Dogly loves Tressa because she sees training as a journey to better canine communication.
Articles from Tressa:
Let's Talk About Routine Right on "Target": your super useful starting skill Dog & Baby Safety: 6 Months Old Support Group for People Who Want to Successfully Integrate Their Dog into a Family Setting Support Group for People who Want to Successfully Integrate Their Dog into a Family Setting Dog & Baby Safety: 9 Months Old Yes Please/No Thank You with a Chin Rest Cooperative Paw Care Resource Guarding: Prevention & Management Dealing with Dogs Who Guard Resting Spaces Dealing with Dogs Who Guard from Other Dogs A little more about my story... Dog & Baby Safety: 12 Months Old Support Group for People Who Want to Successfully Integrate Their Dog into a Family Setting 3 Things to Think About Before You Bring Home a Pup for the Holidays The Myth of the Growl or Bite that Comes from Nowhere Preparing Dogs for Life with Baby Webinar Grumble & Growl Zone Challenge What are Grumble & Growl Zones & Why Should Parents Care? Canine Enrichment: DIY Destructibles for Dogs! Challenge of the Week: Enrich Your Dog's Life What Would Your Dog Choose? "Free" food in a bowl or a little enriching "work" for food? 5 Benefits of Teaching Your Dog to go to Bed BEFORE Baby Arrives Thank you for your patience! Dogs, Kids, & Consent What To Do If Your Dogs Beg For Human Food: Teach Stationing Let's Talk About Routine 7 Tips for A Dog-Friendly Thanksgiving Learn from my Mistakes - Slow Down! Please Don't Get Your Kid A Puppy for Christmas FREE January! Homecoming for Our Dogs! The Art of the Parallel Walk Let's Talk About Tummy Time Let's Talk About Tummy Time 5 Common Mistakes Dog Owners Make on Walks How To Leash Train A Dog: Expanding Your Loose Leash Walking Skills 5 Activity Ideas for Dogs at Home Pro Tips When Your Dog Pulls On Leash, Still! How to Walk Two Dogs at Once With Loose Leashes Be Your Dog's Advocate Reactive Dogs, Kids & Coronavirus The Invisible Barrier Game Car Safety for Dogs & Babies All About Barking Fear-based Barking: How to Stop a Dog from Barking at Other Dogs and Other Scary Things What is a cue? Demand Barking What is a marker and why should I be using one? How to Use Luring to Teach Your Dog New Behaviors How to Use Capturing to Teach Your Dog New Behaviors How to Teach a New Cue Teaching Your Dog NOT to Offer a Behavior (Unless Cued) How to Use Shaping to Teach Your Dog New Behaviors More on Shaping Dog & Baby Safety: 3 Months Old Teaching Your Dog to Respond to a Cue No Matter What You’re Doing The Three D's: Duration The Three D's: Distance The Three D's: Distraction Poisoned Cues & What to Do About Them Reactivity: What does it mean and how can we begin to help reactive dogs? Helping Reactive Dogs: Check-Ins Helping Reactive Dogs: Counterconditioning Helping Reactive Dogs: Desensitization Helping Reactive Dogs: Using the Eye Contact Check-In (Video) Building Focus What is Cooperative Care & What Can You Start TODAY to Make It Less Stressful? Teach Your Dog to Go to Bed Pt. 4: Distance How To Teach Your Dog to "Go to Place or Bed," Even With Distractions Tips for Taking Your Leash Skills Out & About How to Teach Loose Leash Walking: Leash Training Basics Building A Rock Solid Stay: Duration Building A Rock Solid Stay: Turning Your Back Building A Rock Solid Stay: Distance & 360 Degrees How To Teach A Dog To Stay And Ignore Distractions Teach Your Dog to "Go to Mat or Bed," And Stay There Teaching Your Dog Manners Around Food Pt. 1 Teaching Your Dog Manners Around Food, Part 2 Tips for a Safe & Comfortable Holiday with Your Dog Teach Your Dog to Go to Bed (or Any Specific Place) Using "Dog Shaping" Preventing & Changing Unwanted Behavior How To Teach A Dog "Drop It," Even Food! Teach Your Dog to Go to Bed Pt. 2: Troubleshooting 4 Steps to Start Dog Potty Training 7 Things to Introduce During the Puppy Socialization Period to Have a Confident Dog Alert Barking! Camping with a Reactive Dog How to Help Your Dog Cope During Loud and Scary Events Like Halloween Anticipatory & Excitement Barking Helping Reactive Dogs: Keeping Your Dog Under Threshold Helping Reactive Dogs: Management Tips for Trigger SituationsTressa Fessenden-McKenzie
PathandPaw
Tressa Guides You
Anxiety - Kids & Dogs - Manners - Bite Prevention - Reactivity - WalkingTressa is Certified
Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner - & Family Paws Parent EducatorDogly loves Tressa because she sees training as a journey to better canine communication.
