The Denver skyline with the snow-capped Rocky Mountains behind, seen across green parkland

Welcome to Sit and Stay Academy

Hi! I'm Barbara.

Bringing home a new puppy is an exciting adventure, and my goal is to help you enjoy every step of it.

Barbara kneeling in a Colorado park beside a young shepherd-mix puppy on a loose leash, one hand resting on the puppy's shoulder — Barbara of Sit and Stay Academy with a puppy at a Thornton area park.

I've Been a Teacher All My Life. I Still Am.

Through positive, reward-based training, you'll learn how to raise a confident, well-socialized puppy with the skills needed to become a happy, well-mannered companion. Together, we'll build a strong foundation that lasts a lifetime.

I spent my career in classrooms, and the best part was never the subject. It was watching someone understand something they couldn't do the day before. That moment when it finally clicks. I built my career around helping people reach those moments, and I bring that same passion to every puppy class I teach.

Puppy Kindergarten is full of those moments. Your puppy experiences one every time a new skill begins to make sense. You experience one every time your puppy responds because of something you taught them. My job is to help both of those happen, side by side.

Puppies learn quickly. They're naturally curious and eager to explore the world. My focus is helping you understand how they learn, why they behave the way they do, and how to guide them with confidence. That way, when it's Tuesday evening, your puppy is overtired, everyone else is tired too, and something unexpected happens, you'll know exactly what to do.

That's the teaching part, and it's the part I love. It's also why I keep my classes small. Every puppy is different, every family is different, and I want to make sure you leave each class feeling supported, confident, and ready for the week ahead.

What I bring to your puppy

Teacher at Heart

Years of experience helping people learn. I teach you right alongside your puppy, so the training keeps working long after the five weeks are over.

Positive Training

Reward-based methods that build confidence. A puppy who is not worried learns faster, and a puppy who trusts you keeps listening long after the treats stop.

Real-Life Skills

Training for everyday life, not just the classroom. Front doors, sidewalks, visitors, the vet's waiting room. The places it actually has to work.

A puppy holding a happy sit in the park while a hand gives a gentle stay signal — Positive, reward-based puppy training outdoors in the Thornton, Colorado area.

How I train

Everything here is positive and reward-based. Your puppy learns because good choices lead to good things. Treats, play, your happy voice. Puppies who learn this way learn faster, and they enjoy the learning.

You won't see prong collars, choke chains or e-collars in my classes. Puppies do their best learning when they feel safe, so keeping them feeling safe is simply how the teaching works.

And whatever your puppy needs, we'll figure it out together. That's what the phone call is for.