Dog Training in Westport, CT

If your dog is a different animal at Compo in season than he is in your kitchen, tows you along the Post Road past the shops, barks at the door, or has snapped at someone over the kitchen floor, you have a Westport dog. Beach, downtown and a busy house all ask something of him, and he is failing all three for the same reason.

A dog who is good in the kitchen and lost on the beach has learned the kitchen, not you. Take him somewhere with more going on, and there is nobody he is following, so he follows whatever is most interesting. The training has to produce a dog who defers to a person rather than to a place. Shawn Hines has spent more than thirty years training dogs and more than fifteen running Best Buddy Dog Training, and he teaches Westport owners how to be that person on the beach, the Post Road and at the door.

Dog Training Problems We See in Westport

Compo in season

A dog who walks nicely on an empty beach in March and tows you through the July crowd was leading the walk in March too. The dog who follows you walks Compo the same way in both months.

The kitchen floor

A snap over dropped food or a spot on the floor is a dog who has taken charge of things he was never given. It is not the end of him, and it is often a board-and-train dog. Tell Shawn exactly what happened when you call.

The Post Road

Main Street and the stretch of Post Road by the shops put a dog within a leash length of other dogs. Walked by someone he respects, he passes them on a loose leash and keeps his eyes on you.

Winslow

Off-leash hours at Winslow are where owners find out whether they have a recall or a coincidence. The recall is built on a leash around the other dogs, and only then trusted loose.

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. The videos and the success stories are there if you want to see the results before you call.

In-Home Dog Training in Westport, CT

Dog training in Westport is four private sessions with Shawn at your house and in the places you take your dog, including the beach, and the work in them is yours to learn, with Shawn coaching, so it does not leave when he does. Phone and video follow-up comes with it for the dog's lifetime, free of further charge, one price regardless of whether there are one or five dogs at home, and there are no hidden fees; if you have followed the plan and the dog needs more sessions, they are included. There is a plan, and it is for your dog and your household alone. The Connecticut in-home program is $2,250.

Board-and-Train

Not every dog can be reached in four visits. With board-and-train, the dog spends four to six weeks as a member of Shawn's pack and is worked daily. The program is for the dog who has bitten, guards, cannot pass another dog, or lives in a state of anxiety nothing has touched. Shawn picks the dog up at your door and brings him back the same way, and comes back for three optional reintegration sessions at your home; support continues for the dog's life. Tuition runs $2,500 to $5,000 by the dog and is agreed on the call before booking.

Westport Owners Ask

Our dog is great at home and a problem the moment we leave the driveway.
Indoors, there is nothing pulling him off you. Outside, everything is. That is what changes.

He has snapped at a guest.
Say exactly what happened on the phone. A bite history often points toward board-and-train.

We have a dog walker. Does that matter?
Everyone who holds the leash gets the same plan.

Call Shawn

The free phone consultation is at (401) 536-7982. The call is free; Shawn answers it, and he does not use a script. Tell him what your dog is doing, and he will tell you plainly what he would do about it and what it costs. Hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm; after that, a message gets a call back.

Who you are to your dog is EVERYTHING

Shawn Hines
Dog Trainer, Best Buddy Dog Training