The Show
Since 2005, Victoria Stilwell has been working with some of the world’s most unruly dogs (and owners!) on her international smash hit TV show, It’s Me or the Dog, which airs in the U.S. on Animal Planet and over forty other countries. Produced by Shed (Supernanny, Real Housewives of NYC), the show features Victoria as she gives counsel to families with problem pets and uses positive reinforcement training techniques to help them learn how to correct their dogs’ behavior problems.
Originally produced for UK TV’s Channel 4, the show premiered in the US on Animal Planet in April 2007, and to date over 65 original episodes have been aired worldwide. A typical episode involves a family struggling to cope with their misbehaving dogs. Victoria arrives to help restore order by initially observing the problems firsthand in their native environment, then confronting the family with her expert opinion regarding the root causes of the issues. Victoria then works with the family and their dogs to restore balance by showing where the owners have previously gone wrong and what they can do to remedy the problems. After a period of time alone to implement Victoria’s hand-crafted training regimen, the family welcomes Victoria back to display the progress made and get a few tune-ups and encouragement from Victoria to stay the course.
There have been several “special” episodes of It’s Me or the Dog including those featuring 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. The show has been nominated for a People’s Choice Award in the US and a TV Choice Awards in the UK.
Victoria is now filming another season of It’s Me or the Dog for Animal Planet in the US.