Michael O’Donnell- General Manager
Dog training was a natural fit for Michael who grew up training his family dogs from a very young age. Even while Michael attended Radford University in Virginia where he played baseball and majored in Psychology, he continued to train dogs of his own. Now, instead of just teaching his dogs to fetch and play in the yard off leash, he was also teaching them to knock red solo cups out of the hands of uninvited party guests! 
Michael graduated from college and relocated to North Carolina where he began coaching local baseball teams at both the community college and high school levels before starting a career in Sales. Michael, searching for a little more fulfillment, met Colby & Andrea Self, owners of Sit Means Sit- Raleigh, and began working for them as a part time dog trainer. Michael worked part time for Sit Means Sit- Raleigh for 3 years, loving every second of it, before deciding to leave his career in Sales to focus on dog training full time.
Michael spent a full month in Las Vegas fully immersing himself at the Sit Means Sit dog training school under the direction of Fred Hassen, the company’s founder and renowned Dog Trainer! With Michael’s well rounded background, he is able to utilize his patience and natural teaching ability to not only help dogs, but their owners as well, which is what makes him one of Raleigh’s premiere dog trainers. You can often find Michael with his demo dog Taylor standing on top of fire hydrants all over Wake County!
Melissa O’Donnell- Director of Marketing
Melissa, with North Carolina roots, always dreamed of moving back to North Carolina after her family relocated to Rhode Island as a child. After attending the University of Rhode Island and having the amazing opportunity to work in Marketing for the New England Patriots, Melissa decided that she needed some sunshine and warm weather in her life and followed her family back down south.
North Carolina is where Melissa and Michael met and eventually got married in 2014. With Melissa’s most recent experience working as an Account Executive for a local television station, even developing a “Responsible Dog Ownership” PSA campaign in partnership with the American Kennel Club/AKC Reunite, she and Michael knew that their combined experience and huge love for dogs could be a great combination for Sit Means Sit Dog Training and officially opened their business in 2016.
Melissa and Michael, along with their 2 children and 3 dogs, reside in Raleigh and enjoy spending as much time with their extended family as they can.
Colby & Andrea Self- Owners/Sit Means Sit Raleigh
Colby and Andrea are the owners of Sit Means Sit-Raleigh covering all of Northern Wake County including North Raleigh, Brier Creek, Morrisville, Knightdale, Wendell, Wake Forest and parts of Cary. If you live in one of these areas and are interested in dog training, please visit their website or call 919-714-9748.
Colby is a prior Law Enforcement Officer who has experience working with K9 handlers. He 
enjoys working with dogs and their owners to facilitate communication and create a healthy and happy environment with maximum control around severe distractions. Colby is an expert in dog anxiety and was asked to speak to hundreds of Professional Dog Trainers on the topic in April 2015. Colby can provide guidance and direction to teach any owner to be an assertive and confident handler.
Andrea is the backbone to Sit Means Sit – Raleigh! Andrea is an Officer in the US Army and understands the importance of building reliability and trust between a dog and its owner. As the Office Manager, Andrea can apply all of her organizational skills and managerial expertise from her 12+ years as an Army Officer. She is the one who answers the phone, replies to emails, sets up consultations, schedules lessons and keeps up with the business aspects of our company. Andrea is also a certified trainer, and will fill in and help when needed in her spare time; after being Office Manager and mother of three beautiful children Colton, Emelia, and Eleanora and reside in Wendell.
Jennifer – Training Manager
Jennifer’s love and respect for animals began at an early age on her grandparents farm, where she spent most of her childhood. Jennifer would try to train the animals at the farm, as well as at her friend’s homes. As she got older, Jennifer was unable to find fulfillment working retail jobs which eventually led her to pursue dog training.
In 2015, Jennifer completed her dog training certification and began volunteering to help train dogs at the local SPCA. Her love for animals also pushed her towards obtaining certifications in pet CPR, dog grooming, and training shelter dogs. Jennifer’s goal with dog training is to help strengthen the bond between pets and their owners. Jennifer enjoys spending her free time outdoors, going to the beach, and making crafts. She and her husband Alex have been married since 2013. In 2014, they rescued their pit mix Zeus.
Katelyn – Lead Trainer
Katelyn is dedicated and has a strong passion for working with animals, especially dogs! She has a dog herself, Sam, that she trains in her spare time and previously worked as a kennel tech as well as serving as a volunteer at the Raleigh SPCA regularly. 
When Katelyn saw the opportunity to work with Sit Means Sit she jumped on it! Katelyn has learned so much since she started at Sit Means Sit and truly loves working with the team. She can’t wait to work with your pups and is excited to see them grow!
Dasheia – Lead Trainer
From a very young age Dasheia has always loved animals. She always had the passion and drive to work with dogs whether big or small. Shortly before she found us, Dasheia worked and for a large retail pet supplier and was very interested in the training programs that they offered. So, when the
opportunity presented itself to work for Sit Means Sit, she jumped on it. Working at Sit Means Sit, Dasheia has found her passion working with dogs and she is truly thriving!
A note from Dasheia : “Seeing the look on the owners faces when they pick up their dogs has been amazing and is probably one of the most rewarding things about this job. I don’t own a dog myself, but I get more than enough love from all of pups here at Sit Means Sit. I am so grateful and thankful that Sit Means Sit has taught me all the necessary tools to thrive in my career here. It has been so rewarding and undoubtedly, the coolest job I’ve ever had!”
Meghan – Office Manager
Meghan’s love for all animals began at a young age. Ironically, she was the family dog trainer growing up (we’ll get to that in a minute..), starting with their Australian Shepherd/Border Collie Mix, Callie, whom she taught everything from sit to agility. A few years ago while attending The University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Meghan rescued a Pointer who gave her a run for her money; Enters Michael and Sit Means Sit! Griffin enjoyed a month long stay and Meghan finally admitted that Michael O’Donnell, her brother, was the better trainer in the family! 
Meghan has always had a love for animals of all kinds and after working her way through the Corporate world, she decided it was the right time to join her brother’s quickly growing business as Office Manager. Meghan is excited about her future with Sit Means Sit. With the passion she has for the industry and working alongside her family, the sky’s the limit!
Ripken – Sit Means Sit SpokesDog
Ripken, or “Rip” as he is affectionately known, was born on August 1st, 2016 in Boise, Idaho. (Fun Fact, Ripken’s Dad, Cowboy Kohl, was the official Kicking Tee Retriever for the Boise State University football team, so fetching clearly runs in the family!)
Ripken is an American Labrador Retriever, so not only does he thoroughly enjoy fetching as a working breed, but he is a great family dog and loves being loved by his human brother and sister.
You can see Ripken in action fetching bats for the Holly Springs Salamanders June-July, the Durham Bulls April-September and N.C. State Football September-November. Come out and say hi! Just get ready to provide a belly rub…
Bruschi- Family Dog
Bruschi (aka “Bubba”) is a 14 year old Hound/Terrier Mix that Melissa rescued off of Petfinder.com from a rural shelter in Tennessee while she was living in Rhode Island.
Bruschi used to run away whenever he could see a door, but after going through Sit Means Sit training, he now enjoys laying in the front yard off leash while Michael and Melissa do yard work. Bruschi also enjoys sniffing out crumbs, hunting flies in the house, and being the best pet a family could ever ask for.
If you are interested in learning how you can utilize our professional dog training services near you, visit our contact page.