Coronavirus Update: New Guidelines for In-Person Training

Hello all,

It's truly been a remarkable two months since my last update. Things are starting to open back up, so I've decided to begin in-person training again, with some modifications as we navigate our new normal during this pandemic. Here are the new guidelines:

  • All training sessions to be held outdoors - in your yard (must be able to accommodate 6ft spacing) or at a public park. 
  •  
  • All participants will be wearing face coverings during sessions (myself included).
  •  
  • 6ft social distancing will be observed. 
  •  
  • I will minimize handling of your dog and bring my own leash to do so if needed. 
  •  
  • For the initial consult you can choose between the normal $150 in-person initial consult (above guidelines still apply) OR a $90 phone or video consult.


For the time being, training sessions are available Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays. I'll have evening slots available other days of the week for phone and video consults, and may be able to schedule an evening training here and there if needed.

Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions!

Maternity Leave & Coronavirus Update

Hello friends!

Just wanted to pop in quickly to give a quick update.  On January 8th (my husband's birthday!), I gave birth to our son, Wiley. The homebirth I had planned went perfectly, and Wiley and I are both doing great. As planned, both dogs were taken to my mom's house as soon as I went into labor, and stayed there for a few days while I took a few days to heal. We made a short video of their homecoming and you can find that video and more about our plan here.



Life with baby has been a huge adjustment, of course, but I'm incredibly proud of how well the dogs are doing. Muchacho was quite nervous around the baby at first, and especially uncertain when he made noise, so we gave him as much space as he needed and he has relaxed quite a bit. Koa was more interested in the baby at first, and "checked on" him frequently, but has lost interest in him for the most part (I see this as a positive because I don't want her to feel stressed or tense around him).

I began to write this update before the coronavirus pandemic really took off and changed our world as we know it so drastically. My paid leave is up in April, and I planned to write that I'd be offering private training session by the middle of next month. However, now we've all been instructed to practice social distancing and stay home as much as possible, which means going into people's homes is likely off the table for a while. In order to do so, I'd also need to figure out childcare, which also presents a challenge right now. Phone consultations are certainly still an option, so keep that in mind if you'd like help with any behavioral challenges. I'll also be thinking a bit about doing remote sessions via FaceTime or perhaps Zoom.

In the meantime, please consider joining my Dogly community, where I'm sharing lots of training and enrichment stuff to help keep you and your pupper sane during these crazy times. I hope you and your families are all safe and finding ways to cope with these stressful and fast changing events.

Love to you all!

-Tressa, Koa, Muchacho & Wiley

Maternity Leave

Alright folks, I am officially 39 weeks pregnant, or in other words a mere week away from my due date. Of course a due date is just an educated guess, and my baby could arrive anytime from now to three weeks from now (although I hope this baby's feeling a little more punctual than that...) But the point I'm making is that scheduling of any kind from here on out is basically a best guess. I have already taken my leave from my job at the SPCA, and am now putting a hiatus on accepting new clients.

So when am I coming back? In all honestly, this is such a new experience for me that I don't feel comfortable giving an exact date. I'm planning on taking at least six weeks to spend with my baby and start to figure out this whole motherhood thing, and then we'll see how I feel. I'll be sure to update when I have a better sense of when my return will be, and we'll go from there!

I will likely continue to share on social media, and on my Dogly community, although I am making the month of January FREE for my Dogly members since I don't want to feel pressured to create a bunch of content right after baby arrives. So this is a great time to poke around and try some of the training challenges I've posted and then we can regroup and figure out what topics to start working through together in 2020!



See you on the other side! 

Temporary Pricing & Updates



Hello folks! Just wanted to share a little life/business update. I am currently 33 weeks pregnant, and as we near both the holidays and then my due date, I've decided to make some temporary changes to pricing. Instead of offering package pricing, I'm just going to be offering all consultations and training sessions for a flat rate of $65. This is cost per session for my 5 session package - the lowest price per hour that I offer. This way I can continue to offer services late into my pregnancy in the most cost-effective way to my clients, without having to worry about unfinished packages before giving birth.

After birth, I do plan on taking some time off - at least a month, I'd imagine. But to be totally honest, this is a brand new experience and I have no idea how I'm going to feel once my baby arrives! So all I can say is that I'll be back to work when it feels right for me, my little one, and our family.

You may be wondering why I haven't added more baby prep content to the blog, and the answer is that I've been writing articles on the topic for Journey Dog Training, so be sure to check out their blog here and search for "baby" if you'd like to see some of my posts! I have also been sharing some of this process and a lot of training tips and how-to's on my Dogly community which you can check out here.

