Dog Training in Smithfield, RI

Smithfield is woods, ponds and lots big enough that a dog can go a whole day without seeing a stranger. That is the pleasant part. The other part is that a dog who has never had to behave around anything is not calm; he is untested, and the test arrives the first time he is walked past the Greenville common on a Saturday or taken into the plaza on Putnam Pike.

Deb L. of Smithfield put it this way after board and train: “We were ready to give up a couple of times... Shawn was the one that kept us going.” Her dog did not need a gadget or a class. He needed to find out that somebody in the house meant what they said, and once he knew that, the rest came. Shawn Hines has done that for more than thirty years, in Smithfield and all over Rhode Island, without a cookie in his hand or a remote on the dog's neck.

Smithfield Dogs and Their Habits

The wooded lot and the dog who owns it

A big lot, often with an invisible fence, gives a dog a territory and nobody to answer to on it. Deer, walkers on the road, the dog two houses down: each one gets charged and each one moves on, and the longer he patrols, the louder he gets at the front window as well. The fence has no opinion about any of this. It keeps him on the lot and tells him nothing about what you expect there. A dog who is quiet at the mailbox and quiet at the window is not contained by a wire; he is listening to you.

Georgiaville Pond, Stillwater and a recall that only works at home

The trails around the ponds and the reservoir are where most Smithfield dogs are first let off the leash, with other dogs, water and a lot of scent to argue with. The dog who drifts back when the trail goes quiet has not learned to come. The one who leaves a scent line because you called him, and walks back instead of bolting past, has. The pond is where you find out which one you own.

Putnam Pike, the plaza and the orchards in October

Route 44 is parking lots, carts, automatic doors and strangers arriving from odd angles, and the fall brings the orchards and a crowd. A dog who lunges at a shopping cart or a stroller is not vicious. He has never been told, by anyone he takes seriously, that the cart is not his concern. The dog who has been told walks beside you through the lot with the leash hanging slack, or walks a few feet behind if you ask him to.

The rental house and the dog with four sets of rules

Around the university a lot of houses have a changing cast of people, and the dog behaves differently for every one of them. He is not muddled. He has worked out exactly who means it and who does not, and he gives each of them the dog they have earned. The dog who behaves the same for everyone in the house is the dog whose rules do not change with the person holding the leash.

What It Looks Like

The dogs you see on this page, and on every page of this site, are dogs Shawn has trained or is training: not models, not posed, not bribed into holding still. They are settled around people they do not know, steady beside other dogs and other animals, and working off leash with nothing on their collars but a collar. If you want to see that before you call, the training videos are the place, and Smithfield families, Deb's among them, say how it went on the success stories page.

In-Home Dog Training in Smithfield

Shawn comes to the house for four private sessions and works at the window, the line, the road and the plaza; you get a written plan, lifetime follow-up, one price for up to five dogs and nothing hidden. $2,000 in Rhode Island. The in-home page has the rest, and philosophy and benchmarks has what we believe.

Board and Train, as Deb's Dog Did

Deb's dog went through board and train: four to six weeks living with Shawn and the pack, trained in the stores and streets a Smithfield dog has often never seen, delivered home by Shawn, who then makes three visits to your home to hand the dog back and stays available for life after. For aggression, guarding, serious reactivity and the dog who has outlasted other trainers; $2,500 to $5,000 by the dog, settled on the phone.

Smithfield Puppies

Three acres and no rules is a pleasant few months and then a hard year. Between eight weeks and six months the housebreaking schedule, the crate, his name and the front door go in easily, and a puppy who hears only yes concludes that the decisions are his. Call, and start.

Smithfield Owners Ask

He is fine at home. He only acts up in town.
Nothing is asked of him at home. Town asks, and his reply tells you whether he thinks you lead.

Our dog is on an invisible fence. Do you want it removed?
Not necessarily. It keeps him on the lot. It has nothing to say about charging the mailbox, and that is the conversation we are there to have.

We took a class at a pet store and nothing stuck.
It stuck to the room. Take away the room and the treat bag and you are back to the dog you had, which is why we train in your house and not in ours.

Talk It Over with Shawn

The free phone consultation is the first step: (401) 536-7982. Describe the dog and the house and you will get a plain answer about what we would do and what it would cost. Hours: weekdays 8am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm. If it goes to voicemail, he is working a dog; leave a message.

Who you are to your dog is EVERYTHING

Shawn Hines
Dog Trainer, Best Buddy Dog Training