Dog Training Orange County, CA
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Dog Training
Experts In Orange County
Sit Means Sit is about more than just correcting dogs’ behavior, we’re about preparing them for the real world and cultivating relationships between dogs and their owners. Our entire team is highly trained and professional. The goal is to make every one of our training sessions fun, engaging, and beneficial.
We make learning fun by utilizing our Better, Faster, Smarter training system to accomplish goals quickly and in a way that will last. The results are backed with lifetime training because we want our clients to be supported throughout all the changes that come as years go by.
We are especially experienced in working with dogs who struggle with reactivity, aggression and eparation anxiety. Our goal is to provide off-leash control mastery — even around distractions. The end result is a calmer, more reliable pet who can go wherever your family goes! Contact us today for a free consultation!
We are a certified Canine Good Citizen® (CGC) test evaluator.
Dog Training Classes
Any Dog Any Age Any Problem
Puppy Management
Our puppy classes are a quick-start program meant to give your new best friend a strong beginning. We give you answers to all your questions and curate your dog’s behavior so that they become a canine companion suited for a lifetime of meaningful relationships.
We work hard to help you understand the management of things like potty training, praise, leashes, toys, and other dogs. The first 16 weeks of a dog’s life are crucial in terms of development. If you have a trained dog this young, you will have a trained dog later in life.
Obedience Training
In all our obedience programs we teach the following:
- Come
- Sit
- Down
- Place
- Waiting at doors and cross walks
- Housebreaking
- Car manners
- Loose leash and off leash walking
- Establish boundaries in your home and yard
- Create enforceable rules for furniture.
Additionally, we teach how to stop nuisance behaviors like:
- Jumping up
- Play biting
- Digging
- Chewing
- Excessive barking or other vocalizations
For the safety of your dog, we also train obedience commands like sit and down and place at a distance so that you’ll be able to stop or direct your dog when they are not in your space.
This program includes the Group Training program.
If your dog has behavioral problems like marking in the house, aggression or separation anxiety we’re going to help you fix that too. You can expect a happy obedient dog that can perform on or off leash around severe distractions. Ultimately, more freedom and fun for you and your dog!
Private Lessons Program
This program is for dog owners who want to be involved in the process every step of the way. Private lessons aren’t just meant to correct dog behavior, they’re for pet parents who want to know how to continue to train dogs even in the absence of a professional.
By the end of a private training session, you will be well-equipped to maintain your dog’s training in any number of situations. The lessons are customizable in terms of time and place, which means you can focus your efforts and the efforts of your trainer anywhere you see trouble.
Board and Train Program
The Board and Train Program is our premier option. Here’s how it works: Your dog stays in the care of our staff at our facility. While they enjoy their time with us, your dog will be trained daily. Our staff will instill the best behaviors in your dog while ensuring that they receive daily love, attention, and exercise.
The understanding our trainers have of the Sit Means Sit training system makes progress with your very fast and effective. We do the heavy lifting! At the end of your dog’s stay with us, we bring your dog home to you and do private lessons with you. We show what your dog has learned and what the you need to do to keep your dog’s obedience at a high level. We continue private training with you until you and your dog have reached a level of proficiency required to enter the stage of our Group Training Program.
In our Free Consultation with you, we will work with you to determine the best length of stay for your dog and your needs.
Group Training Program
Group training is included for your first year with us. After that, there’s a yearly fee. The only stipulation is that clients must first train in one of our other programs before being graduated.
Group classes expose your dog to the real world, with all its distractions. Because it’s held outside with other dogs and owners involved, your pet will learn how to obey even if they’re in a brand-new environment.
Group training is designed to give our clients the opportunity to continue their dog’s training and proof skills with the distraction of other people and dogs. In general, we provide these benefits at group training:
- Socialize dogs with people in the manner of a “”Good Citizen””
- Opportunity for clients to be social with other dog owners
- Drills to proof elements of training in a distracting environment
- Drills that help clients increase their dog’s level of attention and performance
- Drills to build confidence in all dogs, especially helpful for fearful dogs
- Drills to reform aggressive dogs
- Drills to help dogs can become neutral in their response to other people and dogs.
- Trainers point out common failing points and offer tips for success when dogs are in social situations
- Drills and tips that enable clients to prepare for the Canine Good Citizen test and move into therapy work
- Tips on tricks and games to play
- Tips on things to work on at home during the week
- Access to trainers for clients get face to face advice on any training concerns
Dog Trainers & Staff
Professional trainers. Attentive friendly staff.
Cindy has been working with dogs for over 20 years and is dedicated to helping you achieve your goals with your dog. Cindy has achieved AKC Champion Titles on 9 dogs and qualified for the AKC National Eukanuba Invitational two years in a row. She enjoys many dog sports including DockDogs, AKC Conformation and most recently Mondioring. She has achieved multiple level 3 titles in Mondioring and won 4 place cat.1 at the 2023 FMBB World Championship in Romania.
