Sit Means Sit Dog Training - Portland

This system works if you are consistent and have a lot of time to dedicate to stick with your dog. We have 3 small kids and a busy life, so it didn’t work for us. Again, I do think this system works, but with all of the consistency and trying to charge the collar daily and get it back on the dog in the morning before she goes crazy.just never worked. Then you can try to be consistent as adults, but realistically with 3 small kids who either distract the dog, give her inconsistent communication, lose her collar remote, release her before she finishes the commands.the list goes on lol, it’s nearly impossible. Then we get frustrated all the time with the kids and then you just feel defeated as a parent. Long story short, if you already have a very busy house and you’re hoping this training will “fix” your dog…it won’t. You need to 100% your habits as a family. I just wanted to say that so family’s go into this fully aware and don’t feel as if they flushed a cost equal to a mortgage payment down the toilet

Coming here has really been life changing for us!

My dog Alex is people and dog reactive. Before we came to sit means sit we had seen a couple other trainers and nothing was working for us, every day was stressful and I felt like I was failing him. We have made so so much progress with Hallie, he is able to go on daily walks, meet new people and is getting better every day! Alex’s quality of life is 1000 times better and gets better every day!

Our German Shepherd, Millie, graduated from Sit Means Sit almost 2 years ago, and since then our lives have exponentially changed in all the positive ways. Millie struggled with reactivity on and off leash ever since we brought her home at 8 weeks old. The first year of her life we were tirelessly trying to desensitize her to dogs using positive only methods as well as we hired a positive only trainer to help us move past the her anxiety and fear. Although this method may be useful for some, for us it was a big loss of time and money. We were super lucky to find the Sit Means Sit facility in Portland, when Millie was around 1.5 years old. Miranda, our amazing trainer, showed us how to build Millie’s confidence, how to easily follow through with commands by using the e-collar, and how to be actual leaders in the dog-handler relationship, so that she could give up her obsession with control and let us be the guiding force. Miranda always sent us a list of homework to work on, which was super helpful to continue training at home and improving Millie’s behavior every day.
Nowadays we walk off leash 80% of the time with amazing recall and obedience. And although she’s not willing to interact with other dogs, she’s learned to be polite around them and her anxiety has definitely decreased to a minimum level. We’re able to go to cafes with her with other dogs around, we go on hikes without worrying about other dogs, and we do most normal activities without having to worry like we used to in the past.

Sit Means Sit has been our best find of the year for our lab/pit mix, Lilly, who is an angel and needed some help with remembering her manners while distracted, light leash reactivity, and leash skills. Halle is an absolute genius who you can tell looks forward to conquering each tough behavior with excitement. After doing the day train program and continuous weekly classes (that are included forever and ever after a program is complete), she’s extremely well behaved and we now look forward to taking her out into the world vs.fearing it. We’ve more than gotten our moneys worth and will still continue to go to weekly classes. We also recently adopted our foster pup who is a deaf working breed going through her “teenage” phase and has some trauma in her past. She has a LOT of behavioral issues due to this, plus working breeds being new to us. We signed her up for the day train program and while she still has a long way to go, she has made immense progress. We truly wouldn’t have been able to adopt her without SMS!

I brought my one-year-old rescue pup, Lulu, for the four-week day training program and could not be happier with the improvements in her confidence, sociability, and self-control.

She was still skittish and shy, ran away from any attempt to put on a collar, and spent most of her time pulling or getting tangled in her leash.

I was absolutely stunned to see her sitting on “place” waiting for the trainer and me to come inside. On week three!

The commands she learned — come, sit, place, down, heel, and break— seem so generic but they can be combined and adapted to cover any situation we’ve encountered.

We’re still practicing, and working our way up to the big distraction scenes, but she’s well-behaved and popular at my grandson’s school pickup! Bonus: A ten-minute walk concentrating on heeling, sitting when I stop to visit neighbors, and keeping her nose facing forward has her napping much longer than half-hour of backyard fetch!

