Meet Mark Siebel: Owner and Trainer at DOGGIE STEPS Dog Training
Mark Siebel has owned and personally run DOGGIE STEPS Dog Training in Chandler, AZ since 2005. In that time he has trained over 7,000 dogs himself, no staff hand-off, drawing on a background in human and dog psychology and a specialty in aggression and anxiety cases. He uses positive reinforcement only, verbal and visual hand-signal commands, never a shock collar or choke chain. After all, A Good Dog = A Trained Owner.
How Doggie Steps Started
Mark grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and got his first dog at 10 years old, a Miniature Schnauzer named P.J. Dogs were part of his life from early on. Some of his clearest childhood memories are sleeping in his aunt’s backyard alongside her German Shepherds and Standard Poodles, which he has said, looking back, he simply thought was normal at the time.
He spent roughly ten years in corporate sales and marketing before deciding to transfer what he had learned in that world into something built entirely around dogs. He opened Doggie Steps in 2005, around age 35. In his own words: he had always had a natural affinity for dogs, animals in general, but dogs especially, and after a decade in corporate America, he decided to transfer those skills into opening Doggie Steps.
The Psychology Behind the Training
What sets Mark’s approach apart is not just experience, though 7,000-plus dogs is a real number few trainers reach. It is that he studied psychology formally, coursework at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, and refreshed it later with a psychology course at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. His own reasoning for why that matters: it is harder to train the person than the dog. Once he understands who he is working with, the dog part gets easier.
That belief shapes every program Doggie Steps runs.
Training is built on conditioning, routine, and repetition, the same principles behind any lasting habit change, not a single dramatic lesson. It is also why Mark keeps his caseload smaller on purpose. In Board and Train cases, he typically prefers to work with 2 to 3 training clients at a time, no more than 4 ideally, so each dog gets more of his direct time, not less.
What Local Professionals Say About Doggie Steps
A Specialty Most Trainers Turn Away
Roughly half of everything Mark works on is aggression or anxiety related. That is not a side note. It is close to half of his total caseload, and it is deliberate. Where some trainers turn away a dog with a bite history or a dog with real anxiety, Mark has said plainly that there is very little he turns down. The one place he will work with a client rather than turn them away outright is financial: if someone cannot afford the full program, he tries to find a way to make it work rather than say no.
Positive Reinforcement, No Exceptions
Doggie Steps trains with positive reinforcement only, using both verbal commands and visual hand signals. Shock collars and choke chains are never used, on any dog, for any service, full stop. This is not a marketing line. It is the actual method behind commands like sit, stay, down, leave it, come, watch me, and off, taught the same consistent way across every program Mark runs.
What Happens After Training Ends
Every Board and Train client receives a written summary of everything covered during the stay, a level of documentation no other Doggie Steps service currently includes. After that, every client gets free lifetime follow-up support by text or email, no charge, no hard cutoff. Mark’s own description of how far that goes: if you are stressing out about something at 10 PM, send a text. If it is a real emergency, he will call.
Clients are also welcome to record or videotape any session for their own reference, which helps different learning styles and accommodates owners with learning disabilities.
A Detail That Never Makes a Feature List
Mark still writes a handwritten thank-you note to every customer, for every service, every time. Asked what the single most impressive thing about Doggie Steps is that most people never hear about, this is the one he picked himself.
Mark still writes a handwritten thank you note to every customer, for every service.
Beyond the Business
Mark teaches the dog training portion of Pet Care Team Training, a certification program used to train professional pet sitters and dog walkers nationwide. He is one of five expert trainers featured in the course. He currently owns two Australian Shepherds, and has owned five across his life. Doggie Steps has also been featured on local Phoenix television, including NBC AZ Midday and ABC Sonoran Living.
Doggie Steps Today
Doggie Steps is based at 1405 E. Park Ave, Chandler, AZ 85225, and holds a 4.9 star rating across 82 Google reviews. Board and Train draws clients from anywhere in the Valley, since the dog comes to Mark. In-Home and At My Home Dog Training cover Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Tempe, Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Paradise Valley, the areas close enough to fit his regular Wednesday through Sunday schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mark Siebel, who has owned and personally run Doggie Steps in Chandler, AZ since 2005. He trains every dog himself, with no staff hand-off.
Mark does not hold a formal dog training certification. His expertise comes from over 7,000 hands-on training cases since 2005, a background in human and dog psychology from coursework at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and Chandler-Gilbert Community College, and his role teaching the dog training portion of Pet Care Team Training, a certification program for professional pet sitters and dog walkers.
Positive reinforcement only, using both verbal commands and visual hand signals. Shock collars and choke chains are never used, on any dog, for any service.
Yes. Roughly half of Mark’s total caseload is aggression or anxiety related, one of his primary specialties.
Over 7,000 dogs since 2005, all trained by Mark himself.
Mark has said directly that if a client cannot afford a program, he tries to find a way to make it work rather than turn them away.
About the Author
Mark Siebel has run DOGGIE STEPS Dog Training in Chandler, AZ since 2005. He has trained over 7,000 dogs, working hands-on with every client himself. Mark teaches the dog training portion of Pet Care Team Training, a certification program for professional pet sitters and dog walkers, as one of five expert trainers in the course. He never uses shock collars or choke chains, and he still writes a handwritten thank-you note to every customer he works with.