Getting to know Victoria Stilwell

Credit: Animal Planet

Each week on Animal Planet’s “It’s Me or the Dog”, British dog trainer Victoria Stilwell wows viewers with her ability to charm unruly pets into well-mannered family members. Stilwell lives in Buckhead with her husband, daughter and chocolate Labrador Sadie. We spoke about the transition from acting to training, her passion for positive reinforcement and the two dogs she couldn’t train.

You can read the interview here on AOL’s Paw Nation, along with two questions that weren’t published:

Did you have a dog growing up in England?
We weren’t allowed. My grandmother was a beagle breeder…and I spent a lot of time there. My father and mother both worked and they knew they didn’t have time for animals but I used to beg and beg and beg, “Please can I have a dog?” It never worked.

Where did you get the idea for the TV show?
I was living in New York and I watched the first episode of the American “Super Nanny”. I remember just getting so excited and thinking, “I do that with dogs. What a fantastic idea for a TV show.” I found the producers and emailed them and the next day, I got a phone call.