they/them/theirs)
Hey there! I am Eli!
I am a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed. This certificate is issued by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers; the ONLY unbiased dog training certification organization in the United States.
I have spent the past several years in the pet-care industry, working in dog daycare, dog grooming, and as a professional dog trainer. You name it, I have seen it and probably lived it!
I am earning my B.S. in Psychology from Appalachian State University, graduating in December 2022.
I currently have two dogs, two cats, and a lizard.
- Dagger, a teenage Lab,
- Daisy, a 4.5-year-old Shiba-Inu mix,
- Nimbus, a baby Mudi from Hungary,
- Slinky and Calypso, two almost year old Domestic Shorthair mix kitties
- Dante, a Cyclura Lewisi hybrid.
I have loved animals for as long as I can remember, one of my earliest memories revolves around playing with a snake outside and scaring my mom half to death.
In my early teens Patches and I discovered the joy of training with my childhood Border Collie Mutt, Patches. When I saw how much she enjoyed learning, playing, and bonding with me I was hooked for life!
As a young adult college student, I adopted my first personal dog, and learned that training wasn’t just fun – it was vitally important as well! Daisy taught me the importance of house training, enrichment, crate training, and teaching your dog how to be an enjoyable part of your life. Tricks are fun, but learning household and neighborhood manners is the key to an enjoyable life with your dog.
My Shiba-Inu mix, Daisy, is the light of my life and is the basis for so much of my growth and development as a dog trainer and as a person. Daisy is the smartest dog I have ever met. Daisy has introduced me to scentwork, trick training, and so much more.
She currently has her Novice Trick Dog title, Intermediate Trick Dog Title, and we are hoping to finish her BCAT and Advanced Trick Title this summer! She also struggled with reactivity, which is how we met Brianne!
My experiences with my personal dogs, as well as the dogs and humans I have met over the years, have taught me so much:
- Through my many, hap-hazard experiences, I have learned to meet people where they are
- Everyone starts somewhere, even if their starting place is different from yours, and
- a little empathy goes a long way for humans and dogs!
I believe in a no-judgment training experience because reaching out for training is often the hardest part. I love training for all needs but I am particularly passionate about setting puppies up for success, separation anxiety, trick training, and building confidence in anxious dogs!
Meet Knox
Knox the Great Pyrenees was Brianne’s heart dog, and he helped her start her journey to becoming a dog trainer. He passed away at the age of 14, but his legacy lives on through Positive Partners Dog Training, LLC! You wouldn’t be here on this site today without him.
Knox loved meeting new people and going on adventures with me. Because he made people smile everywhere he went, Brianne wanted to share him with the world! In 2013, Brianne set out to train him to become a therapy dog. She fell further in love with the science of learning and behavior modification, and soon after set out to further her education and become a certified dog trainer.
Not only did he inspire Brianne to become a professional dog trainer, but he was also the inspiration behind the PAWS pet therapy program at the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System and the Finals Week Therapy Dog De-Stressing events at Appalachian State University. He inspired many humans and dogs to become therapy dogs, and helped Brianne train many of her students.
Knox was a registered therapy dog with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, a Canine Good Citizen, a Novice Trick Dog, and even pulled a pig in the 4th of July parade for several years! Whoever said you can’t train a Great Pyrenees never met Knox. He was a unicorn of a dog, and Brianne misses him every day.
