Victoria Stillwell, British Star of the popular television show, Its Me or the Dog, has won me over. As a serious Cesar Milan fan, I was skeptical at first, but now I am thoroughly an addict.

Victoria is awesome. She is a no nonsense dog trainer who faces each scenario with wit, humor and the utmost seriousness. Best of all she does it with really cute hair.

A misbehaving dog can ruin the lives, relationships, homes and wallets of their humans; she has seen the worst of the worst. Victoria’s goal is to show, through positive reinforcement and a firm grasp on reality, you can have the perfect pet.

She has over ten years of experience under her stylish belt and the seeds of her own little empire have been planted. She has her hit television show, It’s Me or the Dog, her books, Its Me or the Dog and Fat Dog Slim, training CDs and DVDs as well as countless articles and TV appearances. What makes Victoria’s approach different from my beloved Dog Whisperer?

She uses observation, interviews, a secret ‘pet cam’ and various visual aids to help owners simplify communicating with their dogs. Unlike Cesar, I have seen Victoria get very firm with the dog owners. On one recent episode, she took the elderly owner of a pack of six unruly pups down to the pound. As they looked at the sad cages filled with abandoned dogs, Victoria gave a no nonsense visual of where one or more of the owner’s dogs would end up if she didn’t commit to fulfilling her dogs needs. As the owner’s eyes filled with tears, Victoria calmly explained that this owner would need to be committed to the new schedule she had designed if the owner intended to keep her dogs. A few weeks later, the dogs are calm and quiet, their days of disruption gone.

Other instances of these visual aids show Victoria having dog owners lay down on the street or sit without eating tempting chocolate cake to better understand a dog’s perspective.

Unlike Cesar, Victoria knows not all of us have the talent of a dog behaviorist and arms owners with more tools then Cesar’s abstract ‘energy.’ I am not anti-Cesar, but sometimes the whole energy thing is hard for some non-dog trainers actualize. Victoria vocally advocates for use of treats, rewards and praise.

Victoria sends marking males to be neutered, eliminating the distraction of hormones. She is anti training or ‘choke’ collars, prong collars and slip leads, as they can easily be misused, resulting in abuse. Rather, she helps the owner to see the world from a dog’s perspective. She addresses everything from feeding to toys and how we can use all of those things to motivate man’s best friend.

While I am still a huge fan of Cesar, I have made room in my heart for Victoria Stillwell and her fantastic show and book, titled, Its Me or the Dog. Her book is very helpful and I credit a lot of what I have learned about dog training to her manual. Victoria’s methods are simple and easy to use, even if you are working with dogs for the first time.

I have read a number of books on dog training and behavior and this book makes for the easiest reading and understanding on the subject. At the end of the day, Victoria’s combination of straightforward honesty, nurturing kindness and treats won a permanent new fan in me and my (well behaved) dogs!

Images via www.victoriastillwell.com

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