The Best Dog Training In North Idaho

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Spokane Valley Dog Training Experts

Sit Means Sit North Idaho provides professional dog and puppy obedience training in Post Falls, Coeur d’Alene, Liberty Lake, Hayden, and surrounding Spokane Valley areas.

At Sit Means Sit North Idaho, our goal is to make your life easier, starting with a well-behaved canine. Our experienced and dedicated North Idaho dog trainers will teach you how to have off-leash control of your dog, even around severe distractions, using our unique attention-based training method.

To ensure each dog gets the proper help they need we provide multiple dog and puppy obedience training options. Whether you just got a new puppy, have an aggressive dog, see signs of desocialization, or just have a disobedient furry-friend, we’re here to help!

Our professional dog trainers are here to help your canine become a more obedient, confident, and socialized family member!

Get started on your path to a happier and healthier life for you and your pooch by scheduling your free one-on-one evaluation today!

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About Sit Means Sit Dog Training

Dog Training Programs

Any Dog Any Age Any Problem

Day Training

Day Training

With our Day Training Program, you get the best of a fully immersed training program without having to say goodbye to your pup for days (or weeks) at a time. During your dog’s full-day experience, we will pair them with a professional trainer personally dedicated to their training experience. Throughout the day, they’ll participate in training activities tailored to their needs. We’ll even teach you how to continue, maintain, and enhance the training your dog received while at home. This program results in a more confident and obedient companion alongside a happy and satisfied owner!

Benefits of Day Training:

  • Your dog can receive the training they need without having to part from you for more than a day at a time
  • You get to drop your pup off at our facility for an entire day, where we’ll handle the training
  • Compared to group classes, Day Training is a personalized experience where your dog can become comfortable and stay focused with their specific trainer, minimizing distractions.
  • We design this program to meet any specific goals you want to target, as well as any the trainer might observe.

Ready to get your canine companion in shape? Get a Free Consultation by Contacting Us Today!

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Puppy Training

Puppy Training

The first few weeks of your puppy’s life are the best time to help shape a well-mannered dog. This is why we hold Puppy Training for the first 20 weeks of your dog’s life; it’s the most important when it comes to training. There is an adjustment period that comes with a lot of love but also a lot of frustration. Teaching your pup the proper way to behave early on can prevent issues from manifesting in the future. Obedience learned at the beginning of their life will help your puppy get off on the right foot and avoid a defiant or aggressive dog later on.

Why You Should Consider Puppy Training:

  • If your pup can learn social skills early on, you and your dog will be off to a great start together!
  • We cover basic housebreaking to ensure your new puppy is quickly potty trained.
  • It’s a great way to prepare your dog for additional training courses that will build on the foundation created early on.
  • You want to learn how to appropriately deal with unwanted behaviors.

Ready to sit back and relax, knowing your little ball of energy isn’t terrorizing your home? Contact Us Today For Your Free Consultation!

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Canine Good Citizen (CGC)

Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Certification

The Canine Good Citizen (CGC) training is a popular first step many owners take in training their dogs. The AKC website states, “The CGC Program is designed to reward dogs who have good manners at home and in the community.” Through this program, they will build a foundation for obedience, agility, tracking, and performing skills. As you work with your dog to teach CGC skills, you’ll discover the many benefits and joys of training your dog. Dogs with a solid obedience education are a pleasure to live with; they respond well to household routines, have good manners in the presence of people and other dogs, and thoroughly enjoy the company of the owner who took the time to provide training.

Why Choose CGC Training/Certification?

  • All the training programs utilizing the Sit Means Sit method will prepare you and your dog for the CGC Certification.
  • Receiving the certification will enhance the bond between you and your canine.
  • Both purebred and mixed breeds are welcome to participate in the program.
  • There is no age limit for the test; a dog is never too old to be a good citizen and never too young (as long as they have completed all their immunizations and boosters).
  • Owners who have trained their dogs themselves may also have their dogs tested.

We sincerely hope that CGC will only be the beginning for you and your dog’s path to success. Contact us today for a Free Evaluation!

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Group Class

Group Class

Group classes are very important for your dog’s socialization, and all of our clients are welcome and encouraged to participate (even those with aggressive dogs). As long as your dog has trained with Sit Means Sit, please feel free to come and join us in our group obedience classes. They allow you to train your dog in an organized learning environment around severe distractions. At Sit Means Sit, a dog’s focus will only be on their handler, on or off leash.

