Hudson Valley Hounds

I have had dogs in my life for more than 50 years. When my husband and I recently adopted a younger mixed breed dog, we encountered some challenges we needed help with to help Bean, our newly adopted dog, to become more settled in his new home with us. We scheduled a home visit with Tessa and literally before Tessa was even inside our door she was calmly instructing us through our storm door how to make Bean more comfortable with greeting a stranger coming to our home. By the end of our first visit, Bean had his head laying in Tessa’s lap, with his eyes closed. Tessa is a skilled trainer who uses positive reinforcement with not only dogs but people too! If she sees how I can improve a technique, she will make the suggestion and tell me the reasoning behind it. For example, telling a dog to “sit” in a house doesn’t necessarily translate in the dog’s mind to perform that “sit” command outside. Tessa has sent me a number of informational articles that I can go back and re-read and reference. She is kind, calm, and creative in coming up with a new approach if Bean wasn’t connecting with a current approach on an area that needed work. We can see clear, definite improvement with Bean. Our walks involve many less stops for endless sniffing; we are making progress every day with Bean’s separation distress; and greetings with people coming to our house has certainly improved just to name a few of the areas Tessa has helped us implement improvements with Bean. Friends have also commented that Bean seems happier and more confident in himself. All of this is due to Tessa’s knowledge, her skill in teaching us different techniques to use with Bean and doing so all with positive reinforcement in a very calm, patient way. We are so grateful for Tessa’s help so we can help make Bean feel confident, safe and loved.

Tessa has been instrumental in turning our scared, reactive, newly adopted dog into a confident, sweet, fun and goofy bud. She has provided us with a new skill set that will guarantee us a bright and less stressful future together. In addition to her deep understanding of dog behavior, she is highly intelligent & able to explain things using real life examples. She is reliable, easy to hang out with, and just a great human. You and your dog will be better after having met & worked with Tessa!

You won't find a more talented dog trainer/whisperer in the Hudson Valley who is equally skilled at helping us humans better understand and appreciate our canine companions and friends! I have a strongly opinionated little Aussie and as another strongly opinionated creature in the household, we don't always agree on things ;-). Tessa has helped me learn how to better communicate with Tilly and find common ground together, and a happy home. More work to be done, but we are both grateful to be working with Hudson Valley Hounds!

If I could give 10 stars, I would. We have worked with several dog trainers and Tessa is by far the most intuitive and insightful. Dog training is a commitment and there are no magic bullets or instant fixes. Tessa ensures that you have the tools to persist with training your pup. She is patient and kind and she really understands dogs on a whole other level. We have seen progression with our dog’s behavioral issues and Tessa has prepped us for the long haul. We are forever indebted to her for what she does.

Tessa is an amazing and intuitive dog trainer. Our dog Luna struggles with anxiety and resource guarding, and Tessa has provided us with invaluable tools and training strategies to help manage these challenges. She has a real gift for identifying the root causes of anxious or reactive behavior—often tracing it back to specific Pavlovian responses—and then guiding us through effective ways to recondition those patterns. We’re seeing real progress and feel incredibly grateful for her expertise and support.