We can’t wait to come back for some group classes, and training tune-ups. It’s not cheap, but you get what you pay for, and this has been a great investment in Lulu’s happiness

Sit means Sit Portland is so worth every dollar you think might be to much! I have walking proof. My sweet beautiful Golden Retriever Ruby. I got Ruby at 14 weeks old, my first big dog. What was I thinking? I’ll tell you Halle is a dog whisperer! She took a wild sweet puppy and myself a crazy lady with a dream of a Golden Retriever into a life long dream come true. I’m not saying it was easy. It was and is hard work. Sit means Sit stands by you for the life of your dog. I’ve used that feature a lot. Ruby took me for a sled ride and I got stitches in my head. I wanted to give up but no I called Halle and they got me in as soon as I could. Halle talked to me on the phone to help me get over how scared I was. I can’t tell you how helpful that was. It gave me hope my beautiful sweet puppy was going to be a great dog. Now Ruby is 16 months. I’m stopped all the time and we are praised for how well behaved and trained she is. She loves all the praising and doesn’t move until I say she can.
I live in a golf community. The golfers tell me all the time how they wish all the dogs were so well behaved, she follows my comments and sits until I say break. I could not have this beautiful housemate if I hadn’t hired Sit means Sit. I can take Ruby with me to stores, restaurant, the beach almost anywhere with confidence. I still call Halle for help if I need it knowing she is right there to guide me
If you think a training collar is bad please don’t. It is a tool that makes a very well behaved happy to please dog. It also helps if you’re at the beach and they can’t hear or if trouble is near you can get their attention immediately and their core skills and recall is on point to safety.
Thank you so much Halle and Sit means Sit for my amazing life long trained dog and myself. Ruby is only trained this well because I have been trained also to be ready for all the things. Sue

We enrolled our dog in the 5 day with overnights training program. We were hesitant because of the price, but our dog, Mace, is a pit bull mix and was 75 pounds of distractible, unruly muscle. We knew that his nonstop desire to play with everything that moved wouldn't always be appreciated and could lead to legal troubles one day if we didn't find a way to get him under control. We bit the bullet, so to speak, and signed up for the program. After his five days at sleep-away camp, the change was obvious. We were able to walk him in our neighborhood without needing a chiropractor appointment afterwards, and taking him out for walks in the Hillsboro parks became a daily treat for him and for me. Over the past few months, I've been taking Mace to the weekly follow-up classes that are included, and I'm becoming so proud of my three-year-old pittie because he's balancing on buckets, weaving around cones, and doing all sorts of things that I couldn't have imagined him having the discipline to do before. Those classes are such a respite from some of the other demands on me during the week, and I look forward to that time to bond with my dog so much. Every person I've come into contact with at Sit Means Sit is just a genuinely nice person and have impressed me with their training skills. I've gotten so much value from the money we invested with them. Bryan

Howie and I joined the day train program 5 weeks ago and I only have positive things to say. I adopted Howie at 8 weeks old and he is the best thing that could have happened to me. However, we struggled with pulling on walks and a little bit of reactivity. He was unsure about strangers and would often bark. Howie’s trainer, Kayla at Sit Means Sit, has absolutely transformed our lives. We can now enjoy walks without the fear of barking or pulling. It makes everyone’s time more enjoyable. I also love to test his limits with the “place” command. I haven’t found anything he won’t place on yet! I am so excited to join the group lessons and improve his skills even further. Thank you Sit Means Sit!

Sit Means Sit is the best! Coming in I had a reactive dog who would bark and lung at people. We couldn't even go for walks and I felt neither one us was happy being stuck at home all day. It got to the point where if I didn't find help I would have to rehome my dog. Luckily I found Sit Means Sit, although the price might seem like a lot I looked at it as investment. And I am very glad I did we now have gone to the beach, the park, a farm point is we are out there living! We attend the weekly group classes and its been so much fun learning with others in a controlled environment. Everyone is on the same journey there is no judgment. If you have a reactive dog you know what I mean people looking at you because your dog is barking. Here the trainers are always helping you. They do not only dog train they people train, making you a great dog handler. We added another dog to our family since then and you bet they are going to Sit Means Sit for training.

We have been so happy with our choice to put Seven in the board and train program at Sit Means Sit. I was skeptical about the short time frame, but was pleasantly surprised with how much she learned. She also loves her trainer, Brian! Seven is so much more calm and confident in herself than when we dropped her off. We are looking forward to continuing Seven’s training in private and group classes!

We adopted a dog a few years ago, and we found that she was easily distracted, constantly pulled on leashes, and was reactive toward other dogs.

After several unfortunate encounters with off-leash dogs (and several walks ending with crying), we wanted her to regain confidence in herself and us as owners. We then reached out to Sit Means Sit.