Advantages of Group Classes:

  • Your dog will learn advanced obedience and skills in the group.
  • Get weekly assistance from a trainer in a controlled setting.
  • This is an excellent opportunity to practice and strengthen your off-leash control.
  • You will stay fresh and sharp on all your dog training skills.
  • Group Classes are a great way to socialize your canine.
  • You’ll be introduced to other pet parents who want the best for their furry friends as well.

Advance your furry friend’s social skills in a controlled learning environment that will bond your relationship even more! Get Your Free Evaluation by Contacting Us Today!

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Private Lessons

Private Lessons

We design our Private Lessons for pet parents who want to be directly involved in their pup’s progress. These lessons will help you address your dog’s unique needs alongside a certified dog trainer. Whether you are experiencing frustrations with dog aggression, accidents in the house, or ceaseless barking, Private Lessons are the perfect approach to tackle the individual challenges facing your furry friend. Also, unlike our group class lessons, our trainer will develop a training program based on your dog’s personality, size, and demeanor.

Why Choose Private Lessons?

  • It is just you, your trainer, and your dog. No other clients or dogs around to distract you.
  • There’s flexible scheduling to accommodate your busy schedule
  • These lessons can be held at our facility, your home, work, or other locations of choice.
  • You tell us what you want your dog to achieve, and we will create specific goals to match.

Our Private Lessons include a Free Consultation to develop a specific training program, so contact us today!

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FAQs

Get answers to some of our most commonly asked questions:

Each of our training programs is custom tailored to the specific situation. There are a number of factors that we evaluate prior to building a training package for you such as your dog’s age, temperament, previous training, as well as the desired goals of the owner. What will work for one dog and owner, won’t necessarily fit well with another. Because of these factors, we offer a free demonstration & consultation as an opportunity to meet with your family as well as your dog to gain insight into the unique circumstances that affect your dog’s training. During the demonstration we will evaluate the factors and develop a training plan for your dog and family. From the training plan we will be able to give you an accurate idea of cost to accomplish your goals. There is no cost or obligation associated with the free demonstration.

Sit Means Sit uses a variety of training methods and tools to achieve the goals of the customer and their dog.

The Sit Means Sit mission:

Revolutionizing the quality of life with happy, obedient, and confident dogs.

With this mission in-mind, we customize our training approach to meet with our customer's personality as well as what will result in the best possible training experience for both dog and owner. As you view our portfolio of dog training videos, we hope that you will pay close attention to the attitude of all the dogs trained by Sit Means Sit. We pride ourselves on being able to maintain a happy and relaxed attitude in our dogs.

Sit Means Sit specializes in a diversified approach to dog training. We use an attention-based dog training system developed by Founder and CEO, Fred Hassen. This approach utilizes a variety of training tools to enable our trainers to gain the dog’s attention even in distracting situations. One of the tools that we use often in our training program is our customized Sit Means Sit Collar (remote electronic dog training collar). The reason we choose to utilize technology in our training is obvious when you understand the advantages that technology allows us.

Firstly, Sit Means Sit firmly believes in safe dog training. The technology we employ is 100% safe for dogs and humans. The Sit Means Sit Collar uses state of the art digital technology to control the output from the collar to prevent it from harming your dog. The technology that is utilized in the construction of our collar is similar technology to “electronic muscle stimulators” and “TENS” units. You may be familiar with the use of these devices in the medical field (they are very common in the Chiropractic and Physical Therapy fields) or perhaps you’ve seen devices advertised on TV as “electronic muscle massagers”. These devices essentially use low-level, adjustable electronic stimulation to creating muscle contractions. In the medical field, they are used as tools to help alleviate pain, promote blood circulation and encourage healing.

In the dog training field, specifically Sit Means Sit, remote dog training collars are used as a tool to provide a remote controlled cue. The cue is designed to neither cause pain nor to disrupt the dog’s emotional state, but rather to function as an adjustable “tap”. The approach used by Sit Means Sit trainers is to treat the “tap” from the collar as a cue for the dog to pay attention. This is no different than tapping a person on the shoulder to gain their attention. The goal of tapping them on the shoulder is not to hurt them or cause emotional distress, but rather to let them know that you want to communicate something to them.