That's all for now! Be well and have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

Prepping for a Midwife Home Visit with a Reactive Dog

I’m now 16 weeks pregnant, and although I spent my entire first trimester trying to figure out how to get prenatal care through our very flawed healthcare system, I have finally been able to get my first doctor’s appointment out of the way. Now, my husband and I get to decide what kind of care we want, and where we’d like to deliver our baby. I’ve never been comfortable in hospitals and doctors offices, so a homebirth in an appealing option to me. I love the idea of being in my own comfort zone, and getting to stay home and relax in my own bed once I bring my baby into this world.

Birthstream Midwifery was the first midwife service we contacted. They provide all their prenatal appointments in the home, which seems like a selling point for someone interested in a homebirth, but this presents an extra challenge as the owner of a reactive dog. I don’t plan on having my dogs present for my birth, even if we do birth at home. My plans aren’t solid yet (I have time!) but I think I’ll likely have a trusted family member take them for an overnighter when the time comes. Having people and commotion in our home will be stressful for Muchacho, and Koa can be a bit of a worried “mama hen” herself, so I know that seeing and hearing me labor would be incredibly distressing for her, too. But still, I can’t send them away every time I have a prenatal appointment.



So this is how I found myself on the phone with a midwife asking, “What’s your guys’ comfort level with dogs?” Her answer wasn’t ideal, from a reactive dog mama/dog behavior nerd perspective, although perfectly logical, perhaps, to the layperson.

“We’re comfortable with good dogs,” she quipped with a laugh, sounding a little perplexed. Of course to me, my dogs are good dogs. The best. I love them dearly. But I knew that they (Muchacho in particular) wouldn’t fit this criteria. I explained in as succinct terms as possible, that one of my dogs is quite fearful of strangers, and will react like a “big scary dog” without precautionary measures. I explained our routine - that new visitors call or text when they arrive, so I am able to bring him out and take a short “walk” down the street together while treating him, before letting visitors enter the house first, followed by myself and Mooch.

When the day came, I had frozen KONGS in the freezer, a stash of string cheese in my treat pouch, and a leash in my hand. The two midwives arrived separately. I was waiting out front with Muchacho. My husband went to greet them to make sure they weren’t tempted to do the normal/polite thing and walk directly up to me to introduce themselves and say hello. Muchacho and I hung back and I fed him string cheese. As he relaxed, I closed the distance a bit, and was able to stand around six feet away and join in the conversation. When it came up naturally, I did mention that I’m a dog trainer (I hadn’t felt comfortable leading with this - sometimes it makes me feel as if I’m being a bit of a know it all to throw this tidbit in). When the second midwife arrived, the jingling of her keys preceded her, and set Mooch on edge a bit more. I increased distance a good deal and continued to feed him cheese. She’d already been running late, and then had gotten turned around, so I didn’t want to take too much time. I’d planned on putting Muchacho into the bedroom with his KONG, now that he’d gotten a chance to see who the visitors were, but he was more tense than I wanted him to be to walk him past the two women in our tight living room to get to the bedroom.

Evan ushered them into our home, where they got to meet Koa, who I reassured them would give them a sniff-over and then lose interest. Instead of following them, I had Evan open the back gate for me. From the backyard, I was able to walk Mooch through the bathroom, and into the bedroom. I closed the doors, and furnished him with his KONG.

When I finally came in and shook our midwives hands, I thanked them for their patience with our “new guest routine.”

“Your dog looks like he really appreciates you,” one said to me, “Just in the way he looks at you.”

It felt good to be seen, and to have my seemingly strange requests validated. People may not always understand where we are coming from, but at the end of the day, advocating for, and protecting the emotional well-being of our dogs is so worth it. 


Muchacho was perfectly quiet and relaxed throughout the appointment, and as predicted, Koa soon lost interest in the shoes of the newcomers and went to her crate to snooze.

Now as far as the birth goes, that remains to be seen - we are crunching some numbers and will decide soon whether or not the homebirth will fit into our budget!

We're Expecting!

Big news, Path & Paw family - the family is getting bigger! This time we will be bringing home a human baby, due January 2020. I am incredibly excited, and am hoping to share some of my dog/baby journey as the pregnancy progresses, and the baby arrives.

We're in for a wild ride! Baby Jordan coming January 2020.

As a Family Paws Parent Educator, dog/baby preparation, management, and safety are huge priorities. For those of us with reactive, fearful, or generally sensitive dogs, these preparations and laying a foundation of training is more important than ever. However, I will also note that many people that may have seemingly "well adjusted" or generally "friendly" dogs often over estimate their dogs' ability to cope with the huge adjustment that is life with a new baby. There is a huge difference between being neutral or friendly with the occasional kid while out and about, versus suddenly co-habitating with a living, breathing, unpredictable, noisy, and strange moving little two legged critter. Having reasonable expectations, may in fact be the one advantage for those of us with less easy-going dogs!

