Sorry HP, seems like I touched a bit of a nerve :(

I didn't mean that because she has a job she can't have a dog, I meant more from the travelling up and down the country she must be doing, I haven't taken much notice as to where the families live, but I am sure they are not all on the same street as her.

I didn't mean to offend you, or anyone else. :)

Hey Nat, you didn't offend me, not in the slightest ;)

Just trying to put another perspective on the debate :P

No you're right, she must do a lot of travelling but it doesn't detract from her having a dog if she really wanted one. But then I don't like the woman from what I've seen of her, have no respect for the fact that she has no credentials and used to be or wants to be an actress. Yes, she may have worked with lots of problem cases, let's see proof of that if she is to be taken seriously.

I still say, no matter how many dogs have "passed through her hands" that 10 yrs is such a short time to be lecturing others on dog behaviour. You still can't beat "hands on" experience.

I think we should be seeing Moonmaiden in her shoes, now that's real lifetime experience ;)

LOL I swear this on my sons life, I was sat watching it last night, and it was going through my head that MM should be on it instead!!! :D :D

Maybe she doesn't want a dog after seeing some terrors in her time ;) :P I suppose you could say the same about any one in a job though, school teachers not having kids of their own, an owner of a mini-market going to Tesco to do the weekly shop... I used to work in a hair dressers before I had my little boy, and even though I could have had my hair done every week in a different style for free, I still went to another salon to have it done, and paid full price for the pleasure!!

It perhaps would have been better if they had have had a half hour program on her first, showing what experience or credentials she does have, but I suppose the show is aimed at the general public, not those people who already know how to, and so they probably felt it wasn't needed.

I am not saying she isn't good, but I suppose all of these sorts of discussions went on between child behavourists when 'Super Nanny' first started, and probably between estate agents when Location Location Location started.

Does anyone know where she came from as I had never heard of her before this TV programme?

It would be interesting to find out a little bit more of her background........!

I might do a little googling! :)

I have googled Victoria and all I could find is a little info on her been in a Play about Buddy Holly that toured the UK.

Nothing on been a Dog Trainer other than is "Me of the Dog" stuff. Quite unusal really if she has been doing it for 10 years you would think she would have some sort of website.

Well I couldn't find one, maybe she has one and I'm been a biff as google dosen't always pick everything up.

So you wouldn't accept treatment from a doctor who wasn't ill him/herself?

??????? :)

She doesn't have a dog of her own, but apparently she has had over 40 dogs fostered to re-train and successful home. I think this puts her in a category of her own - much more experience than many people having dogs 'all their lives', which can be limited to one or two breeds and 5 to 6 dogs, which is hardly any experience at all.

People that do this for a living tend to have to tackle loads of different dogs with different problems, breeds, ages, backgrounds, etc, etc. So even though she may not have a dog, she will have much more experience with dogs than most dog lovers out there.

I don't think she said anything about castration stopping the biting - in fact, she mentioned that even putting everything into place (the whole training program, etc, etc), that there would be no guarantees that biting would never happen again. Testosterone tends to make dogs more reactive, therefore taking that away usually calms dogs down and doesn't make them so reactive. So, for the sort of behaviour Pongo was displaying, it may well help. There are no guarantees with anything, but one would hope to do the best for their dog and try to give them the best chance.

You're obviously a fan Pattie.........so I shall say no more ;)

Not really, I just think it's unfair to judge people incorrectly, especially when they are not here to stick up for themselves and put things right. I would do the same for anyone whether I liked them or not. I think it is very easy to slag people off and be negative, but it is just not in my nature. I guess it goes back to school where I would go around and stick up for those kids that were being bullied in school (whether I liked them or not). I'm a Taurus - apparently we have a big sense of 'fairness'.

Don't get me wrong, there are a few things I didn't agree with on the programme, but I realise that they were mainly done for 'entertainment' factor. To tell you the truth, I don't particularly agree with putting food in a table when there is nobody around and then blowing a loud noise to scare the dog. I think it was pretty pointless and unfair on the dog and I am not sure what the point was that they were trying to make.

However, my general view is that she is doing a good job, considering the time pressures and the 'entertainment' pressures that the TV production company will be placing on her.

She certainly had the two labs in the first programme castrated. It certainly seems to be one of her 'things'.

I'm wondering how the frightful Teddie P.P. escaped the chop!

Maybe he'd already been done!

I thought she was really good! :-)
I don't think Pongo only ever had one punch on the nose though - he seemed quite 'on edge' around his family at times.

I could be wrong but I think that she did say she wasnt sure how if the castration would help but the owners did actually say they thought it had and it was their idea to have the dog snipped. 

I cant say I have ever had a dog neutered so cant offer a opinion.  The only time I have suggested a dog being neutered was when the owners had allowed him to keep humping them!  At this point I did question whether I was a good judge of charecter as they seemed normal at the time I sold them the puppy.  In this case it definately worked. :)

In the same way children play up their parents, but can be angels for someone else :D

Theemx & some others I really think you were not taking in the sheer depth Vicky's methods she did not just want the dog neutered. As it has already been pointed out that Vicky meant to neuter in conjunction with her very special techniques, I mean another thing someone like Vicky does not develop such a natural ability without first being very gifted and in natural rapport with the dog- I mean she had an outstanding sit and stay in no time, that's not JUST raw method theemx that's a gift with dogs, and I am not just saying that because I am influenced by her attractiveness.

