My husband had wanted a dog for years and while I love them, I'd always insisted I wanted to wait until our kids were older and I had time to raise a puppy.

When the kids started asking for a dog too I thought it was probably the right time! We talked for months about what breed we wanted to get. My husband wanted a larger dog, I wanted a dog that wasn 't too big for our house and yard but that could handle long walks and getting loved by two young boys, and the kids didn't care as long as it was cute (aren't all dogs cute?).

After several months of looking we came across a litter of miniature Australian shepherd/border collie crosses. We were so excited because it was the best of all worlds - not too big, not too small, plenty of energy, and very cute! So in January 2009 Sierra joined our family.

I had insisted, even before we brought her home, that if we got a dog we would start training with her right away. I knew that when we got a dog I wanted it to be well behaved, socialized with other dogs and great with the kids and I knew that would mean a lot of work on our part.

Having had a dog previously, we had tried several different training methods and styles (many without much success!) so when we got Sierra I started looking at different options. I knew Chantelle through our kids' preschool so I talked to her as well as phoning a number of other training companies. What we really liked about Sit Happens was that they would start training with Sierra right away and that they provided ongoing support - not just a six week obedience  class and then you never hear from them again!

I knew that with an energetic puppy we would have lots of issues to deal with from housebreaking to puppy biting, chewing to barking, not to mention listening when we asked her to do something and Sit Happens was willing to help with all of it!

Chantelle came to our home to work with Sierra (and us!) until we had the basics down and she was ready to join a group class. Since then, Jeff, Marilyn and Chantelle have helped us as Sierra has gone from a rambunctious puppy to a rebellious teenager to a (usually) well mannered dog.

Sierra loves going to class to see Chantelle, Jeff, and Marilyn - as well as all her canine friends - and they have quickly become some of her favourite people. While Sierra has always been a great puppy and we've had very few issues to deal with, it is nice to know that anytime something comes up and we're not sure how to deal with it we can call or go to a class and Jeff, Marilyn, and Chantelle are always available to help.

Thanks to the Sit Happens team our first year with Sierra has been great!