So, I do plan on sharing more specifics on training exercises and preparation as we get ready to greet the newest member of our family, but my first big lesson with this pregnancy was actually on letting go.

As is typical of me, I had big expectations for my pregnancy. I assumed I was going to feel great  (why? I don't know) and, in spite of the fact that the pregnancy and our big move to Sacramento happened pretty much at the exact same time, I thought I would have ample time to not only begin my prenatal training plans, but also that I'd be inspired to video and blog about every step of the way. That, of course, in addition to moving, starting a new job, and also getting my business up and running in our new location.

So newsflash to me — pregnancy is hard. First it was fatigue, then nausea,  and now migraines, topped with a heavy dose of stress. We are now living in a small duplex with a yard that we share with two other tenants, both of whom have dogs. Letting the dogs out in the yard to play and use the bathroom on their own is no longer an option - potty breaks involve surveying the yard, putting up an x-pen to provide an extra layer of security for unexpected appearances of the other dogs, and supervision. Because of that, daily walks are more important than ever - especially since for the first time in Koa and Muchacho's lives I'm working 40 hours a week at my new job (previously I worked shorter shelter shifts and was often home in between training sessions and classes throughout the day). Given the new needs of the dogs, plus the new needs of my body (and the new body my body is making!) giving the dogs regular outings and enrichment became a challenge in and of itself, my elaborate training and blogging ideas not included!

During the spare moments that I was able to stay awake, I was busy trying to get our new house set up, and spending long hours on the phone trying to get health insurance so that I could see an OB. My husband and I are both on probationary periods with our new jobs, and therefore are not receiving benefits yet, but that's a whole other story for another day.

All this not to say "poor me," as I know my story is not all together unique, but just to say that if I took anything away from my first trimester as a working dog mama, it was on the need to let go, and give myself a break. Sometimes, the dogs just get a short neighborhood walk. Sometimes I am stuck in bed with a migraine and all I can manage is getting them out to use the bathroom, before crawling back to bed with my ice pack. At the end of the day, I am a good dog mama (and wife, and trainer, and business lady, and employee, and friend, and...) but sometimes, not everything is possible in one day. As a perfectionist, this is a hard pill to swallow, but the thing about my pregnant body is, it does NOT care how much I WISH I was up and training and passing out flyers and hiking. It has it's demands (lots of sleep and even more food) and there's nothing I can do but take good care of myself and trust that my body knows what its doing as it manufactures a small person.

I still have plans, and I still plan on sharing our process. I'm now in my second trimester, and feeling a little less crummy (less nausea and fatigue, more migraines and acid reflux) so hopefully things will happen! Stay tuned, folks!

So long, Sonoma County

Well, friends, the next chapter of Path & Paw is unfolding...




My husband was recently offered a job in the Sacramento area, and with the promise of better pay, combined with the lower cost of living, it's too good to turn down.

We've so enjoyed our last few years here in Sonoma County, especially me because this is where I grew up! Being around family and living in such a beautiful place has been a gift, and I'm eternally grateful to all the wonderful pups and people that have helped my business grow and thrive here. Some of you may know that when we first moved out here, we were living with my grandma and building a tiny home from a barn on her property, which was lost (along with her home and all of our possessions) in the October 2017 wildfires.

We were overwhelming by the outpouring of love and support by our friends, family, and community, and were fortunate enough to be able to move into a back house on my father's property, where we're currently living. Without that help, we would have had to leave the area long ago. But now we're ready to look for a home that can accommodate the two humans and three animals in our family with a little more space, and as we look at Sonoma County real estate, it's become evident that it's time for us to move on. 

I have been fortunate enough to receive a job offer at the Sacramento SPCA, working in their Behavior Department, and I'm excited to dive into the Sacramento dog community and begin to get my name back out there and meet more dog owners that want to learn about using positive reinforcement to communicate with their pets. If you'd like to help me with this, please consider leaving me a review on Yelp or Facebook!

I have a few clients that have proposed the idea of me returning to Sonoma County, perhaps monthly, and offering a day of sessions to my clients here, so that's something I'll be considering as I get settled in my new home. Let me know if you'd like to be "in the loop" about potential training slots during these visits. 

Once again, a huge thank you to all of you who have invited me into your lives, referred me to your friends, and become friends of mine, as well! I love you all, and as excited as I am about the new possibilities in my future, I am sad to say goodbye to such a wonderful community of dog lovers.
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)