The “tap” delivered from the Sit Means Sit Collar is a highly adjustable sensation that can be set to levels that are often imperceptible to people. Obviously this adjustability is necessary because some dogs are sensitive, while others are quite tough. There is no way to determine what levels your dog will respond to until you begin to train them with a collar. Another reason why the collars are so adjustable is because distractions from the environment are never consistent. Relate this to training with a treat. How many times will that treat work perfectly indoors, but fails to maintain your dog’s attention when a cat is running by. Sit Means Sit has found that dogs can be taught to pay attention around extreme distractions very effectively.

During the fundamental Sit Means Sit training, the dogs and handlers are taught how to condition their dog to the collar in a constructive and positive manner. By adjusting the level of the collar appropriately for the dog and the situation, as well as linking the tap from the collar with an item of high value, we can effectively teach the dog that the “tap” from the collar is related to something of value. This approach to fundamentals allows for a smooth transition into distraction training and off leash control through attention to command.

You can relate the advantages that a Sit Means Sit Collar can provide you in dog training with the advantages that a state-of-the-art smartphone provides you. Cell phones these days are no longer just phones, but mini-computers with built-in cameras, internet access and applications. These tools enhance our communication with others, allow for a diversified means of gathering and sharing information as well it’s just flat out cool what can be done with them, provided you have the knowledge. You can still choose to use you old-fashioned wall-mount telephone in your kitchen if you like, but now you’re restricted to the the length of the cord, and it’s not exactly easy to send photos to your in-laws using that wall-mount phone. Effectively limiting what you can do while you’re talking on the phone. There’s nothing wrong with doing things that way, it’s just limiting. This same relationship can also be said of using a leash to train your dog. It’s just limiting. With a smartphone you can do it all from the convenience of wherever you want.

Building on the premise of safety, the use of a remote controlled cue allows for greater freedom of communication, and in turn more efficient training through the enhancement of near-instantaneous timing. Being able to re-direct your dog’s energy or attention while he is at a distance from you greatly enhances the reliability you can achieve in a short period of time. It's also allows for you to communicate with your dog without confrontation from yelling. Also, the uniqueness of the Sit Means Sit approach stands head and shoulders above other technology-based dog training systems because of our ability to establish a neutral communication system allowing for unprecedented problem solving abilities, and through our enhanced communication skills a truly politically correct training approach. We invite you to view our training first-hand by contacting us for a free demonstration with a local trainer.

Training with a remote dog training collar like the Sit Means Sit dog training collar is really no different than training your dog with a leash or with treats. Reinforcement in any form is a required and necessary part of your dog’s life. Even after they are trained, it will still be necessary to maintain your rules and boundaries. This is really no different than we encounter with people learning to drive a car. Obtaining your driver’s license only shows that you understand the rules of the road, and have demonstrated your ability to operate a car safely. It does not guarantee that you will stop at every stop sign, and drive the speed limit all the time. Obviously there are a lot of factors that change as you drive, and some drivers are more honest than others. The bottom line however is that there are police officers responsible for maintaining the law and enforcing the rules that we have agreed to.

When looking at dog training from this standpoint, it easy to see how reinforcement of rules will be inevitable at some point. Every dog is different though, and some dogs require more or less reinforcement than others.

The good news is that proper and thorough training will result in your dog being more reliable even without training equipment or training ‘aids’ as we call them. Training your dog to be reliable without a Sit Means Sit dog training collar on is a matter of transferring attention through conditioning. There are three broad phases of training that you will encounter as you train your dog. Sticking with the your training and reinforcing your rules consistently over a long enough period of time will get your dog as reliable as they can be. The phases of training are as follows:

Phase 1: The Teaching/Control Phase ~ 6-12+ weeks

During phase one, the goal is to achieve control over your dog, teach them the rules, boundaries and desired behaviors you want. It also the time to teach the dog to pay attention and perform these commands around distractions. This phase lasts between 6-12 weeks on average, however in certain situations it may take longer to gain the reliability needed before moving on to phase two. Once your dog is capable of performing commands quickly and reliably around a variety of distractions with minimal problem solving required, then your dog and you are ready to move on to phase two.

