Sit Means Sit – Austin

I adopted my dog from a shelter two years ago, and he has suffered from intense anxiety issues from day one. I enrolled him in the three week board and train program, and am incredibly impressed with the Sit Means Sit method and staff. They sent me personalized email updates every couple days with attached videos of my dog during training sessions, and then broke the videos down to explain key points. It was awesome to be able to follow my dog through his program, and learn from his sessions as he experienced them. The emails are also a great reference tool to help continue the program back home.
Training is a lifelong commitment, so don’t expect your dog to come home perfectly behaved, and then stay that way. The onus lays on you as the owner to maintain the training. However, Sit Means Sit does a wonderful job laying the foundation for your dog, and then teaching you how to continue it.
The staff is friendly and competent, and truly care about giving you the best possible experience. After the three weeks were finished, and I picked up my dog, they continued to follow up with phone calls and emails to see how everything was going at home. A follow-​up one-​on-​one training session is also included in the board and train program, which was very useful in assessing how I was doing as the owner, and answering questions that had arisen over the previous week. I feel like we are now a part of the Sit Means Sit community, and I can turn to them if I ever have questions in the future. Thank you Kelli, Alexandra, and Misia!

Sit Means Sit is an incredible place for your dog to learn. Duke, my black lab, was rescued as a 1 yr old. When I got him all he did was pull on his leash and go hide anytime something loud happened. After the training through sit means sit I began to recognize the potential Duke had at becoming a really special dog. Through continued training with The Go Team, Duke is now an official Therapy Dog going out and helping others. I would recommend Sit Means Sit to everyone considering training for their dog. It is a great investment into a loving relationship between you and your dog.

The consummate professionals. Our dog — and therefore our family — has truly benefited from the services of Sit Means Sit. Any negative reviews you read are from people who don’t understand that this business is intended to assist you in training your dog, rather than just training your dog for you. If you want someone else to do all the work and train your dog for you, you probably don’t understand what dog ownership really means and what it truly means to bond with an animal. These guys are truly excellent and I wish I could give them more stars.

My dog has been training with Sit Means Sit for 6 months now and I could not be happier. I initially found them through Unilocal reviews well before I even started to look for a dog. I believe in being prepared, so I wasn’t going to get a dog until I could afford it and have the time. I think people being upset that they are pricey is silly. A business has the right to charge what they want just as you have the right to not do business with them. Don’t get mad at them for you not being able to afford something. In this case, I truly think you get what you pay for. Anyway, I went in for my free consultation the day after I got my 2 year old pit. They were super nice and answered all of my questions. I opted for the package that includes 3 – 4 private lessons and a year of of group classes. I payed around $ 1000. After the very first week, I had a completely different dog. It was amazing. Now, I should point out that my pup didn’t have any major behavioral problems. We went in looking to learn basic manners. But after that first week, she was walking beautifully at my side and not forcing a hello on any person or dog. After 3 weeks, she was staying wherever I told her to stay for as long as I wanted, was waiting for permission to eat (after I put her food down), was waiting for permission to enter and exit the house, and was just generally listening to me. After 6 months, she has many other tricks up her sleeve and we I regularly get complimented for my dog’s wonderful behavior. It’s all because of Sit Means Sit. Now, you should know that this is a program that you have to participate in. They can only do so much. You are the one living with your dog and it’s your responsibility to work with them. The trainers teach you how to do everything, but it’s up to you if you do it. They have 3 – 4 group classes a week and are looking to add more. Group is awesome – go to it! Also, I have had some moments when I felt like I couldn’t wait for group to talk to a trainer (I may be an overbearing first time dog mom) and so I called them to ask a question. Usually within an hour, they either call or email me back and never seem annoyed with my crazy questions. When I noticed my dog was guarding toys around other dogs? They told me exactly how to fix it and within a week of working on it every day, that behavior completely disappeared. When I was nervous about introducing my dog into another house that already had a dog? They walked me step by step on what to do and it went seamlessly. Pretty amazing service! If you take advantage of everything that your package offers, then $ 1000 turns out to be quite cheap. When I get another dog, I will most certainly use their services again. Highly recommended.

