About Hudson Valley Hounds

Hudson Valley Hounds is Tessa Romita, working from 49 Peak Rd in Stone Ridge. It is a behavior practice first and a training school second, and the site says so in its opening line: "Real training changes how your dog feels – not just how they behave." Fifteen years in the field, and a certification list longer than anyone else's in Ulster County – Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, CPDT-KA, Control Unleashed Certified Instructor, an IAABC accredited dog trainer, and a diploma with excellence in Canine Behavior Science and Technology from the Companion Animal Sciences Institute, on top of Susan Friedman's Living and Learning with Animals course and Terry Ryan's Chicken Camp.

What is on offer

Three shapes of work, and they are kept distinct. Private in-home behavior consulting and training: "We evaluate your dog's behavior in their natural environment – your home – to create a management plan that works with you." Small group classes, capped at four to five teams, including a Puppy Play and Socialization course that runs four weeks and covers structured off-leash play with appropriate pairings, positive introductions to new people, sounds, surfaces and objects, and reading a puppy's body language. And day training. The behavior side names its cases specifically: "We tackle complex issues like leash reactivity, resource guarding, and separation anxiety by identifying and modifying the underlying emotional triggers." Cooperative care – vet visits and grooming – is listed as its own service.

What it costs

The prices are on the page, which is rare here. A Professional Behavior Evaluation is $180 for sixty to ninety minutes and is described as the essential first step for aggression, resource guarding or generalized anxiety; it produces a functional analysis, an environment audit and a written intervention plan. One-on-one coaching sessions are $120 for fifty minutes, with a written recap and homework after each. The four-week Puppy Play and Socialization class is $165 for a maximum of four to five teams. Classes are forty-five minutes. Acceptable equipment is stated – harness, flat collar or martingale – and private appointments need twenty-four hours' notice to change.

Approach

The About page is unusually careful about what positive reinforcement means: not "indiscriminately giving treats," but adding something meaningful so that owner and dog can communicate clearly. The stated aim is to give a dog more choice and engagement rather than less freedom. Group classes are open to dogs who are "dog and people friendly or tolerant"; anything harder goes private, which is a sensible boundary honestly drawn.

Who it suits

Owners with a real behavior problem – reactivity on lead, resource guarding, a dog who cannot be left – who want a credentialed consultant in their own living room, and puppy owners who want a very small class. Best for: leash reactivity, separation anxiety, resource guarding, puppy socialization and in-home behavior work.