Upcoming & Past Support Groups
Sun, May 16, 2021 1:00 PM ET
Support Group for People Who Want to Successfully Integrate Their Dog into a Family Setting
are responding to negative reactions a dog has towards a child, and want to learn how to prevent escalation and repeat incidents.
My Mission
Welcome dog lovers! I first got into dog training simply because I love dogs, and I wanted to figure out how to make spending time with them into a career. But as I learned more about dog behavior and training, I began to see something missing from a lot of our dog culture - listening. It's no mystery to dog owners and dog lovers that dogs are individuals. Those of us that have multiple dogs, or have had many dogs in our life times can see clearly that each dog has their own personality, preferences, and individual needs. By observing what our dogs are communicating with us, and finding creative ways to meet their needs, we can better understand their actions, and can begin to teach them new skills in a kind, compassionate, and effective way using positive reinforcement. My focus is on teaching people how to be the best possible teacher for their dogs. Whether your family is growing, and you want to help create a safe and happy household for both canines and humans alike, your dogs are struggling with anxiety, lack of confidence, or overreactions in the face of certain triggers, or even if you just have an over exuberant pup that needs to improve his or her social graces, together we can build life skills that will help your dogs be better companions, so that you can enjoy a long and harmonious life together.
The 101s of Behavior
What is Cooperative Care & What Can You Start TODAY to Make It Less Stressful?
How teaching your dog to actively participate in their own basic care activities reduces stress and improves your relationship.
Dog & Baby Safety: 12 Months Old
As babies grow and change, the dynamics in our dog/baby households change. What we can expect as we hit the big one year mark...
Tips for a Safe & Comfortable Holiday with Your Dog
Set your dog up for success to make your holiday gatherings safe and stress-free!
Dog & Baby Safety: 9 Months Old
The 9-month mark brings more big changes as your baby grows and becomes more mobile. How to keep your dog comfortable and everyone safe!
Building A Rock Solid Stay: Duration
The first step to teaching a rock solid stay is building duration. Learn how you can start working on duration for ANY position your dog is comfortable in!
Resource Guarding: Prevention & Management
Contrary to popular belief, you should NEVER take things from your dog to show him who is the "alpha." This could have the adverse effect! Some easy ways we can keep resource guarding from developing...
7 Things to Introduce During the Puppy Socialization Period to Have a Confident Dog
You have until around 12-16 weeks to teach your puppy that the world is an awesome place! By creating positive experiences around new people, places, and things, you start your puppy off with the best possible chance of becoming a happy, well-adjusted dog!
Dog & Baby Safety: 6 Months Old
As babies grow and change, the dynamics in our dog/baby households change. Developments we can expect around 6 months old, and how you can prepare your dog for them!
Camping with a Reactive Dog
Taking a reactive dog camping can seem daunting, but with a little planning ahead it can be a great experience for both your dog and you! Here are some tips after my most recent camping trip.
Helping Reactive Dogs: Management Tips for Trigger Situations
How to help your reactive dog by managing trigger situations from doorbells to other dogs to bicycles.
Reactivity: What does it mean and how can we begin to help reactive dogs?
How to know if your dog is truly reactive, understand the triggers, and what to do to help make your dog (and you!) more comfortable and confident in the world.
What is a cue?
