Dog Training in Scarsdale, NY

If your dog patrols the invisible fence line at every car on Heathcote Road, comes in from the yard when he feels like it, pulls you through the village and across the station parking lot, and plants his paws on everyone who comes through the door, you have a Scarsdale dog. A big lot and a buried wire make an independent dog, not an obedient one.

A Scarsdale dog usually has everything: the yard, the walker, the good food, the class. What he often does not have is one person in the house he defers to, because a household with that many hands on the leash speaks to him in several voices and he follows none of them. Shawn Hines has spent more than thirty years training dogs and more than fifteen running Best Buddy Dog Training, and he teaches Scarsdale households, walker and nanny included, how to speak to the dog in one voice he respects.

Dog Training Problems We See in Scarsdale

The UPS truck

A dog who stands still at the top of the driveway while the truck pulls in, because you told him to, is answering to you, and the wire has become decoration. A dog who charges it is answering to nobody.

Garth Road and the platform

The village sidewalk and the station put a dog within a leash length of commuters and other dogs. Walked by someone he respects, he passes all of it at your side.

The walker, the nanny and the two of you

Four handlers and four sets of rules give a dog none. When everyone who holds the leash works from the same plan, he keeps one set of rules for all of them.

The Bronx River path

Open ground up the county is where a habit gets mistaken for a recall. The recall that holds when the deer moves was built on a leash first.

The Dogs in the Pictures

No dog in the pictures or videos here was bought or staged. 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. If you would rather see the results than read about them, the videos and the success stories are the place.

In-Home Dog Training in Scarsdale, NY

Four private sessions with Shawn at your house, in your yard, in the village, and at the station if that is where the dog comes apart make up the in-home program in Scarsdale, and what you take from them is the ability to train your own dog, so the results stay in the house after Shawn leaves. The plan is tailored to the dog in front of Shawn and the family around him. Support by phone and video runs for the dog's whole life at no additional cost; the same price buys the program for up to five dogs in the home, and no fees appear later; extra sessions are included if you have done the work and still need them. The price in New York is $2,500.

Board-and-Train

A few dogs need a reset that only weeks away can give. Board-and-train is a four-to-six-week stay with Shawn and his pack, training every day where the distractions are. Shawn collects the dog from you and brings him back to you, and returns for three reintegration sessions at your place; after that, the follow-up is for the dog's lifetime. Aggression, resource guarding, serious reactivity, chronic anxiety, and the dog who has already been through other programs belong here. The price is between $2,500 and $5,000 and depends on the dog; it is agreed by phone first.

Scarsdale Owners Ask

He is good with me and terrible with my spouse.
He has made up his mind about who is in charge. Both of you work from one plan and he gets one set of rules.

The dog walker, the nanny, and the two of us all handle him.
Everyone who holds the leash gets the same plan. So the dog has one rulebook.

We did a group class, and it did not hold.
A dog who performs in one quiet room has learned the room, not you.

Call Shawn

Reach Shawn at (401) 536-7982. Shawn takes the call himself; it is free, and there is nothing to sign. Give him the real version of what your dog does, and he will give you a real answer about what to do and what it costs. Monday through Friday 8am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm; otherwise leave a message and he will call you back.

Who you are to your dog is EVERYTHING

Shawn Hines
Dog Trainer, Best Buddy Dog Training