In one visit, Sheila made more progress with our dog than a trainer who charged 3 times as much. Due to trauma Penny had endured before we rescued her, it was important to go slow and Sheila’s “No force, No fear” techniques were easy and effective.
Mike and Joella Mullis
Highly recommend Sit Stay Obey Academy! They have in-home training, and in-store, group classes. I called Sheila, the owner, and we decided in-home training would be best, and I’m telling you, she is worth her weight in GOLD!!!!!! She’s not only an awesome trainer, but she is one of the kindest people I’ve ever worked with!!!
We got a holiday puppy after having an “old man” dog for 16 hears. I was really worried we made a mistake, but wanted to give it my best effort because despite the endless energy, he was sweet and quickly became a part of the family.
If you are looking for a dog trainer, look no further!
Karen Trapp
After bringing home our 2 year old rescue, Paisley, we learned we were her seventh family… seventh! As a result, Paisley lacked confidence, general obedience and barked at everything. Sheila was that translator between human and dog – teaching us what to do and not do and explaining why. Now, we have a confident, happy dog and family.
The investment was worth every penny when Paisley got out and took a stroll down the street one evening. Thanks to her training, Paisley came happily sprinting home when called – a response that never would’ve occurred before. Can’t say enough about our experience and Sheila’s ‘train in the home’ approach. With young kids, work schedules and Paisley’s confidence needs, it was the best decision we could have made!
Jennifer Schmidt
My family experienced the sudden loss of a member of our family, and our doggies were left without their daytime caretaker. I was in a bit of crisis for many reasons but one significant one was worrying about how to care for our dogs during the day while I was at work. Our pups were grieving, too, and they had not been conditioned for a stranger to come into our home to provide care like crate relief for playtime & potty breaks. Sheila was more than a lifesaver; she kept the rest of our family together. Sheila worked with a doggy daycare provider in our home, helping the new caretaker build a relationship with the dogs. She only used positive behavior reinforcement techniques, and, after just a few sessions, our doggies loved Sheila and their new daytime caretaker. Sheila, thank you for providing just the lifeline we needed. We’re profoundly grateful.
Jennifer Ellis
My family recently decided to rescue a sweet,yellow lab named Ellie. Due to Ellie’s previous life experience, she was very timid and fearful. She had little to no training and we wanted to find someone with knowledge and experience to help us train Ellie to become a well-manned and obedient dog. One day I saw a lady walking a dog that was so well behaved on a leash. I decided to ask her what magic she had and she told me she had spent so much time and money on dealing with her dog’s behavioral issues, but then she found Sheila at Sit Stay Obey Academy, and two training sessions was all she needed to help with her dog. When I called, Sheila showed knowledge, compassion and concern for the issues we were having. She asked me questions to gather as much information as possible before our in-home session. From the beginning, Sheila began showing us, in a loving way, how to get Ellie to do what was asked of her. Ellie responded to all the commands with eagerness and a wagging tail. Sheila equipped us with the knowledge to train Ellie on our own using a love and reward method. It is amazing the changes we have seen in her behavior and listening skills. We saw first-hand how Sheila’s training method does NOT BREAK A DOG’S SPIRIT!! There was no fear or punishment. She simply built her up with love and rewards. Ellie has been through so much in life already that we only want her to feel happiness from this day forward. Thank you, Sheila, for all you have done for our furry family member!
The Pfister family
Sheila’s approach to training is compassionate but effective. I felt comfortable with every correction and learning tip because she uses positive training and rewards for good behavior. She has helped me with our 3 rescue dogs and now it is much easier to get them to do what we want. Sheila also spent extra time with our dog Kinnick, who was very skittish and had been mistreated before we adopted him. She took the time to earn his trust and he benefited greatly from our training sessions because he is more confident now. I would highly recommend her service to anyone looking for help with dog behavioral issues or basic training because her approach works!
Angie Pierce
My family and I 100% recommend Sheila Bertelsen as a dog trainer. She spent about an hour with us once a week over a month and I was very impressed with her immediate connection with our Standard Poodle, Buddy, then about 6 months old. She dived into helping us understand Buddy and his world, and we quickly realized that she wasn’t just training our puppy, but was really training us how to better communicate with him. She was incredibly patient and effective in helping Buddy know good versus harmful behavior, and since she came to our home, was able to creatively personalize her sessions with us and involve our children too. Buddy learned some basic commands right away during our first session, which were reinforced over and added to during our follow up visits. We look forward to continuing our “people training” along with Buddy and Sheila in the future!
