Sit Means Sit Dog Training - Portland

I couldn’t be happier with Sit Means Sit and Matt’s training. My dog Rosa was a stray. I adopted her at 1.5 years old with a mystery background beyond the fact she was originally a stray. She is still learning how to be a happy girl and feel safe in this big intimidating world. She unfortunately reacts to other humans and dogs and with her mystery background I felt the need to bring a professional in. Let’s just say, one of the best decisions I ever made.

We have An Australian Shepherd to say he’s very Energetic is to-put it lightly. I wanted to make sure that Bandit got the proper training so he could live his best life. His trainer is amazing! I was excited every time I picked up bandit to see his progress! You could see how much bandit Loved his trainer! I was also trained on how to use the E collar. They made it very clear that unless you were informed on how to use the E collar no one else should use it. Matt is also a very good instructor on teaching you how to work with your Pet. Made sure that we understood the lessons and gave us homework. We both came a long way! still have work to do. Now we’re ready for group classes. Such a great experience! I can’t Thank Matt and the staff enough!

Beyond grateful! A life-changing transformation for our rescue and my health. ​If I could give Sit Means Sit and our trainer, Ethan, a million stars, I would. ​We rescued General Grievous from Texas—a powerful mix of Pitbull, Siberian Husky, German Shepherd, and Australian Shepherd. As he grew, he developed severe leash pulling and leash aggression. Because I suffer from debilitating back and sacroiliac joint issues, his strength was becoming a serious physical danger to me. My husband and I refuse to ever give up on a rescue, but we were racing against the clock and needed our neighborhood to feel safe. ​We found Sit Means Sit after my husband kept noticing incredibly well-behaved dogs visiting his workplace; when he asked the handler who they trained with, the answer was Sit Means Sit. After a splendid consultation, we knew instantly they were the right choice and opted for the 5-day bootcamp board and train. ​Leaving Grievous for 5 days wasn't easy, but meeting Ethan put us completely at ease. He was genuinely excited to work with Grievous and assured us he was in good hands. When we picked him up, it was an absolute breath of fresh air! While he wasn’t fully finished, he had a rock-solid foundation. Ethan spent a full session teaching us exactly how to use the remote and collar—which, to my relief, uses muscle stimulation, not a shock. It feels like a gentle communication tool ("Hey, I need you to do this with me") rather than a punishment. Ethan made sure we felt confident and comfortable before we left. ​That’s where the real magic happened. We took Ethan’s guidance and ran with it, training inside the house every single day from morning until the collar came off to charge at night before moving outdoors. Whenever we hit a bump in the road—like Grievous showing "too much confidence" or testing his boundaries—Ethan was right there to help us troubleshoot. Every single time, he addressed our concerns rationally, kept us moving forward, and made sure we knew we could always call or text. We were never left in the dark. ​Today, the bond I have with Grievous is absolutely phenomenal. I never dreamed we would get to where we are now. Yes, you pay a pretty penny for this training, but the value is unmatched if you put in the work. You cannot expect the trainer to do it all for you; you have to earn the dog's respect and communication, and the results are beyond anything I expected. ​To Sit Means Sit, and especially to Ethan: thank you from the bottom of my heart, mind, and body (which was taking a serious beating). I say this with the utmost gratitude. Without you, I could have ended up severely injured, a neighbor could have been hurt, or worse—we might have faced the heartbreak of giving up on a rescue. You gave me the ability to push through and keep our promise to NEVER GIVE UP on a dog.

We had a fantastic experience with Sit Means Sit! Our 9 month old black lab Beetle had endless energy and was too excitable with our cats. We had to carry them from room to room so they wouldn’t get chased. With Sam’s help we have made so much progress in a month and everyone’s stress levels have decreased. We’re having so much fun with the training process and can’t thank Sit Mean Sit and Sam enough!!

Sit Means Sit has been a wonderful experience for training our 6 month old puppy, Nova. We were struggling with her jumping on us, play biting, and not being able to be calm in the house. We did the five-night board and train and Matt was our trainer. We were hesitant with how she’d do since it was our first time being away from her overnight, so we loved getting the daily updates and photos of her progress. We’ve had 3 additional sessions with Matt and Nova has made so much progress and we’re feeling like we have really solid training fundamentals in place. Every time she sees our trainer, Matt, she gets so happy, so we know we made the right choice for her. We’ve now graduated to puppy classes and are excited to keep fine-tuning!