Sit Means Sit Dog Training - Philadelphia — Local services in Upper Merion Township

LOL at the owner’s defensive response. What else are you hiding?

Ugh, boo. Long story short, I can NOT give this place any more than one star (still no option to leave zero..). I did a consultation here and the trainer was nice but, from my opinion, undereducated about breed-based dog behavior and individualized effectual training methods. For my 2.5 y/o CGC certified(!) herder-breed, objectively well-behaved dog with an amazing disposition but some anxiety issues he offered the ’gold’ program; a three-session, immersive, daycare-style training where I would NOT be present, which led me to be extremely wary, especially when I was told about the collar. I personally believe dog training has as much to do with the dog as the trainer, so this did not compute for me. I KNOW there are some things I could be doing differently to help my dog understand the world around her better, and have less anxiety, and that’s why I pursued what I thought was professional help. However, from what I saw, the only method used at Sit Means Sit is positive punishment, a far cry from the positive reinforcement techniques we have been using since she was a pup. And FYI their only ‘certifications’ are internal. They are not certified by any external, reputable source - look it up on their own website. Just because the akc lists them as one of their testing centers, it does not mean their core dog training is at all certified by any external source. From what I understand, they only offer ONE type of training method, and will push to sell you as such (and it’s expensive af). During the consultation I was met with leading questions that did not define my dog at all (jumping on counters, aggression, jumping on people excitedly, etc. Nope, she doesn’t do any of that.). Their promise to ‘fix’ her fear and anxiety (which, from what I understand from working with a multitude of other training facilities, typically takes consistent counter-conditioning and desensitization) within three days of training in their program is extremely sus and led me to seek info and help elsewhere. I’m not sure how zapping my dog’s neck with a ‘tap on the shoulder’ every time you ask her to perform something undefined to her would help her anxiety? It just makes no sense. I would have respected what I knew about the program upon booking the initial consultation (unaware of their ‘proprietary’ collar…look it up) had the trainer told me, after a LONG discussion, that their (only) training method may not align with my own, but as it stands I am 100% unhappy with my own experience here, as someone who focuses on positive reinforcement training techniques. I asked a lot of questions about the program during the consult, and from what I was told, day 1 of 3 is training the command ‘sit’. Ummmm my dog is 2 years old and CGC certified, she already knows how to sit (and stay, and come, and down, and paw, and off, and up, and go and spin, and turn, and touch, and boop, and…? I could go on.) So from what I was told, they sit the dog in a training room, work with them for awhile on how to ’sit’, then have her sit on a platform to watch other dogs training. Cool, except it’s an hours long immersive program. Tell me what they do when the dogs try to leave their platform? Do they ‘tap them on the shoulder’ with the collar each time? How long are they sitting & watching and doing nothing else? Who knows! I wouldn’t have been present! If I were thinking from my dog’s perspective, it sounds awful (in my own opinion) to have to sit in one spot for an extended period of time and watch other dogs moving around and just sitting, and watching, and waiting…for how long? From there I asked about rewards and positive reinforcement and I was met with crickets. I’m not happy with their training techniques, I’m not happy with their sales techniques, and I’m not happy to see the accounts on other websites of what happens when the consumer inevitably leaves their dogs in the hand of the trainers at the KOP/Philly Sit Means Sit...

When we first encounter sit means sit, we were super hesitant towards their style of training and using the SMS collar. After meeting Sal and Alexa for our FREE evaluation, they immediately eased our concerns. We became open minded to the training and excited for the results. Little did we know, how quickly this training would change our dog and better our lives. We have a one and half year old Doberman Pinscher named Arlo. Arlo was great inside our house but would throw temper tantrums around distractions, specifically with other dogs. He would mark in new environments and struggled with excessive leash pulling. We were embarrassed to go places in fear that he would throw a tantrum, be overly vocal, or mark somewhere he shouldn’t.

After our first session with Alexa, Arlo had made huge improvements! He was no longer the loudest dog in the room huge sigh of relief. She taught us so much about the collar, how to use it, and gave us homework. She was also always super professional and took the time to answer all of our questions. You could tell Alexa treated Arlo as if he were her own and we couldn’t have been more grateful for that. Our second session with Karleigh went really well. We were given the tools to learn “place” with Arlo, and were able to succeed with it at home!

Our third/final session with Morgan was incredible. Arlo clearly loved her and learned so much with her! Morgan was very patient with us learning the new skills and taught us great tips to use for home. Every time we learned a new skill, Morgan demonstrated with such ease and natural control over Arlo. It was more about training us to be able to do the same (haha).

I know all dogs are different and struggle with varying behaviors. Sit means sit gives you plenty of options in regards to training programs and customization. This includes sending in videos to receive improvements, group sessions, and individual private sessions.

With all of that being said, E-collars aren’t for everyone. Definitely do your research to decided what’s best for you, your dog, and your family. If you decide that you are open to this style of training; I highly suggest using Sit Means Sit Philadelphia because of their expertise and professionalism using the collar and training your fur baby.

Arlo went from pulling our backs out and having full melt downs around other dogs.. to sitting with a graduation cap on for a picture while another dog was in the room staring at him. Arlo showed very quick improvement and we are looking forward to working towards more skills utilizing their...

For anyone looking into training for your pup, Sit Means Sit is the best place and we Highly recommend it. They are so loving, dedicated, and can work with/train any dog. Words cannot begin to describe how grateful we are for Sit Means Sit Philadelphia.

We took our 6 month old female chocolate lab for an evaluation with Alexa and she made us feel so welcomed. She was so patient with our pup Violet, as at that time she was quite the attention barker. Alexa was so reassuring and encouraging; we knew Sit Means Sit was going to be perfect for our pup.

Fast forward to our weekly trainings with these four amazing trainers: Sean, Chloe, Karleigh, and Morgan. Each individual trainer worked So extremely hard with Violet. Violet is a very smart girl, but an extremely stubborn pup. Each trainer showed the utmost patience and dedication to our sweet but stubborn little girl. With the e-collar, we were very quickly able to stop the incessant attention barking, which was one of our biggest problems. Violet really struggled with healing and looking at both us and the trainers without checking out constantly. Each week she would hold her attention and healing a little longer, but she kept being very stubborn with this command. By the 5th week of training Violet finally wasn't checking out as much and would hold her attention a lot longer. This was a HUGE accomplishment! She picked up sitting, place, come, and recall beautifully. Our trainers also took extra time to help work with Violet getting in and out of our car, as she was extremely terrified of the car. Now Violet has no problem jumping in and out of the car. They went above and beyond working with Violet!

Before our training with Sit Means Sit we were just at our wits end. No matter how many videos we watched or changed up the training techniques, Violet was almost impossible to handle and would rarely listen. Sit Means Sit put in all the hard work, training her all day, and then during our private lessons they gave us the necessary tools to help both Violet and us to succeed. They created the best and healthiest training environment. We are forever grateful for all the hard work, love, and dedication that Sean, Karleigh, Morgan, and Chloe put into training our Violet. Words cannot begin to thank each one of you enough. Violet is a completely different dog, in the best way possible, today than when she first visited Sit Means Sit. We thank you all so much and cannot wait to continue with group training classes. God...