Article appeared in Essex Chronicle, Thursday, February 7, 2008.

EVER struggled with a disobedient pet? Wondered why your fish doesn’t look quite so content or why your parrot is paranoid? Animal behaviourist Victoria James has a wealth of experience of a range of animals from penguins to poodles. She talks to reporter Louise Cooper about her role.

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VICTORIA James is a real life Dr Dolittle. She has a degree in animal behaviour, has lived in Spain and worked with a variety of animals including marine animals and companion animals. She has established her animal behaviour company in France and now divides her time between the continent and her home in Braintree.

“A lot of previously used methods try to distract a dog by aversive stimulus,” said Victoria. “Choke chains, for example, can damage the trachea as they constrict the dog around the neck. “We increasingly find that dogs that have been on choke chains can develop some problems with aggression, as they associate the discomfort they feel with people and other animals.” Victoria adheres to a strict code of ethics, including not using choke chains, prong collars, coercive methods or aversive stimuli. "The methods I use are professional, modern techniques to train desirable behaviour based on science and behavioural knowledge of learning in animals." Victoria has worked with animals which display stereotype behaviour such as repetitive pacing, feather plucking and crib biting.

Each session begins with a one-to-one talk with the owners and then an assessment of the animal. In some cases pets can be referred to Victoria once a physiological reason for the behaviour has been ruled out by the consulting vet. She says rewarding good behaviour with praise or treats teaches the animal quickly. Most trainers use a clicker or a whistle when training dogs because they are effective training aids. 

Victoria has recently been working with two families in the Dunmow area. Kathryn Walles, of High Easter, contacted her to train her 14-month old dog, Duke, which had developed aggression towards people and she is now using her methods to encourage the dog to be more sociable. She has also been working with a family whose daughter is disabled. Victoria said: “Disabled people can benefit from having a dog in the same way a blind person can, with the dog performing tasks it has been trained to carry out to aid their owner.”

By Louise Cooper

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Victoria James BSc (Hons),
Animal Behaviourist & Trainer

Victoria James, BSc (Hons) (Licence),
Dresseuse et Conseillère en Comportement d’animaux

Tel: +33 (0)4 93 36 79 09
Mobile/Portable: 0033 (0)6 89 19 50 88
Email: victoriaspettraining99@yahoo.co.uk