While CTO Dog Training is only a few years old, its success is driven by decades of experience, wisdom and proven results.
Owner and lead trainer Chris O’Prandy’s career includes both a Marine Corps and local law enforcement background, the latter of which includes both building and leading a K9 unit, as well as a number of certifications, awards and national recognitions for his accomplishments as a trainer. And in all that time, he’s found that dogs of any age, breed and temperament can shed unwanted behaviors to become their best, most confident selves once you know how to communicate with them both verbally and through body language.
There are, however, often disconnects between how a human expresses their boundaries and expectations that interfere with how their confused canine companion receives those messages. CTO Dog Training’s highly personalized, bond-focused, and mutually rewarding approach is transforming the way people and their dogs connect—achieving remarkable behavioral breakthroughs with impressive speed and lasting impact.
“Our personalized approach focuses on every individual dog and their owners’ goals,” says Chris. “A lot of our feedback is about the effective approach that we have. What blows our clients away is that we’re accomplishing things in two hours that our counterparts typically accomplish in four to six training sessions. “Our success comes from our deep understanding of each dog’s unique needs in the moment. As natural pack animals, dogs crave leadership, love, and affection—they thrive when they can trust that their human is guiding them with their best interests at heart.”
Not settling for a cookie-cutter approach has helped rack up countless enthusiastic word-of-mouth referrals. Both the volume and awe of those laudatory recommendations praising Chris’ method, approach and ability to effectively communicate across species have helped CTO become the state’s top dog when it comes to in-home training—a distinction underscored by honors like being named Suburban Family magazine’s Best Dog Trainer two years in a row.
“We are the fastest growing and highest ranked privately owned mobile dog trainer in New Jersey,” affirms Lia O’Prandy, Chris’ wife who’s also a part of the CTO pack. “In-home and being mobile is so important in how our reputation grew. … One of the common threads throughout all our reviews is Chris’ ability to communicate and teach. His personalized approach has really resonated with clients since the beginning.”
Of course, there’s plenty that differentiates CTO in a way that dazzles new clients and turns them into returning ones, but bringing its brand of training directly into a dog’s domain is certainly at the top of that list.
“There’s quite a few advantages to it,” Chris begins. “For example, when focusing on behavior modification, we’ve found that achieving lasting results requires conducting training in the client’s home. Behaviors like table surfing, backyard digging, or object stealing and possession are difficult to replicate in a training facility. Additionally, when introducing new behaviors such as obedience, the unfamiliar distractions of a training facility can create unnecessary confusion and conflict for our four-legged partners.”
Chris additionally attributes CTO’s success to a combination of factors, which are rooted in prioritizing two key elements.
“I have a two-prong approach to dog training, and I think that’s one of the things that separates me from some of our counterparts,” he begins. “We don’t just focus on the obedience aspect: We focus on the boundaries and dogs understanding how to live with their humans on a day-to-day basis, because a lot of times you could have a very obedient dog but they don't understand boundaries inside the home.”
As word of CTO’s ability to make good dogs even better family members spreads, growth of that impact is on the horizon.
“As far as looking to the future goes for 2025, we’re looking to expand our territory,” Lia notes. “We go from all of New Jersey, Philadelphia metropolitan, New York metropolitan, all the way up to the Connecticut border. So, we’re going to continue expanding into those territories.”
And that growth will be meticulously measured without sacrificing the results that clients love, starting with ensuring that additional trainers only become client-facing when they’re ready.
“Even though we are growing and our client base is growing drastically, I don’t want to get rid of that quality—therefore, our apprentice program is pretty lengthy,” Chris says.
After all, with referrals and returning clients accounting for so much of CTO’s place as leader of the pack, Chris is keenly aware of how much of his company’s success is tied to its stellar reputation: “The feedback that we are pretty consistently getting on our reviews is shock and awe that, within our first hour, people see a different, better version of their dog and results that they thought were never achievable.”
CTO Dog Training
Serving New Jersey
(856) 912-6821
CTODogTraining.com
Click here to subscribe to the free digital editions of South Jersey Magazine
To read the digital edition of South Jersey Magazine, click here.
Published and copyrighted in South Jersey Magazine, Volume 21, Issue 10 (January 2025)
For more info on South Jersey Magazine, click here.
To subscribe to South Jersey Magazine, click here.
To advertise in South Jersey Magazine, click here
