About Joyce
Growing up in Hong Kong, I was always fascinated by interactions with animals, but I couldn't have a dog at home. My education brought me to Los Angeles, where I earned my Master in Architecture from UCLA in 2018. Right as I started working professionally, I adopted my first dog, Wilson, a pit-shepherd mix, from San Diego Humane Society. He came with real reactivity issues, and I quickly realized I wasn't equipped with the right tools to help him. Working with trainers and immersing myself in research taught me that science is a reliable guide, and that the human-dog relationship is built on communication and understanding, not a dominance-submission dichotomy. Training him through my moves from Los Angeles to Austin to New York turned that early challenge into a full-time passion and hands-on expertise. Along the way, I volunteered with shelters — SPCA Houston in 2022, then Bobbi and the Strays in Queens in 2025 — working through difficult cases: the pullers, the reactive ones. It deepened my understanding of fear and stress in dogs living in cities, and how we can help them. I'm a Goodpup Certified Trainer (GCT), and I'm now working toward my CCDT certification through the CATCH Professional Dog Training Academy, alongside my CPDT-KA.
How I work
On walks
Safety and enrichment, in that order. Secure handling, honest observation, and time to sniff and explore. The goal is to reduce stress, encourage calmness and satisfy your pup's natural instinct
In training
I start by learning how your dog thinks and communicates — their body language, needs, and personality — then build a plan around your dog and your life, grounded in the science of classical and operant conditioning, so you and your dog develop real understanding together. Bonding and resiliency is the goal.
My household
Wilson
