| Victoria Stilwell | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 20, 1969 Wimbledon, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Dog trainer, television presenter, author, actress |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Employer | Animal Planet, Channel 4, CBS |
| Known for | It's Me or the Dog Greatest American Dog |
| Website | |
| Official Website | |
Victoria Stilwell (born July 20, 1969 in Wimbledon, England) is widely known as a dog trainer, author, and television presenter. Stilwell served as a judge on the CBS show Greatest American Dog and presents the Animal Planet dog training TV show It's Me or the Dog, counselling families with problem pets and solving their dogs’ behaviour problems.
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Stilwell originally trained as an actress, playing roles in Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1992, ITV1's The Bill in 1994, and onstage in London's West End theatre, as well as several commercials and voiceovers. She received a BA honours degree in Theatre from Middlesex University.[1] In order to supplement her income as an actress, Stilwell's veterinary nurse sister suggested Victoria start a dog walking agency. Within a month Victoria was walking 20 dogs per day - 10 in the morning, 10 in the afternoon - and immediately recognized the need for qualified professionals to help her clients with the training process. She then expanded her focus to dog training by learning from some of Britain's most respected positive-reinforcement dog trainers and behaviorists. After moving to the U.S. with her husband in 1999, Stilwell co-founded several successful dog training companies up and down the East Coast. Born and raised in Wimbledon, England, Victoria Stilwell is one of the worlds most recognized and respected dog trainers, reaching fans in over 50 countries. She is best known for her role as the star of Animal Planet's hit TV series “It's Me or the Dog”, through which she is able to share her understanding and desire for positive reinforcement dog training by taming some of the world’s most uncontrollable pets as she counsels families on their pet problems.
Stilwell has become an influential advocate of science-based, humane and effective dog training movement. Stilwell rejects dominance-based, traditional training techniques, instead, promoting positive reinforcement techniques. These techniques, she says, increases the dog's confidence and happiness, and allows a healthy, co-operative and kind relationship to be maintained between owner and dog. Stilwell believes that positive training results in a dog who follows an owner because it wants to rather than following out of fear, while traditional training uses punitive methods to force a dog to behave, often resulting short term solutions which never truly identifies the root cause of the misbehavior while promoting insecurity and negative behavior.[2][3][4]
In 2010, Stilwell created Victoria Stilwell Positively Dog Training - a global network of positive reinforcement dog trainers dedicated to spreading the word about positive reinforcement techniques[5] Born and raised in Wimbledon, England, Victoria Stilwell is one of the worlds most recognized and respected dog trainers, reaching fans in over 50 countries. She is best known for her role as the star of Animal Planet's hit TV series “It's Me or the Dog”, through which she is able to share her understanding and desire for positive reinforcement dog training by taming some of the world’s most uncontrollable pets as she counsels families on their pet problems.In the early 1990s, Victoria began her career in pet training when she created her own successful dog-walking company and instantly recognized the need for capable professionals to help her customers with the training process. While pursuing a successful acting career (working in London's West End as well as in numerous films, TV series, commercials and voiceovers), she expanded her focus to dog training by learning from some of Britain's most respected positive-reinforcement dog trainers and behaviorists.
Stilwell created the Victoria Stilwell Foundation, whose mission is "to provide financial support and canine behavior expertise to assistance dog organizations and small animal rescue shelters while promoting the concept of reward-based, positive reinforcement dog training philosophies in organizations and households throughout the United States."[6]
With a particular fondness for rescue animals in need of behaviour rehabilitation, Stilwell devotes much of her time and energy to a number of animal rescue organisations around the world, serving as a behaviour advisor for shelters in Atlanta, New York, the UK, and Hong Kong while giving regular seminars on the subject of dog rescue, training and rehabilitation. She worked as a volunteer adoption counsellor for the ASPCA, and has been featured in numerous magazines and journals including The New York Times,[7] USA Today,[8] Cosmopolitan, the Daily Mail, MSNBC.com,[9] Psychology Today and The Sun[10]. Stilwell is a regular columnist for The Bark, Dog World, American Dog and Dogs Today magazines, and she has appeared on numerous talk shows, news broadcasts and radio shows in the US, Europe and Asia as a dog training expert.
Since 2005, Victoria Stilwell has worked with unruly dogs on her TV show, It's Me or the Dog, which airs in over forty countries. The show features Victoria as she counsels families with problem pets and uses positive reinforcement training techniques to help them learn how to correct their dogs’ behavior. Originally produced for Channel 4 in the UK, the show premiered in the US on Animal Planet in April 2007, and over 90 episodes have been aired worldwide. A typical episode involves a family struggling to cope with their misbehaving dog(s). Victoria initially observes the problems in situ, then presents the family with her opinion regarding the causes of the issues. Victoria then works with the family and their dogs to restore balance. After a period of time alone to implement Victoria’s positive reinforcement training regimen, the family reunites with Victoria to check progress, get a few tune-ups and encouragement. Special episodes of the program have featured overweight dogs, Victoria’s public seminars at an outdoor dog festival, her work with the caretakers of a wild wolf rescue park, and her training of out-of-control pedigree dogs on their way to the world's largest dog show.
Victoria was one of three judges on the CBS show Greatest American Dog, in which 12 dog-owner teams compete for the title 'Greatest American Dog' and a $250,000 prize. The series debuted on CBS July 10, 2008.
Victoria was honored with the prestigious "Excellence in Journalism and Outstanding Contributions to the Pet Industry Award" at the 2011 Global Pet Expo[11] and was named 'Dog Trainer of the Year' by DogWorld Magazine at the 55th Annual Purina Pro Plan Show Dogs Of The Year Awards Presented By Dogs In Review.[12] She was named among 2009's '100 Best & Brightest' in the dog world in The Bark magazine.[13] Victoria won a 2009 CableFax award as Best Host in the Animals & Nature category. In 2009, It's Me or the Dog was nominated for a People's Choice Award in the US, and after its first season in the UK, It's Me or the Dog was nominated in the 'Best Factual Entertainment' category in the UK's TV Quick Awards. Her first book, It's Me or the Dog: How to Have the Perfect Pet was voted one of the 50 greatest dog books ever written by Dogs Today magazine.
She advocates animal rescue and supports Paws Atlanta, "Atlanta Pet Rescue", Stray from the Heart (NYC), Hong Kong Dog Rescue and Greyhound Rescue of West England, Wisconsin Puppy Mill Project, the Waterside Action Group, Deed Not Breed (campaigning to re-write the UK's Dangerous Dogs Act to remove breed-specific legislation) as well as Vets Get Scanning, promoting mandatory pet micro-chipping and scanning by vets.
Stilwell met her actor husband, Van Zeiler, while starring opposite him in the West End production of Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story. The couple and their daughter live in Atlanta, Georgia.[14]
After many years without a pet dog of her own (due to work commitments), Victoria adopted a rescued chocolate Labrador named Sadie. Prior to that, she had spent her time since 2000 fostering dogs due to be euthanised by local municipal shelters. Stilwell and her husband then gave the dogs a home while rehabilitating them and eventually finding suitable homes for the animals. She has explained that, until recently, owning a dog would have been irresponsible and not fair to the dog, considering how much the whole family travels. The couple has re-homed over 50 dogs and cats.[15]
Victoria is currently certified by the Animal Behavior and Training Associates and is a longtime member of the US Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT).