About Us

R’Kenia Banks is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer and Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) with over a decade of experience in dog training, behavioral rehabilitation, and working with children with special needs. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Applied Behavioral Analysis, further aligning her deep passion for behavior science with her hands-on work in both animal and human behavior. R’Kenia’s training philosophy blends traditional obedience methods with positive reinforcement and emotional rehabilitation strategies, creating a compassionate and effective approach tailored to each dog and family she serves.

Her journey began with raising puppies for Guiding Eyes for the Blind and volunteering in veterinary clinics, animal shelters, and boarding facilities. Over the years, she developed a keen ability to understand and modify behavior, first in animals, and now also in children diagnosed with autism and related developmental conditions. R’Kenia holds a degree in Veterinary Technology and is the founder of SIT.STAY.OBEY! is a successful training and behavior consulting business. Through her work with dogs and children, R’Kenia continues to transform lives, driven by empathy, science, and a firm belief in every individual’s ability to grow and thrive.

R’Kenia’s services have benefited countless dogs, ensuring they lead fulfilling lives in their forever homes.

Kim’s passion for dogs and cats began at an early age and continues to today. She has been rescuing, providing vet care, training, and finding homes for homeless pets for over three decades. In 2012, she became a foster mom and volunteer for a large, local non-profit rescue organization dedicated to saving dogs and cats from high-risk situations and assisting owners who need to rehome their pets.

As a foster, Kim specialized in dogs and cats with medical or behavioral issues and was an active participant in both their health care and behavioral training. Three years later, her volunteer position turned into a management position, overseeing all of the rescue’s operations from her home office. She also serves on the Training Team, providing training, problem-solving advice, and support to both fosters and adopters to resolve common – and not so common – behavioral issues with their dogs.

Kim has taken a step back from fostering and working directly with rescue dogs to focus on keeping great dogs in great homes. She has joined the Sit, Stay, Obey team to use her training skills and experience to help more dogs become their best selves. Kim is pictured here with her rescued Olde English Bulldog mix, Harriet.

I have always been a dog person. I currently have five dogs of my own ranging from a five pound yorkie to a seventy pound hound mix. I have been dog training since 2019. I started out as a volunteer trainer at local rescue (Refuge Rescue if want the name) while still attending school to become certified. After certification I continued to volunteer as well as train dogs in homes. I have worked with many different breeds, ages, temperaments, and about all kind of behaviors. My favorite part of dog training is seeing the dog’s progress throughout the entire experience!