About Painted Sky Canine Academy

What they offer

Painted Sky Canine Academy is a training and boarding operation on a 45-acre ranch in Elizabeth, about 45 minutes from Denver, run by owner and head trainer Heather Ratynski. Dogs stay in a home-style bunkhouse rather than a kennel, and the ranch has a 2,000 square foot training building and open outdoor space.

Training camps

The board and train camps cover basic manners, advanced obedience and behavior modification, with a personalized plan, daily structure, play and rest, a go-home lesson and lifetime support. The services page lists a two-week leash skills and basic manners camp ($1,900), a three-week foundation obedience and intro to off-leash camp ($2,900) and a four-week advanced obedience and off-leash camp. Pickup is available for camp packages anywhere in the Denver metro. The services page also lists puppy training, private lessons and boarding.

About the trainer

Heather describes herself as a one-woman operation who keeps guest numbers low so each dog gets attention. Her training grew out of dog sports, and she uses positive, balanced methods that she describes as clear, fair and compassionate.