7/22/2008
My wife and I purchased Maximus, our now 2 year old Bullmastiff, when he was 7 months old. When we first got him he had some issues with his temperament and was not very obedient. Slowly but surely he got adjusted to our home and our other dogs, but his aggression towards other dogs just seemed like it would never get any better. Not only that but on walks, he would pull me around like I was a sled or something. I started looking into getting him some professional training when he was about 1-1/2 years old. A friend told me about Sit
Means Sit, so I visited their website. After finding that there was a franchise here in San Antonio, I decided to give them a call. Ian Avery came out to my house the very next day to do a private demonstration for me. He showed me some obedience commands with his dog Fenway and also gave Max a little test run and I immediately noticed that Ian was in complete control of him. I was so impressed by the demo that I knew I had found the right program for Max.
He started with three private lessons in my home, and after three short weeks, he had made enough progress to begin group classes. Max and I have been with the program for about three or four months now, and the difference is like night and day. Maximus is now the most obedient dog that I have ever owned. He can do a variety of commands including basic sits and downs, to sitting in motion, heel, and place. In addition to being very obedient and more attentive to me, his aggression has decreased exponentially. On his first day at group he was lunging and trying to fight all the other dogs. Now, a very short while later, he is very tolerant if not friendly with them. The other dogs can walk past him, and even sit down with him on the same place board without even a nervous eye from Max. His progress is nothing short of amazing. I am excited to see how much better he will get from here. . I feel that I can now trust my dog to not only obey my, but also tolerate and respect other dogs.
I recommend the Sit Means Sit program and Ian Avery to any and all dog owners. Sit Means Sit should be the first and only training program that you will ever need. Whether it be behavioral correction, basic obedience, or advanced training, I feel that this program is hands down the best resource out there.
My name is Bob Duffy . I own a Golden Retriever , “Tommy” who is 16 months old. Tommy completed Puppy Kindergarten and Basic Training courses at Rob Cary Kennels . He is an intelligent pup and very friendly with people and dogs , but he tends to be pushy !
I contacted “Sit Means Sit” on the computer and was referred to their San Antonio school. Ian Avery came to our house ,explained the program and gave us a demonstration with his dog and then with our “Tommy” . We enrolled that day , had private lessons at our home and now attend weekly group classes.
This course has been excellent . I can walk the neighborhood with “Tommy” at the heel position. When my feet halt , he sits automatically. If called from a position of “Place” ( the old “Stay”) , he comes at the run with love and exhuberence. I shall continue the group classes ( which are free ) to expand his knowledge and learning. Turn your Good dog into an excellent dog !! This program is great and IAN leads the way !! Bob Duffy , Ph. 210 - 408 - 7251.
I adopted my dog, Scout, from the Humane Society when
he was about a year old. He was full of energy, liked
to chew things he wasn’t supposed to, and pretty much
did what he wanted. I’ve trained dogs in the past and
thought teaching Scout to behave would be a piece of
cake. My expectations and desires for Scout were not
very high. I only wanted him to come when called, not
jump up on people, and be more pleasant to be around.
For seven months I tried everything I could think of
to teach Scout. I read books, practiced different
methods of teaching, and spent several hours each day
working with him on just basic commands, all to no
avail. Scout simply just was not going to come when
called let alone do anything else I requested.
One day I was talking with Ian about his method of
teaching dogs, Sit Means Sit. Ian demonstrated his
technique with his dog Fenway. My first comment was
“there is no way Scout could do any of that; he’s
simply not smart enough”. Ian’s reply was “every dog
is smart; you just have to know how to teach them”. I
was still doubtful until Ian spent no more than ten
minutes with my dog and had him responding positively
to commands. I could not believe it. Not only is Ian
a gifted trainer but he showed me things that I could
do in working with Scout. I signed on with Ian’s Sit
Means Sit program and within the first two weeks Scout
not only had all the basic commands down like: come,
sit, down, walk (or heal), but he was well on his way
to learning many other much more complicated commands.
I am still amazed what Scout has learned and how well
behaved he is. I believe Scout is even much happier.
I could not recommend Ian’s program, Sit Means Sit,
any higher. Ian has an amazing gentleness and talent
when it comes to working with dogs. His program works
and works well; I recommend it to anyone who loves
their dogs.
Referece: Sit Means Sit has been a great investment for my two year old
Rottweiler. Having the typical stubborn Rottweiler attitude had made
training my dog on my own very difficult. However, Sit Means Sit in just
three training sessions had my rotty sitting, laying down, placing, and
best of all walking in a tight heal. I no longer had to push her into the
sit or use a choke collar on her to get her to walk calmly. We can now
make it through the whole neighborhood and dog park without a leash at a
tight heal! I highly recommend Sit Means Sit for dog training and we plan
on starting my one year old newly adopted Border Collie on the program as
well.
On another note- we are looking forward to the first training session
with Bessie. She ran out the door this morning in the pouring ran and
took off… needless to say the words “Come Bessie” only made her run
away from us faster. 10 minutes later drenched to the bone we finally
managed to catch her. She is a very spunky girl! She bolts from us, will
not come when called (she acutally runs the opposite way from us whether
we are in the yard or house) barks, and is starting to chase the cats. I
am looking forward to turning her destructive energy into postive
energy!