I wrote a review not long after we started with SMS and a year later, I’m even more in love with these guys! I can’t begin to express the level of frustration my dogs and I were at before we started this training. I dreaded taking them outside, they jumped and scratched me, barked constantly, we couldn’t have company, they ran away at every opportunity. If there was a bad behavior to be had, mine had it. I was at my wits end. I laugh now with Cortnie about the first time I walked into the warehouse with tears in my eyes because even the short drive there was so exhausting and frustrating. She promised me that day that I would be able to have my dogs off leash, take them with me wherever I went and be dogs I could enjoy again. I knew she was making big promises and I was skeptical.
Cortnie and this team delivered on these promises. Now I can take my dogs to dog parks where they get along with other dogs, I take them with me to restaurants where they calmly hang out, I can safely drive without them jumping on me or barking in my ear. I can leave my dogs on «place» and know they will stay until I call them. This skill is so handy when my hands are full or we are in a busy place where their safety is a concern. We can have company without me worrying about them being completely wild and out of control. I can let them off leash and know they will come back when called. Anyone who knew my dogs before will confirm the total 180 these guys have made.
And the best part… THEY ARE SO MUCH HAPPIER! Before this training, my dogs constantly showed signed of anxiety and stress. They were always worried about everything around them. Sit Means Sit helped me become the «leader of our pack». My dogs now know they don’t have to worry about everything, that’s my job. They are able to relax in environments they are unfamiliar with because they know I won’t let anything happen to them, that I wouldn’t ask them to do something unsafe.
I would shout it from the rooftops how much this team changed our lives. They gave me hope we could be better and they did not fail me.

Our dog is 42 lbs of mutt hunting dog that was rescued by a family member from a parking lot. While he’s cuddly and energetic, his time without a home left him aggressive towards other dogs and children. Initially we tried clicker training, but it wasn’t getting the results we needed to keep him as a pet. He would pay attention to the clicker only when there were no other distractions, and once he saw a squirrel or a child, the clicker didn’t exist to him.
Because he was displaying aggression towards children, we took him to sit means sit. During the consultation, the trainer had his full attention in seconds. Since then, we’ve been taking him to group classes with other owners, and i can’t recommend it enough. While our dog still has aggression, the amount is vastly reduced and, more importantly, is now manageable. We’ve had multiple sessions introducing him to children (using a muzzle) without incident.
Highly recommended if you can afford it.

I’ve got a pretty good dog who knew basic commands, but would pull the leash on walks and went ballistic (in an excited, not aggressive) manner when she saw other dogs. I signed her up for a week of boarding with Sit Means Sit so they could work with her on these issues.
I see that some people think that the training collar is a «shock» collar, but I think people miss the point: we, as humans, are completely inconsistent, and dogs don’t get that. The collar is not meant to punish, and should never be used that way. My dog quickly learned that I was looking for her attention, and I rewarded her for giving it to me. The collar helps me get and keep her attention, even during challenging situations. The trainers did a GREAT job of helping me understand how to properly use the collar, how to show my dog what is expected, and how to reward her for the good response. They also taught me to be consistent. This helps my dog understand what I want from her.
The trainers are professional, courteous, kind, and consistent in their messaging. Walks with my dog have gone from stressful to delightful. We went to our first group lesson and my dog behaved beautifully around 15 other dogs she’d never met before — a far cry from her previous «OMG!!!» behavior. She is happy to be making me happy, and we’re bonding even more than we had before. I’m dedicated to this method, and I saw a whole group of believers at the group class. It’s not cheap, and it’s also not for people who are lackadaisical in their dog ownership, but for those who want a great dog with great manners and are willing to understand this kind of training, it’s fantastic!

I normally don’t write reviews, but feel like this one needs to be written. I chose to check out Sit Means Sit because of the reviews that I had previously read. Before I go into my experience, I want to give you a little back story on my dog. I rescued him when he was 6 months old. I was having a problem with him getting out of our gate and although, all he wanted was to go up to people that were walking by to get love, he kind of looks like a mean dog (he’s a boxer pit mix), so I didn’t want people to perceive him that way because he wasn’t.
Now about my experience. I was on my break from college and wanted to get my dog into training before the next semester had begun, so I was in a bit of a time crunch. My main concern with my dog was him getting out of our gate. I also wanted to be able to take him places because he didn’t do well in car rides or walks when he would see other people or animals. Like I mentioned earlier, I read reviews from Unilocal and thought I’d give Sit Means Sit a try. When I set up my initial visit, it seemed to go well. We tested what we were told was a «training collar» and decided to give them a try. When I think about us testing out the collar, we were able to test is on the lowest level possible, so it didn’t hurt us. Every time you give a command to your dog, the collar is used. All the collar did was make my dog fearful of humans. My dog was never an aggressive dog and only after the 4 visits that he had with four different trainers each time, he is now considered to be aggressive. Not only did it make his behaviors worse, but I wasted 1,000 plus dollars. Our last visit we had was with a trainer I had never met, and lasted a whole 20 minutes if that because of the weather. That lesson was never discounted, rescheduled nor did I receive a follow up call. I have yet to hear from Sit Means Sit to see how my dog was doing which makes me feel like they genuinely didn’t care about my dog.
Because my dog wasn’t improving I decided to give the place that I was going to initially take him to a try. I can’t tell you how much he has improved and how much better the overall experience has been. He has worked with one specific trainer, and she absolutely loves him and truly cares about helping him improve. She never shortens his lessons, if anything, she keeps him longer than his scheduled time because of the progress he’s making. She does not use any form of «collar» to get him to do what she asks hims to. The agency I am taking my dog to now actually studies the behaviors of dogs.
I feel extremely terrible for allowing my dog to experience pain when he shouldn’t have and don’t want anyone else to experience what we did.