Andy Lewis
We have a new puppy, Nessie, a Cairn Terrier. I do believe that terrier is derived from terrible because that is what she is. We needed assistance in training because whatever we tried did not work. Enter Sheila, a miracle worker. In our first session, she had Nessie obeying come and sit commands repeatedly. And of course, it was all about Nessie and that was the way to train her. Nessie graduated puppy school and advanced training and is now a new and better behaved puppy. She is still hardheaded and stubborn as are all terriers, but will obey commands. So if you need help, we highly recommend Sheila!! Her methods are amazing!!
Bryan French
My husband had a stroke and we got a puppy from Houston poodle rescue to provide companionship. It was immediate love and we named her Abby. But she was into everything. The consistent nipping and shredding of any paper left lying around and the exhausting circus of putting her leash on made things difficult. Someone in our neighborhood had used Sheila and was thrilled with her so I gave her a try. Abby LOVED her and so did I! She only uses positive reinforcement and always with a smile and it worked! Abby now sits calmly while I put her leash on and drops anything (including paper) when I ask her to. I’d highly recommend Sheila. It’s obvious she loves her job and dogs love her.
Brenda Sorrells
Sheila is a GREAT trainer. She is very patient with the clients and dogs. She makes a true connection with the pets. You can tell this is her true passion!! Thanks to her my dog is now a therapy dog. Thanks, Sheila!!!
Leslie All
We are thankful for the training Sheila did. Gracie is much happier as are we. The positive training methods she uses is enjoyable and works very well. We highly recommend her to anyone looking to do any sort of basic or advanced training of their dog. Thanks, again, Sheila!
The Schrader family
Sheila is tiny, but don’t let her size fool you! You can see from the picture, Ginger is a very large German Shepherd. Many dog trainers won’t even work with the breed. We had hired 2 before Sheila and they were able to help with some of the issues, but Sheila was able to help us with the big issues of aggression towards little hyper, yappy dogs, immediate recall, leash walking and bath aversion.
Dog ownership can be a liability and having a great trainer, like Sheila, is crucial to protecting yourself!
Kent and Mimi Harris
You CAN teach an old dog new tricks!
I adopted a 12-year-old dog, Pandy, from a shelter. She was not housebroken, had no manners, no structure and no hearing. She bit when startled.
My house, which used to be a calm sanctuary (with another rescue dog and cat), was filled with tension and confusion.
I talked to a few trainers and pretty much got the same answer: Pandy is too old to learn.
Then I saw a recommendation on our neighborhood site about Sit Stay Obey Academy.
When I contacted Sheila, she gave me hope, saying a dog is never too old to learn.
I figured I’d give it a try, because I did not want to be added to the list of others who had given up and let Pandy down.
Sheila gave me strategies to help Pandy when startled, and she learned basic commands quickly (using hand signals) in the very first visit. We are now working on how to walk nicely on a leash.
I am glad I never gave up on giving Pandy the best possible life, in what short time she may have left.
Thank you, Sheila, for giving us upbeat, positive alternatives to coexist in harmony.
Pandy, Sundance, Leia and Cheryl Lang
In the very first training session, I could tell our lives were truly going to be changed. I was near tears the whole two hours (I’m near tears now while writing this), because I was so incredibly proud of my little fur family.
A dog should always be a member of the family, never a burden, but when I impulsively adopted my newest addition, Charlotte (German Shepherd), I had no idea what I was in for. Getting Charlotte was exciting, but also a major culture shock and hardship. Having been the proud owner of two Yorkies, who are very mild-mannered and low energy, the high energy level and destructiveness of Charlotte was nothing I had ever experienced before. There were times I was tempted to drive her back to Special Pals Shelter and run, but her soft face always pulled me back in.
I now have a 9 month-old puppy who has manners. We aren’t perfect, but I appreciate the positive nature behind Sheila’s training, and we will continue to work with her until we get there. Thank you Sheila/Sit Stay Obey Academy for uniting my family!