What is a "cue," why I don't say "command," and how to make your cues work with your dog!
Dog & Baby Safety: 3 Months Old
Babies develop and change fast! What to expect around 3 mos of age and how to set your dog up for success around your growing baby.
What is a marker and why should I be using one?
How using a marker like "yesss!" or a clicker can make all the difference in your timing and your dog's ability to learn good behaviors!
All About Barking
Barking. It’s one of our dogs’ most basic behaviors, and yet one of the most common frustrations we experience. How to decipher your dog's barks, the why behind each type, and what to do about them.
Car Safety for Dogs & Babies
How to make sure every trip in the car -- short or long -- is safe and happy for your baby and dog. My simple checklist to make anticipating and planning easy...
5 Activity Ideas for Dogs at Home
5 training games you can enjoy with your dog when you're staying close to home and you want to keep both of you engaged, learning, and having fun!
Be Your Dog's Advocate
How to advocate for your dog politely and effectively in public/social situations when your dog isn't comfortable! Simple go-to phrases and actions that keep it cool for all. Especially your dog!
5 Common Mistakes Dog Owners Make on Walks
5 natural mistakes dog parents often make on walks -- why and what to do instead for smoother, happy walks for you and your dog!
Let's Talk About Tummy Time
When you're spending lots of floor-level time with your baby or young child AND you have a dog... how to set everyone up to be safe and happy.
Homecoming for Our Dogs!
Expecting a baby and worried about that first intro with your dog? Here's the step by step, unedited version of how I managed it with our dogs and new baby safely and happily!
The Art of the Parallel Walk
Parallel walking is an invaluable skill for all dog parents -- especially those of us with reactive, sensitive, or over-exuberant dogs. What it is and how to use it to help your dog casually co-exist with another dog.
Please Don't Get Your Kid A Puppy for Christmas
7 Tips for A Dog-Friendly Thanksgiving
Wondering how your dog's food manners will hold up during Thanksgiving? Never fear, here are my 7 tips to set up your dog for a smooth, happy holiday.
Dogs, Kids, & Consent
How teaching our children the concept of "consent" and showing them how to let our dogs opt in (or not) to interactions between them makes everyone safer and happier.
Let's Talk About Routine
Is your dog thrown off whenever your routine changes? How to teach your dog to go with the flow more easily.
How to Help Your Dog Cope During Loud and Scary Events Like Halloween
Why your dog feels spooked, and how you can set up your pup to both be safe AND feel secure this Halloween.
5 Benefits of Teaching Your Dog to go to Bed BEFORE Baby Arrives
Why teaching your dog "stationing" as a positive behavior might become your favorite useful skill around a new baby -- and in so many other challenging situations!
Canine Enrichment: DIY Destructibles for Dogs!
How to stimulate your dog mentally with DIY games and puzzles you can make easily from items around your house!
What are Grumble & Growl Zones & Why Should Parents Care?
Why and how to see your home through your dog's eyes and set up your dogs, kids, and home to eliminate grumble & growl zones in advance.
Become A Member
Choose how you want to improve your dog's life with our community of vetted certified experts.
Basic
$9/mo
- Unlock all training, nutrition, and wellness videos
- Unlock all recipes
- Read articles and do it yourself
Action
$19/mo
- Get unlimited training, nutrition, and wellness plans created by the Advocates for your dog
- 14 day free trial
- Track your dog’s progress
- Ask the Advocates questions
- Take notes in your dog’s plan
- Live group sessions with Advocates
- Recordings of group sessions
- Unlock all videos
- Unlock all recipes
- 10% off all products
- Get a plan for your dog and support from the Advocates
Custom
upon consultation
- Everything in “Action”
- Plus personalized training, nutrition, or wellness support from the Advocate of your choosing or recommended by Dogly
- Get personalized one-on-one help for your dog
My In-Depth Series on Behavior
Cooperative Paw Care
How to help your dog get comfortable with nail trims and maintenance -- my favorite tools and methods.
Yes Please/No Thank You with a Chin Rest
How to use a "chin rest" to create a communication system so your dog can say "no thank you" or "yes please" to handling and care activities.