Its really expensive over 1000 $
You can get shock collar from petmart or petco less than 300 $. Group meeting is only one thing i would say its worthy. I had borderline between giving away my puppy and training.
I just did not have heart to giveaway my puppy. So i decided to pay almost $ 1000 value of training. Its 3 or 4 private lesson and group meeting a year.
I have class from 8am till 4 pm (monday till friday)
I have part time job weekend.
Whenever i can, i go to group meeting but i tried to go 6pm north park. But because of traffic, i never get to made it to group session.
Okay,
1. If you have money for training go for it.
2. Its not what they are going do it for you. You need to practice with your dog. Basically you know it.
3. Just because it is expensive, it is going to fix your dog behavior.
4. You dont have time, do not buy group session. Just buy private lesson
5. If you can do at home regularly training your dog, that is better and save $ 1000
6. If you are full time student try to save money and no time, it is not the best place.
7. Great trainer and they are really great with dogs.
8. Money value does not match with outcome. And remember they do not do it for you. You need to put your hours and effort. So its is like going to gym. You want to lose weight so you pay fee. But money does not lose weight for you, your time and effort in the gym will bring the result.
9 you can go cheaper rates of pet training.
Because anyway you need to spend your time.

We love the south Austin group class! We’ve been clients for about a year and a half (signed up for lifetime group classes) and the weekly practice and reinforcement has been great for our pup and for us. Ashley is an awesome trainer, for both the dog and the person. She is very straightforward with her teaching and helps you understand how you communicate with your dog. We love her positive attitude, no nonsense approach, and the fun environment she creates every week.

Ashley is absolutely amazing. She changed our lives by helping us focus our dogs and make them well behaved members of the family unit. We can take them with us wherever we go without fear of leash pulling or barking or jumping. Our life is so much better because of Ashley… come to Sit Means Sit and ask for her. You will be SO glad you did.

My dog is only 3 private lessons with Carrie in, and already I’ve seen a HUGE improvement. My boxer is pretty well behaved in most situations, but has terrible leash reactivity, as well as some boundary issues. After just 3 lessons, I already feel way more confident taking her for walks when we might encounter other dogs. Her eye contact is improving, and her manners around the house (which were already pretty good) are almost perfect! We have group lessons to look forward to. That, along with lots of practice will most definitely result in the well-​behaved, trustworthy pup I’ve been wanting.
A note about the e-​collar. I know it is controversial, but I was absolutely convinced of its effectiveness and humaneness after a long talk with Carrie. I also tried it out on myself on various levels and it really does feel more like a tingle than a shock. It’s used to get the dog’s attention, and never as a punishment. Because my dog is responding so well, and never shows any traits of being «stressed out», bothered, or in pain when I use it, I’m absolutely sold on this method.

I’ve always been the hesitant type of person that never thought professional dog training would be what we needed.
I mean our lab rescue Nymeria is 3 years old and behaves «well enough.» She sits most of the time, pulls a little on the leash but not too bad, and comes over about 75% of the time when we call her. I felt that just because she wasn’t destructive or aggressive, she doesnt need dog training right? Well I was wrong. After the initial free consultation I was amazed at what the trainers here can help me with on Nymeria. I enrolled in the year program with personal individual sessions (at SMS center, at home, and at the park) and then was finally ready for the group classes. After a few group classes Nymeria can walk off leash with us easily and her «come» is 100%. Her focus and eye contact is on us and when we go out to parks I don’t have to worry about her running off to a kid or another dog. I never thought this was possible because I swore that Nymeria has doggy ADHD! I have highly recommended SMS to several of my friends now and listening to their success stories/​progress makes me so happy that they are able to help others as well.
The staff here is amazing! Vivian at the front is always so accommodating to my crazy work schedule, Troy the owner has been very understanding and all the trainers here are all top notch! You absolutely see that they have so much love for dogs! Extra shout out to trainers Cortnie and Carrie!