Paloma Sierra
Sheila is an outstanding trainer and our experience with her was fantastic. She was punctual, thorough, effective, and sensitive. She involved the whole family and was personable and professional. Her techniques were easy for us to pick up on, and we never felt judged or put down for anything we might not have been doing correctly. She displayed integrity and empathy and was an all-around great trainer. Having her in our home and not having to go anywhere was super convenient. If we ever need another dog trained, she will be our first phone call!
Titus Benton
We had a wonderful experience with Sheila in training our 2 young lab puppies, Daisy and Duke. In fact, as you’ll read later, I believe the training may well have saved their lives! In just 4 sessions they learned how to do all the basic commands. Sheila is full of great ideas and explains things so well that our two sons, ages 8 and 5, were able to train the dogs in between sessions. She was so patient with our family, especially the boys! We really looked forward to our Friday and Sunday sessions with her and I’m positive the dogs did as well! Shortly after Duke and Daisy graduated, her training was put to the test. First, the dogs somehow got a hold of a bird in our backyard. After just a couple of excited commands: “Come, Duke! Come Daisy! Drop it!” the dogs promptly dropped the bird. We were put to the test a second time during a scary emergency. The dogs got through a loose fence board in our yard and wandered into a neighbor’s yard one street over…with a POOL! The man got our number from the tags and we rushed over, but our 2 sons rushed out to the backyard and started calling them (Dad made them stay behind). Well what do you know? The pups heard the boys calling and found their way back through the broken fence boards into their yard again before their Dad and I even got to the neighbor’s house! So, we are very grateful for the time Sheila spent educating and training the dogs to be responsive to each of us!
Mike, Tracy, Austin and Zach Guzman
Thank you, Sheila Bertelsen of Sit Stay Obey Academy for the excellent job you have done training my dogs!! I could not be more pleased and my dogs could not be happier. Thank you for teaching me the tools I will continue to use. My dogs responded immediately and joyfully to your cheerful and positive training. Mikey, the new pup, your GT student as you call him, doesn’t miss a beat when I give him a command. Best of all, he obeys because he wants to! I especially appreciate all the work and thought you have put into getting Penny, my set in her ways recalcitrant runner, to come when I call. I’m pretty sure she actually likes obeying me, haha! I cannot imagine a more pleasant rewarding experience for my dogs and me.
The great thing about Sheila is she trains factoring in the dogs’ individual personalities!
Photo 1 is doggies sitting and staying inside house when Sheila Bertelsen drives up for training day.
Photo 2 is doggies graduation day.
Mary Reeves
I can’t begin to thank Sheila enough. She was wonderful. She didn’t just train my dog, or me for that matter. She figured out why she did what she did, then tried several different remedies for all the different behaviors (barking excessively at the door and in the car, and pulling on the leash), until she found the one that worked for Georgia and me. She was so patient and supportive. She explained what to do, what not to do, and why. That gave me confidence and helped me understand Georgia a lot more. I had worked and worked with her, but was frustrated and had lost hope. Sheila never made me feel like I failed. It was all so easy and fun. I wish I had called months ago! Georgia is an all around better dog now. She’s more attentive, listens better and is more eager to please. Thank you for bringing peace back into our home.
Page Ault
My dogs barked a lot whenever the doorbell rang and Sheila humanely trained them to not only STOP barking, but to run to their beds and stay while I opened the door!
Sandy Coleman
Sheila is not only a terrific dog trainer, she is a very warm and caring person. It makes it so easy that she comes right to the house. I have a small Yorkie, Winnie, that used to have trouble using the restroom in the house. After Sheila worked with my dog only 3 sessions, now she hits the bell on the door every time to go outside. My dog remembers tricks that Sheila taught her 2 years ago and we have never practiced!
Garrett Chretien
Thanks to Sheila my dogs are well trained in obedience. I worked with Sheila with my 200 lb Mastiffs and my German Shepherd. She’s fantastic with dogs. LOTS of patience and a NATURAL LOVE for dogs in general. Sheila made the training fun for the family and dogs. GREAT TRAINER!!!
John Baird
We want to thank Sheila for her outstanding training skills. We were looking for someone who could work with us on our busy schedule and we were blessed to find her.
In addition to her flexibility she has a way to connect with dogs I have not seen before.
We want to thank her for the help and advice provided, even outside of her time. It has helped us understand more how it is easy to train a dog, but the work is to train the alphas (humans).I look forward to continue our training for the next level.
The Zuniga