Kari Bastyr, M.S., CDBC

Kari was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota where she grew up with 2 sisters, 3 brothers, dogs, cats, guinea pigs, turtles, fish, and birds. After high school, she attended St. Cloud State University and received her B.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis in 1993 and her M.S. in Animal Behavior in 1995.

She began her behavioral treatment practice immediately and then ventured into obedience training at Alpha Academy in Minneapolis. Her main interest has been dog behavior, but she has worked with dogs, cats, snakes, birds, ferrets, rats, rabbits, and pigeons. She has also spent an extensive amount of time studying wolves and wild 'canis lupus' behavior.

Wag & Train began when Kari moved to Denver in September of 2001. She missed working with dogs and was not ready to give it up to pursue her career in engineering. It has now blossomed into a much needed behavioral obedience practice. In addition to working privately with aggressive and anxious dogs, Kari is also teaching behavior and training classes at several facilities in and around Denver.

She has also begun teaching a 'growl class', for severely aggressive dogs, and "Barkley Meets Baby", a class on how to introduce your dog to your new baby. Both classes are the first of their kind in the Denver area! Since moving to Denver, Kari has begun working extensively with cat behavior problems, too, including those with her own newly adopted cats. Kari strongly believes in rescuing animals from shelters and that every dog (and cat!) deserves a chance, no matter how many problems they have. In fact, most dogs are surrendered to shelters because of 'so-called' behavior problems in the first place. She welcomes the opportunity to work with any dog, even the most aggressive, which is why she started the growl class.

Kari lives in downtown Denver with her dogs, Kenai and Jasper as well as her two cats, Sushi and Leo. Both Kenai and Leo were rescued from shelters. Sushi was adopted at 8 weeks old, flew here from Minnesota with his mom, and has proven to be the biggest behavioral challenge yet!

Click here to read more about Jasper and his adoption through Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue.

Click here to learn more about Kenai from his mom's perspective



Laura Brody - Training Coordinator & Lead Instructor

Laura Brody has been working with dogs since her parents put one in her play pen! She attended Santa Rosa Jr. College where she majored in Theater Arts and many years later studied at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Her teaching experience stretches from primary school to Pregnancy and Childbirth classes. She's worked with shelter dogs from three different organizations and completed the Delta Pet Partners Training with her Golden Retriever, Jazz taking her to Assisted Living Facilities as a welcomed visitor. She taught Basic Obedience Classes to her neighbors and their dogs and finally legitimized her passion last year as a graduate of Animal Behavior College.

"I had a Golden Retriever in the late 70's named Obi Wan Kenobi. I taught her to growl at the mention of the name, "Darth Vadar". That is my shining moment in Dog Training." www.goodfamilydog.com

Sandy Lax

Sandy grew up in Colorado with her parents, brother, sister, dogs, cats, horses, cows, geese, guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens, fish, birds, and any other critters that wandered by.  Sandy spent summers working on ranches and riding in rodeos. 

Sandy graduated from Animal Behavior College in 2005.  A major part of the curriculum included completing her 18-week internship under Kari Bastyr.  She has also used her knowledge of animal behavior while working with rescue organizations to help with successful adoptions.

She currently lives in the Conifer area with her son Ryan, 3 dogs, Bear and Simone (rescued Malamutes), Mitzy a Springer Spaniel, and several feral cats that she had spayed/ neutered. 3 of them are mostly house cats now - Sparky, Scooby, and Patch.  Sandy was a part-time ski instructor at Loveland Ski Area for 7 years, and is still a ski coach and golf partner for her son's teams for Special Olympics. 

Sherri Moore

Sherri was raised in the mountains of Colorado and has had a variety of animals throughout her life. She is an avid dog lover, having owned 10 different breeds of dogs, in addition to raising quarter horses, cows, pigs, and many cats. She also participated in Westernaire's of Jefferson County for 10 years. Sherri currently owns 2 Australian Shepherds, Aiko and Scoobey Doo, and 2 guinea pigs, Abbey and Coco.

Sherri has a B.S. in Nursing/Science and brings a wealth of experience through her primary career as a registered nurse for 20 years. Teaching patients, one of her major responsibilities, has helped her become a success in dog obedience training.

Sherri joins us as a graduate from the Animal Behavior College, which focuses on positive reinforcement and pack-based behavior as a baseline of training. For the past 22 months, the curriculum has included theory, animal shelter practicum, and an internship with Kari Bastyr for the past 18 weeks. Sherri is currently training at City Bark and Sage Valley Pet Center, and her goal is to facilitate a mutual respect between owner and pet to establish a wonderful lasting relationship.

Sherri lives in Lakewood with her husband Jim, and 9-year old son Jake.

Whitney Anne Mouton, CPDT

Whitney was born and raised in Colorado. She currently lives with her husband and 3 labs (Carter, Annie and Dudley) in Aurora.

Her passion for dogs has blossomed into an understanding of canine behavior which she is eager to pass on to dog owners.
 
Whitney has been training dogs for 4 years. She has a B.S. in Psychology from Colorado State University and is a Certified Pet Dog Trainer. She is also a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and has been a Canine Good Citizen Evaluator in the past.  She focuses on training using positive and gentle methods. Whitney encourages dog owners to see life through their dog's eyes, therefore making it easier for canines and their owners to communicate.