This training program has changed our lives forever! Thanks to their multifaceted approach, using a collar, home visits, private lessons and group classes, my dog has transformed from a wild and crazy puppy to a more mature and conscientious version of himself. This was the third attempt at trying obedience classes with my dog and this is the only one that has shown any real promise of sticking!
Krystal, the trainer, was our absolute favorite with her straight forward and fun approach, but everyone we encountered at Sit Means Sit was friendly and professional.
They are worth every penny!

My dog is 2.5 years old. Although he was fairly well behaved to begin, when around distractions and other dogs listening went out the window. When on a leash he would pull at times if he got excited.
After only one class my dog had learned place and tactics to break his habit of pulling on a leash. After 3 weeks my dog walked on a leash with ease, heeled when off a leash and follows place with or without other dogs around.
Fantastic program and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to fine tune the skills of your dog.

Over $ 600 (cheapest package) for an electric collar training program. Only seemed to stress my dog and didn’t do much to change her behavior.

Like so many people I love my dog, she’s an active member of the family and a constant source of entertainment. She is funny and always willing to chase a ball, go for a walk or swim in the lake. Shes equally as comfortable just hanging out at the house.
Not too long ago our Lucy decided she was getting older (now almost 2) and no longer had much reason to listen when called. After all she had a full belly, comfortable home, a family who loves her and besides there were too many lizards to chase. Why bother to listen? Was our little girl growing up and seeking her independence or, just acting like a dog with no clear understanding of what I wanted?
It didn’t take long before we called the SMS folks and made an appointment to learn more. We signed up within 45 minutes, still had questions, and pushed on with the training.
I’m happy to report that the training program has worked well for all of us so far. We actively try to train with her at least 30 minutes a day in different locations with new distractions.
Lucy is just as fun loving and entertaining as before training with a new twist… she listens when called and tends to be less impulsive. Don’t get me wrong a lizard can still get her attention. But now I know that she’ll come to me when called. I love having a dog who listens most of the time.
I would highly recommend their services to others. Troy and his trainers speak dog!

I have been a client of Sit Means Sit Auston for over a year now. We had a very high energy mini Australian Shepherd that was completely uncontrollable before she started her training with them. Our pup has been through other formal training with very minimal results.
After a one week board and train we received back a completely balanced dog. She was the same lovable pup we dropped off, but now she listened for commands, responded immediately to what we asked her to do, and picks up new training rapidly.
Along with now having a centered and balanced dog, we love the social community sit means sit has created. All the owners and dogs are great to be around and it makes the group trainings something to look forward to.
And lastly the trainers are awesome. Fun the be around and they so obviously love their jobs. They do an amazing job. Danielle was the one who has spent the most time with our pup and our dog clearly has a special bond with Danielle. We trust Danielle with our dog and only leave our dog with Danielle when we go out of town. The rest of the trainers rock as well!

Check out the posted photo. See the dog standing on crates full of other barking dogs? This van is parked at a Starbucks and it’s 79 degrees out. It’s been there at least fifteen minutes. Sit means sit, any idea how hot it gets inside a car with cracked windows in Texas? What’s worse is there IS A DRIVE-​THRU at this Starbucks!

We decided to go with Sit Means Sit after a failed training experience at Petsmart.
At the time our golden retriever Dexter was 6 months old, and very much a hyper/​stubborn puppy.
At first I was a little taken back because they do use e-​collars. Troy assured us it is SAFE and not used for punishment, but rather get your dogs attention during times of high distraction. I’ve tried the e-​collar on myself, and can honestly say it does NOT hurt or shock. It is more like a tingle.
Our trainer Danielle is PHENOMENAL! She knew just how hard to push the limits with our dog, and when to call it a day.
Dex caught on very quickly, and now he can go anywhere with us. Occasionally off leash, and we don’t have to worry. We’ve phased out the collar at home, but still use it for group classes and other outings. Dexter is the most loving well behaved dog we’ve ever had, and it’s all THANKS to the training and guidance we’ve received SMS!