FirstBark
I wanted to give an honest review of my experience with Sit Means Sit. I did a two-week board-and-train with my puppy back in June, paying nearly $4,000. I went into it with several specific goals: improving her recall so she could eventually be off leash, stopping her from picki…Read full reviewClose full review
I wanted to give an honest review of my experience with Sit Means Sit. I did a two-week board-and-train with my puppy back in June, paying nearly $4,000. I went into it with several specific goals: improving her recall so she could eventually be off leash, stopping her from picking on our older dog, getting her to stop biting the leash, improving her leash manners, teaching her not to jump all over people when she gets excited, and teaching basic boundaries like not running out the door or chasing after people. Unfortunately, I honestly don’t feel like she learned the things we paid for. She still has extremely poor recall, gets overly excited when she sees people, wants to chase/play with every dog or cat she sees, and still struggles with basic obedience and boundaries. The program also included training sessions where we were taught how to continue her training at home. They use an e-collar, which I wasn’t very educated about beforehand. During one of our sessions, the trainer instructed me to press the button every time I turned or changed direction while walking. I didn’t understand why that was necessary when my puppy was already following me, and looking back, I wish I had questioned it more. After the board-and-train, I waited about a month before reaching back out because I wanted to give her time and genuinely hoped things would improve. I was told that if she needed additional training, they would work with her at no additional cost. However, I was ultimately directed toward group classes. The problem is that my puppy simply isn’t ready for a group class. She becomes extremely distracted and excited around other dogs and cats and wants to get to them to play. Even during our training sessions, she struggled to listen, and I was told that she was a puppy and was tired. I live in Kerrville, so making repeated trips for group classes is also difficult, especially when I don’t believe she’s at the point where a group environment would be productive for her. Another major disappointment was the lack of follow-up after her training. I expected someone from the facility to check in and ask how things were going, especially after spending nearly $4,000 on her training. I never heard one word from them. Every time there was communication afterward, I was the one who had to reach out and explain that we were still struggling. I feel like there should have been more follow-up and support instead of leaving it up to me to keep contacting them. I truly wanted this to work, and I gave it time before saying anything. But for nearly $4,000, I expected much more progress and individualized follow-up when the training clearly wasn’t accomplishing what we discussed beforehand. I don’t expect every puppy to be perfect after two weeks, but I did expect to see meaningful progress and continued support afterward. Unfortunately, that wasn’t my experience. Based on my personal experience, I would not recommend this location for a puppy with the issues mine had. If you’re considering spending this kind of money on training, I would strongly encourage you to research other trainers and ask very detailed questions about exactly what methods will be used, what progress you should realistically expect, and what happens if your dog doesn’t meet the training goals.