{"id":24917,"date":"2024-04-01T10:10:39","date_gmt":"2024-04-01T15:10:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/karenpryoracademy.com\/?p=24917"},"modified":"2024-04-01T10:10:45","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T15:10:45","slug":"april-kpa-ctp-of-the-month-anna-wong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/karenpryoracademy.com\/april-kpa-ctp-of-the-month-anna-wong\/","title":{"rendered":"April KPA CTP of the Month: Anna Wong"},"content":{"rendered":"

april 2024 KPA CTP of the Month<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
In animal training, every journey begins with a story, and the tale of<\/span> Anna Wong<\/span><\/a>, KPA CTP<\/span>, is as captivating as they come. Acknowledging her humble start when, during childhood, she served as her sister's assistant in the training (and occasional misplacement!) of a chameleon, Anna reflects on the mishaps of her early days with a chuckle.<\/span> \u201cIt was not a very auspicious start to my training career,\u201d she admits with a smile. However, little did she know, this whimsical beginning would pave the way for a transformative journey in canine-companion training.<\/span><\/div><\/div>
\"KPA<\/span><\/div><\/div>

Fast forward to today, and Anna stands tall as a graduate of the Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) Dog Trainer Professional (DTP) program and as a KPA Certified Training Partner (CTP). Her personal achievements support her vision for animal training, a vision that focuses on societal change and is based on compassion.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this interview, Anna talks about her path from a trainer of a lost chameleon to a visionary dog trainer.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Tell us about the first animal you ever trained.<\/b><\/p>\n

The first animal I ever trained was my sister\u2019s chameleon, when I was 10 or 11 years old. She was the owner and head trainer; I was the self-proclaimed assistant trainer. While we were working on jumping through a hoop outdoors, I lost the chameleon! Not a great start to my training career. Fortunately, I\u2019m more careful with the dogs that I work with now! My 11-year-old dog, Kempie, has been my most influential training companion and teacher and continues to teach me every day.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

How has completing the Dog Trainer Professional program and becoming a KPA CTP changed your life and career?<\/b><\/p>\n

Completing the Dog Trainer Professional program has already allowed me to start my own business, Mutts Have Fun: Training You & Your Dog, but I envision more changes to come.<\/span><\/p>\n

My dream is to combine my career experience in criminal legal reform and social\/racial justice advocacy with my love for dog training and behavior change. I\u2019d like to start up an organization or program that partners with people coming home from prison to support them in pursuing careers related to dog training and animal welfare. There are in-prison dog training programs in California and across the country, but not many provide career paths and support to people being released from prison who have a passion to stay in the field.<\/span><\/p>\n

Through this effort, I hope to help people get back on their feet and thrive, but I also want to achieve other goals:\u00a0 diversifying the dog training field; making high-quality training accessible to more people; promoting the use of humane, welfare-centered, positive reinforcement approaches; and changing our punishment-oriented culture. I want my work to challenge prevailing cultural narratives about \u201cbad\u201d people and dogs so that, as a society, we focus on meeting needs and fostering well-being rather than controlling, suppressing, and punishing unwanted behavior.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"Image\"<\/span><\/div><\/div>
I want my work to challenge prevailing cultural narratives about \u201cbad\u201d people and dogs so that, as a society, we focus on meeting needs and fostering well-being rather than controlling, suppressing, and punishing unwanted behavior.<\/blockquote><\/div><\/div>
\"Image\"<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>

What is your favorite activity or sport that you do with your own dog(s)?<\/b><\/p>\n

We love \u201ctypical family\u201d stuff like hiking and going to the beach. For extra flavor, we play movement games while we\u2019re out and about (stationing on objects, backing up to targets like curbs or manhole covers, going through or around legs, etc.) The Oakland\u00a0 area has gorgeous hiking trails and beaches that are close to my home and allow dogs on and off leash on some trails.<\/span><\/p>\n

We also love eating. One of our favorite activities is to play treat-search games. It\u2019s beautiful to watch Kempie engage with so much enthusiasm. Kempie can be tentative or fearful in certain contexts but treat searches, movement games, and positive reinforcement training help build her confidence and her ability to navigate the challenges of living in a noisy, urban environment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you do to continue your training education?<\/b><\/p>\n

Continuing my training education helps me serve my clients better but it is also intellectually interesting. Probably like many of you, I have a long training bucket list. I listen to podcasts and read books, but I most enjoy taking courses (in person and online). I\u2019m currently getting certified as a Control Unleashed Instructor through Leslie McDevitt\u2019s course. Other favorites include courses at The Ranch with Ken Ramirez; movement and aging-dog classes with Lori Stevens; cooperative-care learning with Laura Monaco Torelli; Living & Learning with Animals with Susan Friedman; and everything I\u2019ve ever taken with Sarah Owings, who was my KPA instructor. These courses have all been instrumental to my professional development. Each year, ClickerExpo generates a never-ending list of teachers with whom I want to study further.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is the most important piece of advice you can give to a new trainer?<\/b><\/p>\n

Video and watch your own training, stay curious and keep learning, and set aside time to recharge so you don\u2019t burn out.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about Anna through her<\/span> website<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> Facebook<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> Instagram<\/span><\/a>, and<\/span> YouTube<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n
\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

FIND A KPA CERTIFIED TRAINER <\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

All dogs deserve great dog trainers<\/p><\/div>

FIND A TRAINER NEAR ME<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In animal training, every journey begins with a story, and the tale of Anna Wong, KPA CTP, is as captivating as they come. Acknowledging her humble start when, during childhood, she served as her sister’s assistant in the training (and occasional misplacement!) of a chameleon, Anna reflects on the mishaps of her early days with a chuckle. \u201cIt was not a very auspicious start to my training career,\u201d she admits with a smile. However, little did she know, this whimsical beginning would pave the way for a transformative journey in canine-companion training.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":24920,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[151,516],"tags":[3162,3165,3163,3164],"class_list":["post-24917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-trainer","category-news-events","tag-ctp-of-the-month","tag-dog-trainer-professional-program","tag-featured-trainer","tag-karen-pryor-academy"],"yoast_head":"\nApril KPA CTP of the Month: Anna Wong<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In animal training, every journey begins with a story, and the tale of Anna Wong, KPA CTP, is as captivating as they come. 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