| It's Me or The Dog - The Victoria Stilwell Interview for K9 Magazine | ||
1) Over the past series of ‘It’s me or the dog’, which dog would you say was the most problematic and why? Pongo was a two and a half year old entire male Dalmatian that had an extensive bite history and other nervous disorders. He was essentially a really good dog but he had not had a good start in life and that along with the environment he was living in exacerbated his nervous behavior. 2) Have there been any cases where you believed the owners of the dog were entirely to blame? Training is 80% owners and 20% dog in my book. Dogs are willing and eager to learn while humans can be a lot harder to deal with. In many cases I find owners are inadvertently causing certain behaviors in their dogs. No more so than one case I had in Manhattan where the owner had received an eviction notice because his two Dachshunds were barking all day. The owner worked long hours and left his dogs alone with little stimulation. They were bored and anxious and barked in order to give them something to do and relieve the stress. First of all I asked him why he had got two dogs if he worked all day. He told me that he had bought the dogs for his girlfriend but they had subsequently split up and he was left with them. He loved them too much to let them go so after I had made him see that his lifestyle contributed to the cause of his dog’s behavior I gave him a daily schedule of walks and games to play with his dogs as well as hiring a dog walker for three days a week and then taking the dogs to a doggy day care twice a week where they could play with other dogs. No more barking, no eviction and two happy dachshunds!
Compassion, patience and understanding for both dog and owner. It’s important for a trainer to motivate owners to carry on with their dog’s education when the trainer leaves because unless the owner is motivated to work with their dog the likelihood of them carrying on the training is very small. I want owners to enjoy training their dogs. The ultimate aim is for both dogs and owners to become confident and happy with themselves and their lives together. After training sessions have finished I offer a free telephone service for my clients for the rest of their dog’s life. This ensures that owners have a constant support system and dogs stay in homes rather than ending up in shelters. 4) What will people be able to get from your book that couldn’t get seeing you an action on our screens? There is not enough time to show all the training techniques in their entirety because each episode is only 30 minutes long whereas the book breaks down all my techniques and gives readers a comprehensive step by step guide to obedience training and dealing with problem behaviors. 5) What is the most satisfying or rewarding experience you have to date in your career as a dog behaviour expert? Rehabilitating dogs that have been abandoned in rescue shelters and helping them thrive in their new families. 6) What is the worst experience? Seeing dogs come into the shelters that have been abused and neglected. 7) Is there one particular situation that occurs where you just think to yourself ‘I’ve seen this a million times before’? Owners who call me in because their dog is chewing the furniture and being generally destructive, only to find out that the dog has been left alone nine hours a day every day. What do they expect? If they were left in that situation with nothing to do but wait for someone to come for nine hours each day I’m sure they would go mad. It’s exactly the same. 8) What is the most unusual situation involving a troublesome dog that you have encountered? One of my clients in NYC had a Boston terrier who liked to steal the washing and rip the labels off of towels, shirts and other items leaving the rest of it intact. The terrier was completely infatuated with labels. 9) Were there any ‘too hot for TV’ moments when filming that you’d like to let us in on? Were there any outrageous ‘dogs behaving badly’ moments where the director just had to cut? Yes but you’ll have to buy the DVD for that! 10) How did you get started in this line of work? I was an actor but supplemented my dwindling income by dog walking. I started walking one dog a day and by the end of the month I had 20 a day. I loved it and became very interested in why dogs behaved in the way that they did. I met many trainers who influenced me greatly and since then I have never looked back. 11) Are you a stickler for good behaviour with your own dogs, or do you like to let them get away with the odd thing now and then? I do not have my own dogs at the moment because I am working so hard but my husband and I have spent the last five years fostering dogs. Many of the municipal shelters in New York and New Jersey euthanise half of all the dogs that come into their shelters because there is not enough room for the amount of dogs that come in. We then go in and get them out before they are euthanised, giving them a home while we find suitable families to adopt them. We have rehomed 40 dogs and cats in the last five years. We offer them a loving home but the boundaries are there from the start because security breeds confidence and many of the dogs we get need a huge confidence boost. 12) If could ask your dog one thing, what would it be and what do you think the answer would be? What’s it like to live in the human world? A: A little confusing but I enjoy it because I am loved, well fed and protected. 13) Is there a particular breed that keeps cropping up in your work? Who is the naughty boy of the canine world? I can’t say that there is. I see such a variety of dogs that I can’t pick out a breed that is necessarily naughtier than the rest 14) What breed are you most like and why? A German shepherd/Border collie mix. I have a lot of energy, am intelligent but disorganized, love working, and am very protective of the people and animals that I love. 15) What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is considering becoming a dog owner for the first time? Do your research first. Do not get a dog on impulse. This is common sense but it’s amazing that people still do it. A dog is an important member of your family and will require a lot of your time and attention. A dog is not disposable property that can be given up if it becomes too much of a pain. You must invest in your new dog’s education and if you need help utilize the wealth of knowledge that hundreds of talented trainers in the UK can give you. Purchase a Copy Of It's Me or The Dog - The Book to Accompany the Hit Channel 4 Series > USEFUL LINKS:
It's Me or The Dog (UK TV Show) - Discussion
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