3 Things to Think About Before You Bring Home a Pup for the Holidays
Getting a new pup during the holidays can seem exciting, but it's a big commitment! Here are some things you and your family should think through before you bring home a new family member.
How To Teach A Dog To Stay And Ignore Distractions
How you can add distraction into your dog's "stay" in multiple ways in the safety and comfort of your home!
Building A Rock Solid Stay: Distance & 360 Degrees
Once your back turn is set, it's time to start walking away as your dog holds his/her stay! Watch how to teach your dog to stay as you walk in a circle around your pup.
Building A Rock Solid Stay: Turning Your Back
For your dog's "stay" to be practical in everyday situations, you'll want to be able to break eye contact from your dog and turn around before you walk away. Here's how in small, easy steps!
Dealing with Dogs Who Guard from Other Dogs
Guarding is quite common. Try these management techniques and training exercises - my go-to's - to diffuse tension and build positive connections between dogs.
Dealing with Dogs Who Guard Resting Spaces
3 strategies you can use to begin teaching your dog there's no need to guard his coveted resting space!
How To Teach A Dog "Drop It," Even Food!
How to teach your dog to drop anything on cue -- even food!
Right on "Target": your super useful starting skill
How to teach "targeting," the super versatile skill that can be your starting point for everything from recall to leash manners.
Preventing & Changing Unwanted Behavior
Let's think about what we DO want our dogs to do, instead of what we want them to STOP doing, so we can build better habits! How to get started...
Building Focus
Capturing eye contact will help your dog learn the value of "checking in" with you in a variety of situations -- and set you up to communicate effectively with your dog on just about everything!
4 Steps to Start Dog Potty Training
Setting your puppy up for success with potty training will make life much easier for both of you! How a little management goes a long way.
Helping Reactive Dogs: Using the Eye Contact Check-In (Video)
See how you can put the check-in exercise into use with YOUR dog - and learn from my mistakes!
Helping Reactive Dogs: Check-Ins
Teaching your dog to give you eye contact can be useful in SO many situations, especially with reactive dogs. How to teach eye contact "check-ins" and use them with your dog.
Helping Reactive Dogs: Desensitization
What makes desensitization work for reactive dogs and how to successfully desensitize your dog to their triggers!
Helping Reactive Dogs: Counterconditioning
How to start changing your dog's emotional response to their triggers with counterconditioning!
Helping Reactive Dogs: Keeping Your Dog Under Threshold
What thresholds are, how to understand your dog's threshold, and what you can do to keep your dog under threshold and calm and happy.
Poisoned Cues & What to Do About Them
Are some of your cues for your dog "poisoned cues?" Your dog no longer hears them and gives the dog version of an eye roll? 3 ways to restart with cues that work!
The Three D's: Distraction
Is your dog more interested in distractions (squirrels, other dogs, tempting sniffs...) than your cues? How to think like your dog and plan your goals to set your dog up for success with cues you can count on.
The Three D's: Distance
Ready to add some distance to your cues with your dog to make them more useful in everyday situations? Here's how to strengthen your cues to include distance by focusing on a few simple steps!
The Three D's: Duration
How to teach your dog one of the important 3 D's in making your cues work in real life situations: duration!
Teaching Your Dog to Respond to a Cue No Matter What You’re Doing
How to make responding to cues a game with your dog -- and make them stronger so they work from anywhere at the same time.
Teaching Your Dog NOT to Offer a Behavior (Unless Cued)
Is your dog offering behaviors or tricks randomly without waiting for your cue? Here's how to get your rhythm and your cue back with your dog!
How to Teach a New Cue
How to teach your dog a new cue -- the simple, specific steps trainers use so it works and sticks!
More on Shaping
Have you tried shaping yet to teach your dog behaviors? Watch as I show how to get started and the steps that follow and see how you can use shaping to set up YOUR dog for success in learning!
How to Use Shaping to Teach Your Dog New Behaviors
What is "shaping" and how you can use it to teach your dog just about any behavior.