We put her in a week-long board and train, and came back to a happy and eager-to-learn dog. The program is a LOT of work, but we have found our bond with our sweet pup grow so much stronger. She is still working on her trust with other dogs, but she was able to PASS dog playgroup consultations! We also can now go on hikes and visit the beach, and she even has great recall!

Our life is so much fuller, and we are more understanding of our dog and her capabilities. Sit is ALWAYS there for us when we have any issues, and the group classes are a great reset and learning experience for us each week.

It was also great to learn the proper way to use e-collars and positive reinforcement practices. We never felt like we were hurting our dog, and we never had to worry if we were doing it right. It's just useful to have that extra "nudge" when our dog gets distracted by the world! (Disclaimer: It's technically a "STEM" collar, so if you have ever done physical therapy, it's very similar! And you can always use the lowest level at first until you're comfortable - you barely feel it at level 1).

We are so glad we took the plunge, and we are now able to use these skills with all other dogs we have in our lives. We do not regret this investment in our sweet girl one bit!

Sit Means Sit has completely transformed our lab mix Lucy and we are forever grateful!

We did the day train program and saw results immediately after the first session. Prior to training Lucy had non existent recall and would get way too excited with people greetings. Now Lucy has perfect recall and is most importantly safe when she is off her leash- amazing! We are still working on her greetings and attend the weekly training class to continue to sharpen up her skills. The classes have been fabulous and the trainers do a fantastic job. We absolutely love that classes are offered weekly so we can continue to train and learn.

We’ve seen a huge improvement by attending classes on a weekly basis and look forward to seeing what else our Lucy girl will accomplish in the future.

I would absolutely recommend Sit Means Sit. 10/10!

Sit Mean Sit = well behaved dogs! We did the "live in" 5 day option to start out, and have been following up each week at the basic training classes. What a relief to have great solutions to bad dog behavior! It works! Voila! Thanks to the entire crew at Sit Means Sit.sometimes it takes a village:)

I have had nothing but absolutely amazing, positive, supportive and encouraging training sessions with this team! Monroe has made a complete turn around from when we first started training and I know it would not have been possible without the help from all of you! From the first moment we met with our trainer Halle, I knew it was a perfect fit for us and we were in the right place! Our main focus has been working on Monroe’s reactivity and building her confidence in new and unfamiliar situations!

Transitioning to group classes was an amazing and seamless experience! Being able to practice and expose Monroe to new distractions in a safe and controlled setting has been game changing for her training! With each session I leave feeling accomplished, proud and more confident with Monroe and how far we have some! Both Halle and Miranda are there every step of the way and always take the time to chat after class! It is extremely helpful to get tips, tricks and feedback from both of them to take home and apply throughout the week!

1 million/10 recommend signing your pup up for training with this amazing group of people! You will not regret it!

Sit Means Sit has helped me and my pup build a really strong relationship. They helped me understand how to communicate with my dog so that she can know what I want her to do. She is so high energy I wasn’t sure how to navigate her, after coming here they helped me use that energy for good. Walks are so easy, she almost never pulls on the leash. She used to be highly reactive to people, dogs, and anything that moved (including leaves blowing in the wind), now she can walk by a barking dog and keep her attention on me. I’m so great full for the weekly group session, it helps us stay fresh on the training and gives us something to look forward to!

Can’t say enough good stuff about their commitment to get us guardians on the right track with our canines. Like many I gasped at the cost but now I know that is more than a fair fee for what they offer.
I am a first time dog owner of an Anatolian- Husky (!) and SMS gave me the tools I needed to have a great foundation with Max.
Highly recommend this program!

I cannot say enough good things about SMS. My Sandy went through their board and train program 6 years ago. She had several behavioral issues that needed corrected. With their expert training and ongoing classes after graduation, I have the dog of my dreams.

Sit means sit changed my dog for the better! My dog was a rescue from Texas and was being trained to be a fight dog. When he got here to Oregon he had a ton of issues. Over protective of me, high energy, biting issue, wanting to jump at cars, anxiety, issues with other dogs, and really didn’t like any man around me. I went to three other trainers to hope to help and they all said Dixon was too much of a problem and wouldn’t work with me. I finally found Sit Means Sit and worked with Bobby! Bobby helped so much! My dog is now out with friends of mine, can go for walks, can meet new dogs, and overall is a happy and completely different dog! Thank you so much!