>she had an outstanding sit and stay in no time

I've not yet heard how long they spent filming and working with the dog - though there was a hint that it had been 6 months. It certainly wasn't the half-hour of the programme! ;)

Oh I am sure they had been there more than the half hour but six months filming would cost soo much, it was just the msterly way she put her hand up and the dog just sat like a magnet attracted to the ground, but, you could tell with other things she had 110% communication and I doubt if it took more than a couple of hours for such a gifted lady such as Vicky.

Not six months filming, obviously, but six months training, and filming odd bits here and there during that time. Then cleverly editing it all together to make it appear a quick and easy procedure ... ;)

I must admit that I was a bit dubious about how long it took her, but after thinking about it my dog was incredibly quick to teach sit and stay...and he was a handful too!

Tbh although castration may not have been a cure for the behavour problems, for a dog on deasth row like pongo, it couldn't really hurt. Imo given that some of these people have seen like less than perfect owners i think castrating their dogs so that there will be no "accidental" matings. If you aren't going to be bother to train your dog or walk hgim, what is to say that you are going to keep them from wandering and creating little pongo's?!

The film crew spend a full week with each family so what you saw when she lifted her hand and the dog sat could have been filmed at the end of the week!!!!  VS lives in New York and was asked to do the show basically because none of the good behaviourists in the UK would do it.  I think the reason may be that they would spark of discussions just like this!!!!  Or because of her background as an actress.  I have been unimpressed by the first 3 shows but last night I felt she did some really good work with that poor dog.  She put the owners firmly in their place and I thought the bit about aggression breeding aggression was very good. 

I was quite concerned when she was using the "hooter" to stop Pongo stealing from the table.  This is not something I would have chosen to use for a dog that is known to bite.  The fright could have made him bite!!!!

The castration in my view was completely unnecessary as I saw no evidence that any of his behaviour problems were hormone related but, as others have said, VS seems to be quite keen on this as a "cure all".  I am not for or against castration as I believe it does have its place but not with this dog.  Perhaps with the labs but you can't tell from a half hour show!!!

This programme is showing "quick fix" responses to dogs with problems.  However, all the dogs that have been featured in this show have the same background - bad owners, little exercise, no training and no clear guidelines.  Solve those problems and you solve the dog's problems.

All I would say is not to become too impressed by what you see on television; lots and lots of things happen before you see the finished article!!!

she does seem to be getting ABIT better,after the first diabolical programme,however i cant warm to her!
shes "very" clued up on her theory, & her methods that "do" work,but i "feel" whats lacking is a TOTAL lack of understanding of owners feelings for their pets,& sometimes i dont even think she likes dogs :(
yes she can train them & objectively advise "novicey" people.
BUT,theres something about her thats not quite right.
i think she needs to live with  some dogs,not just study them.....not to understand the dogs better but to understand the owners point of view better.
IMO supernanny on just after ,SHE would be a better dog trainer! she has stacks more compassion
also anyone can get results from a dog ,by chopping & changing its life style, & setting down a few rules,but dogs settle & adapt to their new life style & behaviours often return after a while

But I think you'll find that Supernanny doesn't have any kids of her own, so how come that makes HER so good at her job, but with Victoria nearly everyone thinks she should own her own dog and believes that would make her a better trainer?!

Just because you don't own a dog doesn't mean to say that you can't train one!!!!  There are trainers who don't own their own dogs but I have to say that is the minority in my experience.  I think if you want to learn about training and behaviour it comes from a passion for dogs and often the people that do this have multiple dogs - often the ones that other people won't take on!!!!  VS is probably quite a nice person but she is playing to the camera.  The series wants to make her out as being a dominatrix and you can see that from the opening sequences.  But I do agree with the normal run of the mill dog owner who has a problem dog she is not showing much compassion.  And remember the people at the end are singing her praises but they are also playing to the camera.  If you view this programme as a lifestyle programme and not what it is marketed as, you will see what I mean.  She makes good television - good looking, slim, a way with dogs and she kicks ass.  That's what the viewers want to see.  Its a pity that so many people will take on board what she is saying and my point about using a hooter on a dog that is known to bite is a case in point.  I wonder just how many problem dog owners will try that and get bitten - and how many dogs will be PTS if that happens.  Sad really but hey that's what makes good television.

Classic example of this hooter method and how TV can seriously influence people. I was at my Dog Training Club last night and women with a 5 month old puppy came over to the Shop ( where we sell treats, collars, leads, toys ) and asked if we knew where to buy a hooter????

I said why?

She replied with I saw that "It's me or the Dog" programme and my 5 month old puppy keeps jumping up on people and I want to stop her doing it!!!!!

I replied with - "she is only 5 months old and a puppy she is doing what puppies do, if you use a hooter on her you are only going to frighten the poor thing out of her skin which will cause a problem. I suggest you gently push your puppy down and say "off" she will soon learn that she is not to jump all over people. I also suggested when she comes home not to make a big fuss of her and to wait 5 minutes and then go to her for a little fuss".

This is the problem and I can imagine a few people are going to bitten by there dogs as they have frighten them half to death using a hooter to try and correct behaviour that they created themselves.

Totally agree, it is very sad.......!

>and asked if we knew where to buy a hooter????

What's a hooter? 

PS. I didn't see this programme. 

You know the things they have on vintage cars, looks a little bit like a horn. :)

Ah.....Of course.....haven't woken up yet... Lol, need more coffee. :-D

Hooters in dog training?  Whatever next..........:rolleyes: