Dog Training in Eastern New York

If you are looking for dog training in New York, you probably have a dog who shares a Riverdale elevator with a neighbor he has never liked, passes another dog at arm's length on a Larchmont sidewalk and lunges, barks through the wall of a co-op, or runs the invisible fence line on an acre in Scarsdale and will not come off a deer. You have likely tried a class, a harness, a bag of treats. The dog is still deciding things.

Eastern New York hands a dog three different lives: the elevator, the lawn, and the river path, and most training is built for one of them. The thing that works in all three is not a technique but a relationship: a dog who trusts and respects the person he lives with does what that person asks in a lobby, a field, or a parking lot, and no treat or remote collar produces it. Shawn Hines has spent more than thirty years training dogs and more than fifteen running Best Buddy Dog Training, and he teaches New York owners how to be that person.

Where the Trouble Starts

Town by town

White Plains, Scarsdale, Rye, New Rochelle, Bronxville, Yonkers, Mamaroneck, Larchmont, Mount Kisco and Chappaqua; Carmel, Mahopac, Cold Spring, Nyack, New City and Suffern; Beacon, Fishkill, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, New Paltz, Kingston and Rhinebeck; New York City, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Riverdale and the Bronx; Long Island and Nassau County. If your town is not on that list, call and ask.

Zero distance

On a Manhattan or Brooklyn sidewalk, dogs pass at two feet, and every piece of standard reactivity advice, increase distance, cross the street, assumes space that does not exist. A dog who respects the person on the leash holds position beside you and lets the world go past, because that is the only version that works here.

Through the wall

In a co-op or a rental, barking at hallway noise is a letter from the board. It is also one of the faster things to resolve once the dog understands what his job is when someone passes the door: nothing.

The Westchester version

A yard, a deer, an invisible fence, a dog with room and no obedience. The recall has to beat a moving animal and a road, and the fence never taught it anything. It is built on a leash first.

Off-leash hours

Access to the park before nine depends entirely on a recall that works around forty other dogs. A dog with a habit instead of a recall is a dog whose owner spends the whole hour braced.

The Dogs in the Pictures

Not one dog pictured here came from a photo library. Every one of them was trained by Shawn or is with him now, doing what a trained dog does with no treat in anyone's hand and no e-collar on anyone's neck. Look at the videos and read the success stories first if you like; the results are there.

In-Home Dog Training Anywhere in New York

The in-home program is private sessions with Shawn at your home and in the places you take your dog, in Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and the Hudson Valley. For the life of the dog, you can call or video Shawn at no additional charge; the price is the same for one dog or five under one roof, and no hidden charges; further sessions are included for a household that has kept to the plan. It comes with a plan made for your dog and your household. New York owners pay $2,500.

The City

In Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, the picture is a little different. In-home sessions are possible, but for most city owners the practical route is board-and-train, with the reintegration sessions done in your own building and on your own block, which is exactly why they happen at your home rather than Shawn's.

Board-and-Train

Some dogs do better starting over somewhere else. Board and train is four to six weeks with Shawn and his pack, working every day in stores, on sidewalks, and in parks. Shawn picks the dog up at your door and brings him back the same way, and follows with three reintegration sessions at your home and follow-up that does not run out. The dogs it is for: aggressive, guarding, severely reactive, chronically anxious, or already failed elsewhere. Pricing runs from $2,500 to $5,000 depending on the dog and issues. Send us a message via the contact page, or call us for more information

Questions We Get from New York Owners

How soon can in-home sessions start in Westchester?
Usually within a week or two of the consultation, anywhere in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, or the Hudson Valley.

Will you take a dog who has bitten someone?
Usually, yes. Tell Shawn exactly what happened on the phone so the first session is planned rather than improvised.

We have two dogs. Is that two prices?
No. One price covers up to five dogs in the same home.

Call Shawn

The number is (401) 536-7982. The call is free, and it is Shawn, not an answering service. Describe what the dog does, and you will get a straight answer about the right program and the price. Monday through Friday 8am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 5pm; if nobody picks up, leave a message.

Who you are to your dog is EVERYTHING

Shawn Hines
Dog Trainer, Best Buddy Dog Training