Sit Means Sit Dog Training Waukesha

Hello dog lovers. We rescued an Australian Shepherd in March. I am a below the knee amputee and my husband is a heart patient. Australian Shepherds are high energy and very smart. With his energy level I knew proper training was essential. I was introduced to Sit Means Sit by two friends who used their services. I went in interviewed, they met my dog and we began training in November. We have completed the first step, individual training, and are now looking forward to the next phase, group training. Miah has done an amazing job with both the dog and its owner. She has trained us well and we have practiced daily. It has been a top notch and very successful experience, always remembering, practice makes perfect and all in good time. I am looking forward to the next phase. Stay tuned for our phase 2 update. Laura Siegman

I reserved writing this review because our Dune was still a work in progress. After spending thousands of dollars trying to fix his aggressions which were the result of being a reactive dog, my wife and I had to relocate Dune because of a bite that my wife incurred by holding a clipboard. Why is this significant? Well that goes back to the first day at Sit Means Sit. We were introduced to Matt Meitner. He is the head trainer and owner. We talked about needing to modify Dunes behavior due to reactivity. During his consultation and assessment Matt shoved a clipboard in Dune's face to get a reaction of which Dune did attack the clipboard. Matt said Dune's problem was he was allowed "too much freedom" and we needed to shut him down. We were told to keep Dune in "place" all day every day for a week. Place is where they sit on an elevated dog bed. No playing, only to get off place to eat, relieve himself, and sleep in his crate. He suggested that we start out with day training. Dune went to all his day training and I trained him after learning their techniques. This training involved the use of an e-collar, which we were told did not hurt him. However, Dune yiped at times when we used it, even at the training facility. They said not to worry about it. He was fine. The training involved was just basic commands, placing, walking, sitting, etc. No other training was shown or talked about. Nothing was done to modify his behavior due to his triggers. We were told that they tried to replicate the actions that triggered him and he did not react. Meanwhile, he was still biting my wife and I at home, and we reported this. In turn, our Dune was not happy. He hated going to training. He was reinforced with most of the things he learned at puppy class at Think Pawsitive. Dune was a smart dog and was never challenged. This bored him to death while I tried daily to get him to respond to commands while using the e-collar. He started to show some rebellion, of which we were told we need to do it more and not to let him play. Result was he is still biting us with more ferocity because he is getting bigger. We were told he did all commands well during his training. Matt the owner ended up stepping in when we were scheduled to be with another trainer. He said she needed to leave early, but yet we still saw her in another room. He was not happy with my frustration over Dune rebelling. He said I was not following through and not correctly training Dune. This upset my wife because she knew every day I was spending hours with Dune. We did get an extra day of training and took him to 3 or 4 group trainings, but he plateaud. We kept the collar on him every waking moment from the day we started. I did everything I was asked to do and yet no behavior modification was reached. The last straw was Dune biting my wife while she tried to grab a clipboard. That very same thing that Matt shoved in Dune's face on the very first day. In talking with an expert who has 25+ years of experience with dogs including aggressive reactive ones, she said that Matt's actions were what lead to my wife being bitten. We are a loving and caring family that decided to now seek actual rehabilitation for Dune rather than putting him down. Dune no longer wears the e-collar, a burden I wish I had never introduced to him. Dune is the sweetest dog aside from his reactivity. Dune is now living with a real dog expert and having the time of his life. I feel Matt and Sit Means Sit did a disservice to our family, especially Dune.

We had a consultation with Sit means Sits owner, Matt. We felt comfortable and heard through our consultation concerning our mini Aussie Toby. We unfortunately weren’t able to start training, but Matt’s personal dog was incredibly controlled and obedient! Unfortunately, we ended up having to re-home the dog due to some unforeseen circumstances with our life. I recommend them as they were very combating to our various needs. Thanks, Matt and Olivia! James and Erin