About Next Step Dog Training

In-home training around Aquidneck Island

Next Step Dog Training is a Portsmouth dog training business run by trainer Wesley Echols, with sessions held in the client's home, neighborhood or a neutral open space so he can see how a dog behaves in its own environment. It serves Portsmouth, Middletown, Newport, Jamestown, Tiverton, Little Compton, Bristol, Warren and North and South Kingstown.

Services

Obedience work covers leash training, sit, down, place and stay, house training, crate training, threshold training, creating safe space for babies and kids, longline and off-leash recall, running and biking with a dog, and how to play tug correctly. Behavioral help covers leash pulling, separation anxiety, reactivity, aggression, resource guarding, jumping on people and barking. Social skills sessions cover dog and environmental socialization, introducing puppies and dogs to each other, training two dogs in one household and rules for dog play.

Approach

The motto is training one step at a time through calmness, confidence and consistency. Wesley stresses knowledge, training time and many repetitions, and says owners need an open mind and a willingness to change.

What owners say

One client wrote that their dog went "from jumping on people and pulling on the leash to sitting, waiting, loose-leash walking and off-leash e-collar hikes."

What to ask

Ask about pricing and session packages.