Positively | Victoria Stilwell | Forum

Sorry to hear of your loss. My friend Paul lost his dog Muttley also, on November 9. http://muttleydog.com/pictures/MuttleyAndPaul_2499.jpg He had been in considerable pain, and his quality of life was about gone. He enjoyed one of his beloved marrow bones as he was being euthanized: http://muttleyd...

Did the 2012 season ever go on air? I haven't seen or heard much of anything recently. When I checked the Animal Planet schedule http://animal.discovery.com/tv-schedules/series.html?paid=15.14743.125170.33808.3 the page was down. The only thing fairly recent was a casting call http://animal.discover...

That would be much better than coming onto her official forum - which we all know she reads, even if she doesn't post - and calling Victoria (as the creative consultant of the show) stupid. I'm not saying she is stupid, but IMHO and that of many others, the "New York" episodes were stupid...

Victoria has used the technique of "claiming space", at least at the door, in one of her recent shows (although I haven't seen any new ones since the "New York" series of 2010). She also once set up a remote camera and watched a dog enter the kitchen, and when it started to "...

If Animal Planet is serious about continuing IMOTD and airing in June, they sure aren't doing a good job of promoting it or giving any up to date information. I checked the website and it still advertises the stupid "New York" edition as the latest and greatest, while I think that was from...

There are some very good issues raised here. Most dog owners I know are not "pure positive" and are not convinced by the arguments given here and on similar forums. I use predominately positive reinforcement but not exclusively, and I am trying to understand the passion that is expressed b...

Very nice, and beautiful dogs. But I'd be more impressed if she was demonstrating the same level of training with Rottweilers, GSDs, Anatolian Shepherds, or Huskies, who are not instictually and genetically programmed for retrieving, as are Labs, Goldens, and Cocker Spaniels. IMHO the treats were ov...

I think howling is an instinctual behavior which is stronger in some dogs than others. Sometimes you can teach a dog to howl by doing so yourself, and it may be a form of bonding as well as communication which is also used by wolves. Howling and barking are really normal "dog behaviors" an...

It is frankly silly to keep debating is pain painful. That is not the most important point to my objections. There is no argument that positive reinforcement is preferable to punishment as a first response to a behavior problem or as a means of training a desired behavior. But I will actively oppos...

Pain is pain, no matter of the degree or intensity in which is received, it still leaves reminders either physically and/or psychologically. What intensity of pain delivered by a certain joule or volt may not hurt some humans, may hurt others, and dogs skins are more sensitive than ours, so that pa...

Comparison of a shock collar to a Tazer is about like comparing a firecracker to a stick of TNT. The shock collar is energy limited by the capacitor so that each jolt is limited to that which affects the nerves for pain sensation, while the Tazer is designed to incapacitate an individual by causing ...

Mostly I just want to do electrical testing to determine the voltage, current, power, and energy levels involved. I'll compare that to the two TENS units I have, and then I might use the shock collar on my arm or leg. And I want to see if the shock collar can produce a visible spark when the electro...

OK, you have "sparked" my interest. I watched the video of young people using a shock collar on their neck or leg, and their reactions varied widely, which correlates to the fact that people have different thresholds of sensation to electrical current, and also different reactions to it. M...

Those are both excellent articles and they help to see why there is confusion and emotional baggage in terms such as "positive", "negative", "punishment", "correction", "reward", "bribe", "reinforcement", "pleasure", &qu...

What is needed, IMHO, is an unbiased study that includes a large sample of dogs whose owners use prong or shock collars, and have them evaluated by behaviorists and trainers, to determine if they have any of the issues that have been reported with these devices. It should also include some history o...