Strongly recommend for any big or small dog owner, no matter what their goals are.
We have a 1.5 yr old intact male Great Dane, Maus. We tried one other training program where we went straight to a group train environment when he was about 7 months old. It was a fine class I’m sure, but getting the individual attention and help we needed was impossible. We left each session with more questions than answers. We cancelled and sought out Sit Means Sit.
I personally was scared to walk Maus anymore when he reached 10 months old – and we knew this day would come and we were prepared to get help. Not a mean or aggressive bone in his body, but at his size, his uncontrollable playful reactions in public made it impossible for me to safely take him in public.
We started with 5 private lessons, one per week. After the first, I was already prepared to take him on practice walks up and down 2 blocks! At the 3 week/3 lesson mark we were ready to take him out to Cabela’s for public practice. Once he graduated from 5 private lessons, the trainers agreed we were ready to continue in group classes, and I was walking him alone anywhere I could take him. Now we have a life long training support team that responds to texts messages with continued individual help on any questions we have. We can go to group classes for all of Maus’s life, and keep up with educating ourselves and provide structure for a growing 155 lb “puppy” that needs it. Plus, the other people and their dogs are super fun to meet and socialize with! I can’t imagine that any other program style/approach would be this successful in helping us fully enjoy our Great Dane lifestyle. Rehoming is/was never ever an option, and I hope others seek this style of training to help them fully enjoy their dog lifestyle, too 🙂