Phase 2: The Reinforcement Phase ~ 6-12+ weeks

During phase two, the goal is to begin phasing out your training aid (remote dog training collar). In phase one, we use the dog training collar on a regular basis to regain attention and maintain our rules. Now in phase two we begin to reduce our dependence on the dog training collar and introduce consistency via variable reinforcement. You may or may not need your dog training collar, but we want to teach the dog that you are still in control even if the perception of the dog is that you are not. This phase will last between 6 – 12 weeks on average, and will require you to stick with phase two for longer than average. It’s also not uncommon as dogs mature and age to have to revert back into phase one training again for several weeks depending on how your dog’s performance and behavior is. When your dog is capable of performing commands without the need for reinforcement for approximately 6 weeks, then your dog is very likely to be reliable without their training aid present. We are ultimately looking to have your dog learn how to filter our distractions entirely. When this is achieved, your dog is much less likely to act out in an unwanted manner because of distractions.

Phase 3: The Maintenance Phase ~ Ongoing

The third and final phase of training a dog is the maintenance phase. During this phase, you will likely be using your dog training collar or other dog training aid very little as your dog is capable of ignoring distraction. The catch however is that they are still capable of distraction (they are not robots). A smart trainer recognizes this and is ready to maintain their rules, commands and boundaries at anytime. It is not uncommon to have a dog who sense the lack of maintenance and begins to revert back in their behavior. The benefit of having done your dog training properly to begin with is that regression is easily minimized and dealt with by simply jumping back into training for a short time to remind the dog of the expectations.

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Trainers & Staff

Professional trainers. Attentive friendly staff.

Trent

TrentOwner

Meet Trent Stephenson, Owner and dog trainer extraordinaire! Trent has been has been passing along his expertise in dog training and behavior modification since 2006 when he began working with rescue dogs in Chicago while simultaneously conducting obedience and protection work with his own pet German Shepherd.

After living all over the United States and enduring harsh mid-west Winters, embracing the opportunity to work with his very own Sit Means Sit was a no brainer! It’s not unlikely to catch a glimpse of Trent around town performing tricks with his dog Bounce, a Belgian Malinois. His favorite breed is the Belgian Malinois which is often confused for German Shepherds. Their natural athleticism, high intelligence and work drive makes them ideal dogs to train.

When Trent isn’t working, he loves taking his dog hiking and camping and traveling all around the country. Wherever he goes, she goes, too. Trent’s best training advice is to start early because you have a lifetime to get it right.

Service Areas

We proudly serve the following areas in Spokane Valley.

Counties

  • Kootenai County

Cities

  • Post Falls
  • Coeur d’Alene
  • Spokane Valley
  • Spokane
  • Hayden
  • Rathdrum
  • Garwood
  • Sturgeon
  • Twin Lakes
  • Silver Beach
  • Spirit Lake
  • North Pole
  • Athol
  • Belmont
  • Bayview
  • Lakeview
  • Cedar Creak
  • Blanchard
  • Coleman
  • Flagstone
  • Granite
  • Priest River
  • Thama
  • Sawyer
  • Laclede
  • Liberty Lake
  • Morton
  • Westmond
  • Dover
  • Sandpoint
  • Sagle
  • Ponderay
  • Bronx
  • Culver
  • Hope
  • Clark Fork
  • Eddyville
  • Wolf Lodge
  • Canyon
  • Rose Lake
  • Cataldo
  • Enaville
  • Kellogg
  • Lane
  • Medimont
  • Bacon
  • Conkling Park
  • Worley
  • Plummer
  • Parkline
  • Riverdale
  • St. Marries
  • Omega
  • St. Joe

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Sit Means Sit has 157 locations across the US and Canada.

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Dog Training Videos

Check out a few videos to see our dog trainers at work!

Ekho goes to the park and learns to play with dogs

Charlie wags his tail all the way through Home Depot

Super cute Doodle

Client Dogs and Group Class

5 Star Reviews

We love customers and their dogs. They love us.

lex A

I want to say thank you Trent and all of the staff! My dog had trouble socializing again and with walking on a leash. He would lunge towards other dogs and bark uncontrollably. I felt so helpless trying to get his attention again and stop him from barking. He is now walking by my side,…

Jessica T

I can finally go on walks with my Labrador and be in public spaces. This program has been a game changer. I had tried other training programs that did not work for us. We have been recommending it to our friends.

Robin J

Sit Means Sit have helped my dogs Cali and Cooper so much! I’ve seen an improvement in both of them. They genuinely care about you and your dogs. 10/10 I’d recommend

Carole A

My 23 month old Bulldog was beginning to be reactive when she was a puppy. She also was difficult to control on a leash. The clicker training i did with all of my previous dogs, was not effective. I enrolled her for training at Sit Means Sit. Now, she’s awesome on and off a leash….