Dog Training in New York
Westchester, the Hudson Valley and the NYC Metro

A New York dog is asked to do something no other dog in the Northeast is asked to do: be calm in a lobby, quiet through a wall, polite in an elevator with three strangers, and steady on a sidewalk where the distance between dogs is measured in inches. There is no version of this that gets solved by more exercise.

Best Buddy Dog Training is Shawn Hines, working with New York owners in private in-home sessions and a residential board-and-train program. No treats, no shock collars. The obedience is built on your relationship with your dog, which is the only kind that holds up when you step out of a doorway into a crowd.

Where We Train in New York

• Westchester County - White Plains, Scarsdale, Rye, New Rochelle, Bronxville, Yonkers, Mamaroneck, Larchmont, Mount Kisco, Chappaqua
• Putnam & Rockland - Carmel, Mahopac, Cold Spring, Nyack, New City, Suffern
• Hudson Valley - Beacon, Fishkill, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, New Paltz, Kingston, Rhinebeck
• New York City - Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Riverdale and the Bronx
• Long Island & Nassau - by arrangement; call for availability

What New York Dogs Have to Handle

Lobbies, elevators and hallways

The elevator is the hardest twenty seconds in a city dog's day: a small box, no exit, and strangers at close range. Building complaints usually start here, and so does the owner's anxiety, which the dog reads immediately. This is a settle-and-position problem with a clear answer.

Sidewalk reactivity at zero distance

On a Manhattan or Brooklyn sidewalk, dogs pass at two feet. Every piece of standard reactivity advice - increase distance, cross the street, find a threshold - assumes space that doesn't exist. We train the dog to hold position beside you and let the world go past, because that's the only version that works here.

Barking through the wall

In a co-op or a rental, barking at hallway noise isn't a nuisance, it's a letter from the board. It's also one of the faster things to resolve once the dog understands what its job is when someone passes the door.

Dog runs and off-leash hours

Central Park before nine, Prospect Park, the neighbourhood run. Off-leash access is a privilege that depends entirely on a recall that works around forty other dogs - and a dog with no recall in a run is a dog whose owner spends the whole time braced.

The Westchester and Hudson Valley version

Different problem entirely. Yards, 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.

Aggression and bite history

In dense housing, a dog with a bite history is an urgent problem - for the household, the building and the dog. We take this work on. Describe it plainly on the phone.

In-Home Dog Training in New York

Four private sessions with Shawn, in your apartment or house and on your own block, starting with a free phone consultation.

• 4 personalized in-home sessions with our head Trainer
• Customized obedience and behavior modification plan for your dog
• Lifetime follow-up support by phone and video, at no additional charge
• One flat price covering up to 5 dogs in the same household
• No hidden fees - if you've followed the plan and need more sessions, they're included

New York in-home program: $2,500.

Board and Train for New York Dogs

Four to six weeks of full-time residential training, with daily work in real public environments rather than a kennel run. For a city dog this is often the more practical route: the dog gets weeks of concentrated public exposure that a busy household can't replicate, then comes home to three reintegration sessions in your own building and neighbourhood, plus lifetime follow-up support. We pick up and deliver.

See how the board and train program works →

What New York Owners Say

How nice to walk down the street with my dog trotting slightly behind me on a loose leash.

~ Mary Anne H., New York, NY

Read more of our success stories →

Common Questions from New York Owners

You're in Rhode Island. How does that work?

For Westchester and the Hudson Valley we come to you for in-home sessions. For the city, most clients find board-and-train the practical route - we pick up, do the concentrated work, deliver back, and then run the reintegration sessions in your own building and neighbourhood.

Will training in a Rhode Island environment transfer to a Manhattan sidewalk?

That's exactly why the reintegration sessions happen at your home rather than ours. Board-and-train builds the obedience and the public composure; the last step puts it in your hands, in your environment, on your block.

My building has issued a complaint. How fast can this move?

Say so when you call. Barking and door-charging respond quickly, and we'll tell you honestly on the consultation whether four sessions or a board-and-train is the realistic answer to your timeline.

Do you use an e-collar?

No. No e-collars, no treats - in private sessions or board-and-train.

Can you work with a dog in a small apartment?

Yes. Space is rarely the limiting factor; structure is. Some of the best-behaved dogs we've worked with live in studios.

New York Dog Training Program Details and Pricing

In-Home Dog Training: $2,500

• 4 personalized in-home sessions with our head trainer
• Customized obedience and behavior modification plan tailored to your dog
• Lifetime follow-up support at no additional charge
• One flat price covering up to 5 dogs in the same household
• No hidden fees - if additional sessions are needed and you've followed the training plan, they're included

Start with a Free Phone Consultation

Call (401) 536-7982 and tell Shawn what your dog is doing. There's no facility to bring your dog to - we come to your apartment or house, and board-and-train includes pickup and delivery to your door. Phone hours Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm. All other times, please leave a message or send a text message.