Owner-trained service dog programs · Phoenix, AZ

Train the service dog you already love.

A psychiatric service dog isn't a $40,000, five-year waitlist away. We coach you and your own dog into a certified, public-access team — handler first, one-on-one, right here in Phoenix.

Book your free intake call Or call (480) 712-2772

ASCT certified · PSD specialty · Founder-trained, handler-owned

Nicole and Bruce training at golden hour — handler and service dog
The program

You have four options. Three are broken.

If you need a service dog, you've been handed a short list — and most of it fails the people on it.

Option one
$40K placement, 5-year waitlist

Years on a waitlist. You take what you're given. Washes out, you start over.

Option two
Self-train alone from YouTube

Information everywhere, accountability nowhere. No one should do this alone.

Option three
Fake registry and a vest

Predatory paperwork — and it makes life harder for real teams.

Option four — Daily K9
Owner-training with professional guidance

Your dog. Your disability. Our discipline. A working team at the end.

Specialty

Psychiatric service dog teams.

The lane placement programs under-serve and scams target hardest — and the lane Nicole lives in. Deep pressure, alerting, grounding, crowd buffering: not optional to a handler's daily function.

Psychiatric service dog training in Phoenix — how it works →

"I trained my own PSD because I couldn't afford a placement. His name is Bruce. He is the reason I can sit down and build a company. I built Daily K9 for the person I was four years ago."
— Nicole VanCleave, ASCT certified · PSD handler
Bruce, certified psychiatric service dog, on a down-stay at sunset
How it works

One-on-one apprenticeship.
Twelve to twenty-four months.

We start with the handler and end with a working team. Monthly milestones, named criteria — not vibes.

PHASE 01
Foundation

We assess your dog — or help you choose one. Health and temperament first, and the handler starts training before the dog does.

PHASE 02
Public-access progression

Graduated exposure to real places — stores, airports, clinics. Explicit, measured standards.

PHASE 03
Disability-specific tasks

The tasks your disability needs, trained with you in the room. The dog learns to read you; you learn to read the dog.

PHASE 04
Standards-based graduation

Graduation against ASCT standards — an independent, third-party benchmark a stranger can verify. We stay with the team for the life of the dog.

Programs & pricing

Two ways to train with Daily K9.

The service dog program is the heart of it. We also take a few everyday-obedience clients — pet dogs, real-life manners.

Service dogs · the core program

Owner-Trained Service Dog Program

12–24 months · one-on-one · PSD specialty
A fraction of a $40,000 placementBuilt around your dog and your timeline — walked through on your free intake call. There's always a path.
  • Prospect assessment of your dog — or help choosing one
  • You're trained alongside your dog, so you know exactly what to do — never handed a finished dog you can't actually handle
  • Walk into any store, clinic, or airport with a dog so calm and focused no one even notices him
  • Tasks built for your disability — interrupt a panic attack before it peaks, ground you in a crowd, get you out the door on the hard days
  • Graduate to an ASCT-backed standard that holds up anywhere — so you're never questioned or turned away at the door
  • We never hand you the leash and vanish — for the life of your dog, we're one text away
Book your free intake call
Now accepting pet clients

Everyday Obedience Training

Pet dogs · private, in-home · Phoenix metro
Grand-opening pricing
$100 intro session
Limited-time launch rate while a few intro slots last. A no-commitment way to start.
  • Loose-leash walking and reliable recall
  • Sit, place, stay, and rock-solid door manners
  • Jumping, counter-surfing, and greeting fixes
  • Real-world proofing where the problems actually happen
  • Built for busy households — folded into daily life
Book basic training
Nicole VanCleave heeling Bruce in training
The founder

Nicole VanCleave

While I was still working a corporate job, I needed a psychiatric service dog and couldn't afford a placement. So I trained Bruce myself. He's the reason I can sit down and build a company.

When that job ended, I came to see it as the most important door anyone ever closed for me — it freed me to do full time what I'd already been doing on my own: training dogs.

I am certified by the ASCT — the American Society of Canine Trainers. The pet dog training world is at war with itself about method. The service dog world is at war with itself about access. The methods war isn't my fight. The access gap is.

This is the work I love, so I never stop learning it — always training up, always sharpening what I bring my handlers. Underneath it all is one conviction: this work is relationship-based. A real working team is built on trust between handler and dog, not just the methods. Get the relationship right and the rest holds.

ASCT certified Relationship-based training Continuing education PSD handler · Bruce Phoenix, AZ

— I built the program I needed.

Reviews

What handlers and clients say.

Honest words from the teams we've worked with — more on the way.

A Daily K9 Academy-trained pointer carrying a wedding bouquet down the aisle A Daily K9 Academy-trained pointer holding red carnations
★★★★★

"We wanted our girls to be part of our wedding day. Nicole didn't just work with our dogs — she taught us how to teach them. Our girls learned to carry a bouquet down the aisle, drop the flowers, and sit. They were our best girl and maid of honor."

Izzy & Piper · Specialized Training
Sophie, a rescue dog trained by Daily K9 Academy, out on a leash at the Grand Canyon with her family
★★★★★

"Sophie came to us a terrified feral rescue, in danger of going back to the shelter. Getting her over her fear and friends with the leash was beyond our skill set — but what we couldn't do, Nicole did overnight. Today Sophie begs to get on the leash and go for rides, walks, and hikes. Nicole built her confidence and frankly saved her life."

Sophie · Confidence Building
★★★★★

"I trained my own PSD because I couldn't afford a placement. His name is Bruce. He's the reason I can sit down and build a company. I built Daily K9 for the person I was four years ago."

Nicole VanCleave · Founder, ASCT certified · PSD handler
★★★★★

"We've had many German Shepherds, but none as reactive as Scout — we were overwhelmed and had no idea where to start. Nicole taught us how to communicate with him clearly and navigate tough situations. Now he enjoys neighborhood walks relaxed and confident. Forever grateful for Nicole's guidance."

Scout · Reactivity
Lea and Neo, two Jack Russell Terrier mixes trained by Daily K9 Academy
★★★★★

"My two Jack Russell Terrier mix dogs benefited greatly from Nicole's training. Her gentle but firm techniques, really at training me, helped me get more control over my two very different temperament and age dogs."

Lea & Neo · Everyday Obedience

Read the full review & leave your own →

Frequently asked

Before you book the call.

The questions handlers ask first. Honest answers.

Do I qualify? What counts as a disability?
The ADA covers any impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. We'll figure out on the call whether your situation fits — and what kind of service dog is right.
How much does the program cost?
A fraction of placement. Exact numbers depend on the dog, the disability, and the timeline — we walk through them on the intake call. There's always a path.
What if my dog doesn't pass the prospect assessment?
It happens, and better to know early. If your dog isn't a prospect, we tell you straight — and help you find one that is.
How is this different from a $40,000 placement program?
You pick the dog. You build the relationship from day one. You're trained alongside it, so you actually know how to handle — no five-year wait, no $40,000.
Do I have to live in Phoenix?
Local handlers train in person. Out-of-state, we run a hybrid of intensive in-person blocks and remote coaching.
Will Daily K9 give my dog a certification?
The ADA doesn't require it, and we don't sell registry paperwork. We provide a trained team that meets real public-access standards. Anyone selling a "registry" is selling air.

Free intake call.

We figure out if your dog's a prospect and whether this is the right fit. If it's not, I'll tell you what is.

Book your free intake call

Nicole personally reads every message and replies within one business day. No cost, no pressure — if your dog isn't a prospect, she'll tell you straight.