Dog Training in Rhode Island

If you are looking for dog training in Rhode Island, something has probably gone on long enough. The dog pulls the whole walk, or barks at the window from the moment you leave, or comes when called only when there is nothing better on offer, or has put his teeth on someone and now everyone in the house is careful around him. You may have done a class already. You may have a drawer full of harnesses.

Here is the part most training skips over. Obedience is not a set of tricks a dog performs for payment; it is what a dog does for a person he trusts and respects. When no one in the house occupies that place, the dog occupies it himself, and every one of the problems above follows from that. Food cannot put you in that place, and neither can a collar with a button. Shawn Hines has spent more than thirty years training dogs and more than fifteen running Best Buddy Dog Training, and the work is teaching you to take that place with your own dog, in your own home.

Where the Trouble Starts

Town by town

Barrington, Bristol, Cranston, Cumberland, East Greenwich, Middletown, Narragansett, Newport, Providence, Smithfield, South Kingstown, Warwick, Westerly, Jamestown, Little Compton, Tiverton, Portsmouth, North Kingstown, Lincoln and Charlestown. If your town is not on the list, call anyway.

Why the list is really one item

Owners call about pulling, barking, jumping, lunging, and a dog who will not come, and describe them as a list. They are the same thing wearing different clothes. Nobody told the dog that the decision was already spoken for, so he does it, and he does it at the door, on the leash, and in the park alike. Nobody did anything wrong. Settle who leads, and the list shortens on its own.

What has usually been tried first

Most of what owners have tried before they call falls into three categories. Crossing the street from every oncoming dog, which teaches the dog that other dogs are something you fear. The buried fence, which draws a line around the lawn and explains nothing about what you want. And the pocket of food, which works until something more interesting than food comes along. None of these is wrong because it is a tool. They are wrong because they manage the dog instead of changing his relationship with you.

The dog who has bitten

A good share of the dogs Shawn works with have put their teeth on someone. That dog is not written off, and he is not a different species; he is usually a dog who has been making his own decisions for a long time with nobody to check them. Say so on the phone, plainly, so the first visit is planned around it.

Puppies

Between eight weeks and six months, a puppy is working out who runs the house, and if nobody tells him, he decides it is him. That is the window for housebreaking that holds, a crate he goes into without fuss, a name he answers to the first time, and a front door he waits at. It is the cheapest training you will ever buy, and it is never too late if you missed it.

The Dogs in the Pictures

Not one dog pictured here came from a photo library. They were trained by Shawn or are in training with him, and none of them is working for a treat or wearing an e-collar. For the results, the videos and the success stories are a few minutes well spent before you call.

In-Home Dog Training Anywhere in Rhode Island

The in-home program is four private sessions with Shawn at your house and wherever you take your dog, and Shawn spends them teaching you to handle and train your dog yourself. There is a plan, and it is for your dog and your household alone. There is lifetime support by phone and video, and it is not billed, one price for the household, up to five dogs, with no hidden fees and no surprises; if you have done the work and need more sessions, they are included. In Rhode Island the cost is $2,000.

Board-and-Train

Some dogs do better starting over somewhere else. Board-and-train puts the dog in Shawn's home, as part of his pack, for four to six weeks of daily work in real places. The dogs it is for: aggressive, guarding, severely reactive, chronically anxious, or already failed elsewhere. Shawn handles pickup and return personally, and returns for three reintegration sessions at your place; after that the follow-up is for the dog's lifetime. The range is $2,500 to $5,000 depending on the dog, decided on the phone first.

Questions We Get from Rhode Island Owners

Do you cover the whole state?
All five counties, and Block Island by arrangement.

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.

How soon can we start?
In-home sessions usually begin within a week or two. Board and train runs on a waiting list, so call early if you have a date in mind.

Is my dog too old for this?
No. Older dogs often come around faster than young ones, because they are not running on puppy energy.

Call Shawn

The free phone consultation is at (401) 536-7982. Shawn picks up himself, and the consultation is free. Tell him what your dog is doing and he will tell you plainly what he would do about it and what it costs. The phone is answered weekdays 8am to 6pm and Saturdays 9am to 5pm; leave a message otherwise and he will call back.

Who you are to your dog is EVERYTHING

Shawn Hines
Dog Trainer, Best Buddy Dog Training