How to Use Capturing to Teach Your Dog New Behaviors
"Capturing" -- aka catching your dog doing something good naturally -- is a terrific opportunity to reward your dog for a behavior you would love to see more often. How to make capturing work with your dog...
How to Use Luring to Teach Your Dog New Behaviors
What is "luring" and why and how can it be an easy way to teach some behaviors?
Demand Barking
Demand barking is one of the most common (and frustrating) types of barking -- also most easily, accidentally reinforced. What your dog is thinking and what you can do to "reset" meeting your dog's needs without all the vocals.
Anticipatory & Excitement Barking
Does your dog launch into bursts of barking out of excitement arriving at a favorite destination or when you come home? How to handle this surprisingly common barking!
Fear-based Barking: How to Stop a Dog from Barking at Other Dogs and Other Scary Things
Is your dog barking and reacting NOT out of aggression but out of fear? How to read your dog, know the triggers, and set your pup up for success in feeling more comfortable, confident, and secure.
Alert Barking!
Is your dog "alert barking" out of joyful excitement or fear/concern? What to do in each case to support your dog for a calmer, happier, quieter home.
The Invisible Barrier Game
Why you might want to teach your dog the "invisible barrier" game (hint: it's a good way to keep your dog in a safe or otherwise designated space) -- and step-by-step on how to do it.
How to Walk Two Dogs at Once With Loose Leashes
Well-mannered walks with one dog can be challenging enough sometimes, so how can you possibly manage two? My 4 keys to making it work -- and a look at how I put them into practice with my two dogs in real life.
Pro Tips When Your Dog Pulls On Leash, Still!
Is your dog a "puller?" Maybe even reading your body language to know how much and when pulling is okay? 6 tips to help you and your pup move past pulling to enjoying looser leash walks.
Tips for Taking Your Leash Skills Out & About
4 keys to taking your dog's home-practiced leash skills out in the real world successfully!
How To Leash Train A Dog: Expanding Your Loose Leash Walking Skills
How to begin to add distractions to practicing your leash walking skills to set your dog up for success in real life walks.
How to Teach Loose Leash Walking: Leash Training Basics
Is your dog a bit (or tbh, a lot) enthusiastic on leash? Or you have a new dog you want to start out right? We've got you. What you'll need and the steps to take to help your dog (and you) build the basic skills for happy, loose leash walks.
Teaching Your Dog Manners Around Food, Part 2
Food stealing, counter surfing? We've got you and your dog covered. How to take your dog's food manners to the next level, here in Part 2...
Teaching Your Dog Manners Around Food Pt. 1
Do you have a resident food stealer, counter surfer, or garbage diver? How to set up your dog to avoid temptation and have good manners around food!
What To Do If Your Dogs Beg For Human Food: Teach Stationing
What is "stationing" and how can you use it with your dog in real life? Watch how my dogs practiced stationing (rather than begging) while my roommate ate dinner!
How To Teach Your Dog to "Go to Place or Bed," Even With Distractions
Now that you and your dog have learned "go to bed," will it stick when your pup is distracted? 4 ways to practice distraction to make your dog's "go to bed" rock solid in any situation!
Teach Your Dog to Go to Bed Pt. 4: Distance
Simple (and fun) steps to adding distance to your dog's "go to bed" skill to make it even more useful!
Teach Your Dog to "Go to Mat or Bed," And Stay There
How to teach your dog to "go to bed" -- and relax and stay there!
Teach Your Dog to Go to Bed Pt. 2: Troubleshooting
How to teach your dog to "go to bed" -- and what to do to successfully troubleshoot any sticking points that pop up along the way.
Teach Your Dog to Go to Bed (or Any Specific Place) Using "Dog Shaping"
10 simple steps to begin teaching your dog to "go to bed" -- an incredibly useful skill for many everyday situations.
What Would Your Dog Choose? "Free" food in a bowl or a little enriching "work" for food?
Find out what's more soul-satisfying for your dog -- "free" food in a bowl or solving a puzzle/problem to get it. You might be surprised!
Challenge of the Week: Enrich Your Dog's Life
The what and why of enrichment -- and an easy how-to for new ways you can enrich your dog's life today.
