Dog Training in East Greenwich, RI

If your dog walks Main Street like he owns it, patrols the property line at anything that moves, and comes in from the yard when he is ready rather than when he is called, you have a very common East Greenwich dog. A busy household, a big lot, a dog with a lot of freedom and nobody he clearly answers to.

Busy households produce a particular dog: one who has worked out that the rules change depending on who is holding the leash, and who therefore follows nobody in particular. He is not confused. He is well informed. The answer is not another gadget but one set of rules from everyone in the house, and a dog who trusts and respects the people giving them. Shawn Hines has spent more than thirty years training dogs and more than fifteen running Best Buddy Dog Training, and that is what he teaches East Greenwich families to do.

Dog Training Problems We See in East Greenwich

He behaves for one of you

The dog who is an angel for one adult and a menace for the other has sorted out who means it. That is a leadership question, not a personality clash, and the fix is a household that handles him the same way, so that the dog has one set of rules to live by.

Main Street and the Hill

A dog who pulls through town is leading, not exercising, and crossing the street at every other dog teaches him that other dogs are a worry. Walked by someone he respects, he passes the dog, the stroller and the café tables on a loose leash.

Goddard on a Saturday

Open fields full of other dogs are where owners find out whether they have a recall or a coincidence. A recall is built on a leash first, under distraction, and only then trusted among the geese.

The Dogs in the Pictures

The dogs in the photographs and videos on this site are Shawn's own students. All of them are Shawn's work, photographed and filmed as it happened, with no treat and no e-collar in sight. You can judge the results for yourself in the videos and the success stories.

In-Home Dog Training in East Greenwich, RI

Four private sessions with Shawn at your home and in the places you take your dog make up the in-home program in East Greenwich, and the whole idea is that you come out of them able to train your own dog. The plan reflects your dog and your household, not a standard course. Support by phone and video runs for the dog's whole life at no additional cost, up to five dogs living in the same home are covered by the one price, and no fees appear later; extra sessions are included if you have done the work and still need them. The Rhode Island price is $2,000.

Board-and-Train

Some dogs need to leave home for a while. Board-and-train takes the dog into Shawn's home and pack for four to six weeks of daily training in public. Shawn makes the pickup and the delivery himself, and follows with three reintegration sessions at your home, then lifetime support. It is for the dog who has bitten, the dog who guards, the badly reactive dog, and the dog nothing else has reached. The program is priced for the dog, from $2,500 to $5,000, and confirmed on the phone.

East Greenwich Owners Ask

Our dog is on an invisible fence. Do we have to take it out?
No. It can stay as insurance. What changes is that he stops needing it.

The dog walker handles him three days a week.
Then the dog walker is part of the plan. The dog gets one set of rules from everyone.

Do you use treats?
No. A treat is something we give a dog because we want to, not something he needs in order to listen.

Call Shawn

The first step is (401) 536-7982. There is no fee and no sales talk; you get Shawn. Say what is going on with your dog and he will say what he would do and what it would cost. Phone hours are Monday through Friday 8am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 5pm; outside them, leave a message.

Who you are to your dog is EVERYTHING

Shawn Hines
Dog Trainer, Best Buddy Dog Training