She also helped an American Bulldog, Jed, stop biting people who entered his home. But she worked with him and after six weeks, he became a completely different dog. If his family left the house, he would leap through glass windows or chew through the garage door to get outside. Victoria has seen countless success stories thanks to positive training, such as Scooby, a Pit Bull/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix who had terrible separation anxiety. “I would rather work a little bit more to change behavior for the rest of the life of the dog than rely on having to suppress behavior throughout the life of the dog,” she said. And every single time it sees another dog in the distance, its favorite thing happens.”Īfter a while, instead of reacting by barking, growling or gnashing his teeth, the dog will look to his handler for a reward as the other dog walks past. It could be food, it could be toys, it could be petting, it could be a game. “And I do that by pairing the sight of another dog with something that my reactive dog loves. “I teach the dog that good things happen when they see another dog,” she said. For example, if a dog is “leash reactive” on walks when he sees another dog approaching and starts barking and lunging, rather than punishing the dog, Victoria uses redirection and positive techniques to address his discomfort and insecurity around other dogs. In contrast, positive training, which involves praise and rewards, actually changes the way a dog thinks and feels. She said dominance training, which can include intimidation with physically aversive techniques or equipment such as shock collars, merely suppresses a dog’s behavior. “If you want to have a good relationship with your dog, if you want your dog to learn effectively and quickly, if you want your dog to trust you, if you want your dog to listen to you, if you want to shape and raise your dog to be emotionally stable, and if you want to have a better idea of your dog’s behavior in certain situations, use positive training,” Victoria said. 1 thing pet owners should know about dog training is, “It should be fun and positive both for you and your dog.” Victoria is passionate about spreading the word about the value of positive training techniques, so it’s no surprise she told me the No. The charming English trainer is the star of Animal Planet’s “It’s Me or the Dog,” CEO of Victoria Stilwell Positively Dog Training, editor-in-chief of, author of numerous best-selling books, including “Train Your Dog Positively,” and founder of the nonprofit Victoria Stilwell Foundation, which provides financial assistance and canine behavior expertise to assistance dog organizations and smaller rescue shelters. I’m thrilled Victoria Stilwell took the time to chat with me since she is extremely busy with all of her projects.
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