Clay joined Cindy in training at Sit Means Sit in 2009. Having watched Cindy perform miracle after miracle transforming the lives of people and their dogs, it was an easy decision. Clay especially enjoys working with the troubled dogs.
There is no greater feeling than changing lives for the better. The satisfaction that comes from seeing an aggressive or fearful dog becoming an upstanding confident member of society is difficult to describe.
His own dog, Watson, is a rescue that had behavioral problems – you’d never know it now! Clay loves living, training and working with his dogs, Watson and Scooby – they’re great partners in the training other people’s dogs.
Chris grew up in Texas and eventually moved to California in 1987. He is well-traveled, living in Asia for 4 years and another 3 years in Central America. Chris has owned several businesses, including textile and photo booth, but decided he needed a change.
He grew up with dogs and knew he wanted to work with them and once he discovered dog training, he was hooked. His passion was evident from the start and in 2 short years, Chris became Sit Means Sit Orange County’s manager and lead trainer. He has 3 amazing Boston Terriers, who he also considers his business partners, Harrington, Joseph and Maisie Williams.
Ashton has been with Sit Means Sit since June 2019. She was a cultural anthropology major at the University of San Diego where she played Division 1 volleyball. She has always had animals in her life and becoming a canine instructor was a natural fit.
She owns two dogs; Harlow, a 10 year old Shih Tzu mix and Bullitt, a 4 year old Belgian Malinois. Many have met Bullitt when training with Ashton and he wins over everyone who meets him.
Ashton is one of our trainers on staff who provides Therapy Dog certification. She has worked with a variety of temperaments, breeds and ages of dogs in her career here at Sit Means Sit. She looks forward to every day she gets to meet and train new dogs.
Bryan was born and raised in Orange County California. He realized he had a passion for training dogs while attempting to train his own dog, Scratch. He started his career as a professional trainer with Sit Means Sit in June of 2019. Determined to succeed, he’s eager and
passionate to learn which carries through to today. His true passion is helping people better communicate with their dogs.
Scratch is a 4 year old 85lb Alaskan Malamute rescue. His hobbies include playing football and pulling Bryan on a skateboard.
Bryden was born in Canada and spent his early childhood years there. His family decided to acquire a second foundry which led them to Vermont, where he would live until completing high school. It was here he would fall in love with soccer, motorcycles and snowboarding. He
would return to Canada to pursue a business degree before moving on to taking over operations of his family’s metal casting company. He ran this for fourteen years before making the decision to move west in search of greater adventure in his life. Always having a dog, naturally becoming a trainer was inevitable. Currently, he has several amazing dogs including Rollo, a chocolate lab and Scooby, a black field lab.
Michael grew up in Minnesota and moved to California in 2008. He has a Marketing Degree from California State University, San Marcos. After a few years in the marketing field, he decided that it just wasn’t for him. Michael got his first dog, Tyson, in 2018 and happily fell into
dog training thereafter. Tyson is a Pitbull x German Shepherd mix. When Michael is not training dogs, he likes to spend his time at the beach, camping, skateboarding, playing golf or exploring California.
Service Areas
We proudly serve the following areas in Orange County.
Counties
- Orange
Cities
- Buena Park
- La Palma
- Cypress
- Laguna Niguel
- La Habra
- La Mirada
- Norwalk
- Santa Fe Springs
- Stanton
- Artesia
- Cerritos
- Lakewood
- Hawaiian Gardens
- Los Alamitos
- Seal Beach
- Huntington Beach
- Midway City
- Westminister
- Santa Ana
- Tustin
- Fountain Valley
- Anaheim
- Brea
- Fullerton
- Garden Grove
- Villa Park
- Orange
- Placentia
- Yorba Linda
- Newport Beach
- Costa Mesa
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Transform Your Dog with Sit Means Sit Dog Training Orange County
Before and After Dog Training with Sit Means Sit Dog Training Orange County
The Boston Tango
Dog Owners Reviews
We love customers and their dogs. They love us.
We’re finishing up our first session of training with our newish lab. She was chewing a lot, not listening real well, but she’s a smart pup. After doing training through SMS we are on a path and she now listens and behaves even better than our other dog. Now we’re going to have to do…
My husband and I have an Australian Labradoodle who is sweet, good natured and beautiful. She was reasonably well behaved before our encounter with Sit Means Sit. Now we can add “”very well behaved”” to our somewhat prejudiced opinion of our Bella. We have continued our training with the classes being offered and come away…
Sit Means Sit, Whitney and Clay have been beyond amazing. Our 1.5 year old shepherd mix is sweet as can be but has so much energy and wasn’t sure how to manage it. He would pull on the leash, jump, whine whenever he saw a person or dog and made it difficult to bring him…
Sit Means Sit has been a great decision for us. They are so dedicated to working with us and our dog; no case is hopeless. They make a family hopeful, with whatever challenges your pup may be presenting. They are extremely dedicated to what they are doing, and the group classes are the perfect enhancement….