Victoria Cooper - Certified Canine Behaviourist & Mentor

13/03/2025

Have you got a collie ?
Would you like to understand them better and harness their work ethic?
I highly reccomend Kay Lawrence’s Learning about Learning About Dogs courses including her SheepBalls course for herders .

13/03/2025

Those of you who follow me will know my views on preventative flea treatment
Here is yet another reason not to use them on your pets .

The chemicals used in standard flea treatments are polluting waterways and having a drastic effect on wildlife like killing songbird chicks🪺.

"Research at the University of Sussex has found that pesticides used in regular flea treatments are in 98% of English rivers, often at levels far higher than those deemed safe.

Some of this is from treated dogs swimming, but much goes down the drain from households, (eg from shampooing dogs, washing bedding, stroking and washing hands) and then enters rivers, according to Dave Goulson, professor of biology at Sussex, who co-authored the study and supervised the research.

Recent research also found that 100% of blue tit🐦 and great tit nests🪹 are contaminated with pesticides💦 from pet flea treatment, as the birds collect fur from dogs and cats to insulate their nests. The study, funded by the charity Songbird Survival, found that nestling mortality is associated with higher levels of the pesticides.

[...] If spot-on products are considered the only appropriate form of treatment, you should brush your pet indoors or in a sheltered area where you can gather the hair afterwards and dispose of it in a sealed bag.

'What we don’t want is the hair blowing away and birds collecting it up as nesting material. I think a lot of us have probably thought that was kind of quite a nice thing for birds to do but clearly it really isn’t if the hair is contaminated with chemicals,' said Millineaux.

It is also important to take care of packaging material, particularly from spot-on products. 'I’ve heard horror stories of people washing out the little containers, which obviously do contaminate water,' added Millineaux.

'What we want to be doing is not washing them out but disposing them of them in something like a seal bag and following any manufacturers guidelines.'

Washing is discouraged for several days after treatments, owing to the risk of product getting into waterways. " - Guardian

09/03/2025

A belated Happy International Women’s day to all the inspiring, strong, resilient, kind and wonderful women in grateful for in my life and work. You rock 💪🏻

Forever sharing Sheffield’s inspirational ‘Women of Steel’ statue for International Women’s Day 💪💜

Sculpted by Mark Jennings, this now iconic statue commemorates the women of South Yorkshire who worked in factories and steel mills during the first and second world wars.

It celebrates the strength of these women and their pride in excelling in industries that were traditionally reserved for men.

Captured brilliantly by 📸

08/03/2025

Why Quick Fixes & Aversive Methods Aren’t the Answer

Why am I banging on my drum this week about ethical training ?

I’ll tell you why - it’s because saw a little terrier in the park last week being choked on a rope noose lead. She was scared. Her tail was tucked under. She was spinning and choking and being yanked on her neck. Her neck being the size of an average cats neck. She was being forced to walk past other dogs even though she was clearly really scared. Her body language said it all. She had no choice but to follow her owner who was strangling her on this noose or have her airways cut off

The saddest part of this image that’s haunted me all week, is that the owner was with a ‘trainer’. I use the term loosely as I don’t class these people as ‘trainers’. They don’t use their brain. They use intimidation, force and pain.
The ‘trainer’ was advising the owner to snap the lead, drag her past, push her into a sit and make her “face her fears”.
Force her to comply or lose the ability to take a breath as the noose was so tight around her neck. The owner trusted this ‘trainer’ to help train the dog. The owner could not see the dogs distress. The ‘trainer’ didn’t care that the dog was afraid, stressed, choking. He just wanted to prove a quick fix with his punishing tools.

This is what saddens me . People are paying so called ‘trainers’ to hurt their dogs. To apply strangulation nooses or spikes to the dogs neck, or even electric shocks. 😫. People are bamboozled by the ‘trainers’ promise of a quick fix and don’t seem to realise the fallout from these methods is further issues for the dog.

My biggest issue with the people who choose to use punishment (aversive collars etc) is that they are punishing the dog for expressing an emotion. These ‘trainers’ seem clueless about dog body language or even basic physics of applying a strangling noose to a dogs neck ?!
Or maybe they just don’t care? 🤷🏼‍♀️
It’s not rocket science. Put a noose around a persons or animals neck and it will cut off their airway, it will cause bruising to the trachea and soft tissues in the throat, it could cause whiplash injuries if yanked on.
And it bloody HURTS! That’s why it works because it hurts !

Just think about that for a minute….

Reactivity is an emotion
It means the dog either feels fear or frustration and the pent up feelings are expressed, often explosively , as an over the top reaction usually to make the scary thing go away.

It’s completely understandable for owners to seek help and to want a quick fix.
However, techniques like lead jerks, ‘corrections’, intimidation or worse don’t actually change how a dog feels—they just force them to stop showing the emotion.
Many cases of “random aggression” or “biting without warning” happen because a dog that has learned to suppress communication reaches a breaking point. Just because a behaviour is gone doesn’t mean the
underlying fear or stress has disappeared—it’s just hidden.

Imagine you have a leaking water pipe. You cover the crack with duct tape, and it seems fixed—no more water dripping.
But underneath, the pressure is still building. Over time, the crack worsens, and eventually, the pipe bursts somewhere else, causing even more damage than before.

Aversive methods work the same way—they suppress the outward behaviour, but the underlying issue is still there. Over time, this stress builds up and can lead to bigger behavioural problems, unpredictability,
or shutdown and learned helplessness

Ethical accredited professionals will always analyse the behaviour and then address the CAUSE of the behaviour problem . We find out why the pipe is leaking 🤔
We don’t punish the dog for feeling the emotion. We get to the bottom of it and ask WHY a dog is expressing undesirable behaviour
It could be fear, pain, previous negative experiences, frustration, lack of trust in the owner, etc etc

And that’s an ethical stance that we (the force free network of professionals take every day in our work)
I know that punishment can work at suppressing unwanted behaviour
I used to be that balanced trainer 30 years ago
30 years ago I used choke chains or slip noose leads. 30 years ago I used noisy or scary tactics. I was that uneducated unaccredited trainer

But my studies and continuing education taught me that punishing animals to meet a human need is inhumane and unethical.
I choose to work WITH the dog and help it to change its emotional responses. Help it to become more resilient and able to self regulate
You don’t do that by applying pain or cutting off a dogs airway

Balanced trainers CHOOSE to suppress and hurt dogs with tools
Force Free trainers CHOOSE to take a kind and ethical path with no fear pain or force applied

When you know better, you do better. 💪🏻🙏❤️

Photo meme by Linda Michaels MA. Do No Harm Dog Training

07/03/2025

Are you thinking of having acquiring a Cavapoo ? Cavalier x Poodle ?
If so it’s really important to understand that whilst the Cavalier is delightful breed in its own right and can make wonderful companions - they can be prone to many health problems.
Which will be present in the diluted poodle cross breeds too

Many pedigree dogs are prone to genetic diseases which responsible ethical breeders work hard to eradicate or minimise in their litters
However, doodle cross breeds are typically bred by amateur breeders or puppy farmers for their looks and money, not for health or function.
If it’s a Cavapoo that you really really want - only buy from a welfare orientated breeder and make sure that both the cavalier and poodle parents have been health screened. Buyer Beware

Looking for a Cavalier Puppy?

Search for a Breeder that puts health, welfare and temperament first.

See our website - link in comments - for more information.

* Please consider a rescue - so many lovely dogs looking for loving homes*

06/03/2025

A story about Daisy

At 14 months old she was a troubled dog
She had resource guarding
With a Bite history
She hated being groomed and clipped
She would snap at you if you touched her front legs
She was scared of men
She was reactive towards loud children
She had a strong prey drive particularly towards ducks
She was determined and sometimes feisty

However, Daisy was never hit, strangled, or choked.
She wasn’t forced or coerced
She slept on the bed
She had access to our sofas
She had lots of toys
She shared our food sometimes
She shared our lives every day in every way
She was our companion and she was valued, loved and respected as a sentient animal with her own needs and rights

She had a lot of behaviour problems when I first got her. She was hard work!
But I didn’t need to use force bullying tactics, pain or fear to change her ways
I didn’t need or want to strangle my dog using a garotte or rope noose lead or a spiked prong collar. (A garotte noose in the photo, and terrier being strangled by a ‘trainer’ in the other photo)
I didn’t need or want to shock her with an electric collar to make her comply
I didn’t need to “prove I’m the boss” or “be the alpha” .

I used my brain not brute force and ignorance
I used my decades of science based learning and teaching methods designed to teach her to trust me and cooperate with me.
I used empathy, understanding of her behaviour, compassion, kindness and patience.
Yes she had boundaries but that did not involve physical abuse or “corrections” as they call it.

She lived 9.5 happy fulfilled years with us and was a delightful intelligent cooperative and very well trained companion. She did agility, gundog games, Scentwork, parkour, tricks and she had obedience skills. She was consent based groomed and clipped voluntarily standing without restraints to be clipped
She loved learning and together we were a team.

If you are reading this and you are struggling with your dogs behaviour - trust me, and a huge network of force free, educated, accredited and qualified professionals
- you Do NOT need to hurt or scare your dog to achieve results
You Do NOT need to choke them
You Do NOT need to throw things at them, spray them with water, scare them with noise or pin them down

This is NOT training - it is suppression, coercion and abuse.
There is plenty of scientific evidence and hundreds of research papers that show that using force fear and pain in animal training causes long term issues.
30 decades in this industry and thousands of dogs trained, of ALL sizes and breeds from Grest Danes to Pomeranian’s - and with multiple various and often serious problems.

My ethical stance remains strong. I will
aLWAYS advocate for dogs.
Please think twice and question why some trainers feel the need to choke dogs to gain results. What does it say about them that they are willing to do that to your dog?

I doubt they carry any form or qualifications or accreditations because if they did, they would have learned in their studies that forceful and harsh methods carries fallout.
They are probably self taught watching TikTok videos and suddenly call themselves trainers.
This industry is unregulated. Do your research.
Be kind to your dog.

05/03/2025

So true and sad 😔. When I was growing up my parents taught me several rules around our dogs
Give the dog space when it eats or has a bone
Let sleeping dogs lie ( in other words don’t disturb the dog when it’s asleep)
Don’t torment the dog with toys or food or it’ll serve you right if it bites you
Sit on the ground not the hound
Don’t wrestle with the dog
Stand still and cross your arms when a strange dog comes up to you
Ask the owners permission to greet the dog

Nowadays people seem to think they are entitled to take things off their dog, they actually seem proud to say “I can take anything off him” as if that proves something
Some people seem to think the dog should put up with everything we do to them or with them - like puppets with no rights feelings or choices.
Kids are magnetised to dogs and want to touch every one of them
The entitlement is off the scale

It saddens me to see the crap people consume about dogs on entertainment platforms like TikTok . And some if the appalling advice dished out by unqualified unaccredited so called trainers or dog walkers.
It’s always the dog that pays the price … sometimes with its life 😞

"Just a generation ago if you went near a dog when he was eating and the dog growled, somebody would say, 'Don't go near the dog when he's eating!, what are you crazy?' Now the dog gets euthanized. Back then, dogs were allowed to say, NO. Dogs are not allowed to say no anymore...They can't get freaked out, they can't be afraid, they can never signal 'I'd rather not.' We don't have any kind of nuance with regard to dogs expressing that they are uncomfortable, afraid, angry, or in pain, worried, or upset. If the dog is anything other than completely sunny and goofy every second, he goes from a nice dog to an 'AGGRESSIVE' dog."
- Jean Donaldson

02/03/2025

What is ‘Silent pain?’ 🤔

Did you know that dogs are genetically predisposed to hide pain because in the wild, weakness or injury would make them vulnerable to predators.

According to some experts, more than half our dogs suffer from ‘silent pain’ that their owners are unaware of. Dogs will rarely vocalise even moderate pain and often just run through it and don’t show any signs.

Silent pain is difficult to diagnose as it is subtle and develops slowly over a long time and any slight changes in the dog are often just attributed to normal ageing.

Things to consider with your dog-

✳️ Dogs are very loyal animals - they will follow you for as long as they can- on walks, up the stairs, onto the bed, ignoring any pain because they want to be with you

✳️ When doing zoomies, playing, chasing squirrels etc your dog won’t feel pain as their endorphins (their powerful natural pain relieving hormone) will be at released - the pain will come later when the dog is home and resting.

✳️ Your dog will not, however, be able to make that connection between the earlier exercise and the pain they’re now experiencing due to the time delay so they will repeat it the next day and the next and so on…..

✳️ Ball orientated dogs will ignore pain and continue to chase the ball as long as you throw it for them until they tire

✳️ Over a period of time and as your dog ages, the joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons become less able to deal with these demands and that’s when injuries start to happen.

✳️ You may at this point start to notice some changes in your dog, they might start to move a little
differently or be less enthusiastic on walks but again, it might not be physical signs. Your dog may develop behavioural problems, become noise sensitive, nervous or agressive with other dogs or may just pant more or find it harder to settle.

✳️ So …..just because your dog can leap for the ball/ jump up and down off the bed/ do ten zoomie laps of the field etc doesn’t mean you should let them and it does NOT mean they are not in pain!

Please share to increase awareness

And just to finish - a pic of my gorgeous arthritic girlie enjoying some autumn sun ☀️ !!

28/02/2025

28/02/2025

100% agree with this post by my colleague Sarah Edge Chartered Physiotherapist and ACPAT Physiotherapist.
Last year I worked with multiple behaviour cases which after behaviour assessment and observation of their gait I referred to Sarah for pain assessments and in nearly every single case, whether that was reactivity, sound phobia, agoraphobia, resource guarding , generalised anxiety / they all had some element of contributing pain . Whilst I worked on the behaviour issues, Sarah worked on their pain issues alongside pain relief from collaborating vets.

This is what deeply saddens me with the aversive trainers who put garrotte and prong collars or worse on dogs without fully understanding the behaviour or assessing the dogs health and welfare.
These unqualified unaccredited trainers always reach for punishment tools to suppress behaviour, applying emotional and physical pressure and pain to an animal that is already struggling.
Instead of assessing WHY the dog has Behaviour problems, they use force fear or pain

Please think carefully about who you choose to enlist to train Your dog.
Are they qualified?
Are they externally accredited? Do they assess the dogs behaviour holistically or just punish or ‘correct’ the dogs unwanted behaviour ?

The link between pain and behaviour is a topic I have a particular interest in.

With an ever increasing frequency I often meet young dogs with health issues that contribute to undesirable behaviours and/ or slow progress in terms of their training.

As I’ve spoken about so many times before- dogs don’t show pain or discomfort as we do and please do not assume that because your dog is young they do not have pain.

Have a look at some examples below of dogs I’ve seen recently in clinic

1️⃣ - 2 year old lab.

Referred to the vets for anxiety and reactivity around her owners young son- guarding the sofa from him, serious confidence issues, also becoming reactive with other dogs. No limping, lameness, no functional issues, no outward signs of pain.
Sent onto me by the vets for a pain assessment, after my assessment I recommended X-rays which led to a subsequent diagnosis of Hip dysplasia.

2️⃣- 6 year old big bull breed.

Very noise phobic and then started to become reluctant to go on walks - still really energetic and super happy to play and run and jump on and off furniture and run up and down stairs- sent for a pain check by Victoria Cooper Canine Behaviourist. On physio assessment I found pain in her low back and hip - sent her back to vets for pain relief and X-rays and she was given a subsequent diagnosis of lumbosacral disease and hip dysplasia.

3️⃣- very cute energetic 1 year old poodle cross.

Always been over excitable around other dogs and nervous of new situations. Lunges at runners and dogs when out and about. Very barkey but friendly. Again no limping or lameness. Loved chasing the ball in the garden- would play for hours until the ball was taken away from her.
Went to see the vet who passed her onto me for a pain check - I found patellas that were loose on both knees. Subsequent X-rays led to a diagnosis of bilateral luxating patellas.

4️⃣- 2 year old cocker spaniel

Normally no issues ,very sociable and friendly - suddenly started serious resource guarding at home and then bit his owner - sent to me by the vet for a pain check and afterwards subsequently diagnosed with elbow dysplasia

I could go on and on with these examples but I think they paint the picture.

⚠️ All these dogs have one thing in common. They were experiencing pain⚠️

They were not being naughty or aggressive or dominant or testing boundaries.
Their pain was triggering undesirable behavioural changes.

It is now accepted that the most accurate method for evaluating pain in animals is not by physiological parameters but by observations of behaviour.

None of the above issues would be resolveable with addressing behaviour modification .
Indeed if your dog is not responding to a treatment programme as you would expect, in many cases this means that there is pain present limiting the animals ability to proceed.

Some of them will have drastic improvement from the moment the pain is addressed however often, once pain is addressed , behavioural intervention will then be required to address established and learned avoidance responses.

If your dog has any behavioural issues, take them to a vet and ask for a thorough examination or a referral to a suitably qualified physiotherapist. If you’re still not sure, get a second opinion.

You CANNOT train the pain or discomfort out of your dog. Address this first and foremost before you consider trying to modify their behaviour .

If your behaviourist or trainer doesn’t immediately advise a veterinary visit if any aggression, excessive ‘naughtiness’ or strange behaviour is present, walk away.

Please always rule out pain being the cause of your dogs behaviour change first.

Please share to increase awareness

27/02/2025

BEAUTIFUL FORCE FREE ETHICAL CONSENT BASED training
Need I say more 🤷🏼‍♀️❤️

25/02/2025

Recall and Loose Lead Walking workshops run by my excellent business associate Jenny at the award winning People and Dogs. Dog Training and Behaviour

Highly recommend for all of you needing some help with these skills
Location: Dronfield North East Derbyshire

25/02/2025

Great post - to the point and it might offend some, but so true . Dogs (like children) need our time to grow up to be happy confident well adjusted sociable individuals.

A whole industry of subsidiary services have been created through people not having time for their dogs - from daycares to dog walkers to residential dog trainers, and pet sitters. Dog nanny’s for some. I saw an advert for the role of dog nanny in London!

I’m not knocking some of these service providers, as some of them are very good at their roles - but why have a dog if people are not going to invest any time in it 🤷🏼‍♀️ It’s become normalised to pass the buck to someone else to care for your pet.

I read an article recently that some school age children were not potty trained and were going to school in nappies at age 4-5 with their parents expecting teachers to clean and change them! The mind boggles 🫣 the world has gone mad !! 🙄

*** Unpopular Opinion ***

I am going to risk writing an epic of war and peace proportions but we all need to be talking about the problems becoming more common in our domestic dogs.

I have an observation to share that is not going to make me popular. I believe that people are losing sight of what dogs are and not addressing their basic needs. This leads to people foisting unrealistic expectations on their canine companions.

We live very abnormal lives in this time. Humans are struggling to navigate our modern world - so is it really so surprising that our canine best mates are struggling too.

We can't let them live as they would wild without us. Our world is far too dangerous. Dogs were not made for this world we made. I often wonder if humans were either but that's another conversation.

Because our lives are so different we need to do more to help our dogs thrive. My grandpa and his dogs used to roam all over the place when he was a child. They were living in a less restrictive time. The world wasn't so big and so urbanized and dangerous and people weren't always plugged in.

Dogs are getting less of our time. People are busy and dogs are missing out on interaction with people, interaction with other animals and becoming more and more isolated.

We field many inquiries where people are unable to attend 4 puppy preschool sessions. This is critical socialisation time. By the time your puppy is 6 months old your puppy's critical socialisation periods are over. You have 7 years to do with a human child what you have 5 1/2 months to do with a dog. If you don't have time to do this properly you don't have time for a dog.

Many dogs are not getting off their own property. Remember COVID lockdowns - that was a glimpse of what life is for many dogs. It wasn't great for our mental health and it's not great for theirs either.

Many dogs don't get play, enrichment or adventures. These are basic needs for them. Humans and dogs have had friendships because we are both a species that thrive on companionship. If your dog is going to spend most of their life alone don't expect them to be well adjusted.

You cannot expect a dog to be a polite canine citizen if their basic social needs have not been met. You can't just put them in your home and expect them to be adaptable or well adjusted. Imagine if children were kept in their rooms until they are 7 years old. Would you expect a child raised like this to be well adjusted or would you expect issues? I would expect issues.

The community at large would have safer dogs if research was done about the needs of a dog prior to getting one. What will he/she need? Can I commit to that?

They need training, socialisation and guidance as to how our world works and they need guardians invested in understanding dogs and covering off more than just the necessities of keeping them alive.

They need our TIME.

Are you someone who thinks about your dog in the frame of meeting your needs or are you the guardian who ensures that your dogs needs are met too?

Get off the couch. Unplug. Participate in the friendship. Include them. Train them. Have a life!

25/02/2025

Great post
But nope - we don’t need to see the dog performing unwanted behaviours to give you the help or assessments you are seeking

“Do you want to see what Fluffy does when I...?”

No, we don't need to! While it’s a common assumption that trainers or behavior consultants need to witness aggression firsthand, a well-trained professional can assess a case without putting anyone at risk.

Here’s why seeing aggression isn’t necessary:

1️⃣Historical Patterns Tell the Story
A detailed history—gathered through interviews, observations, and past incidents—paints a clear picture of what’s happening. A skilled consultant will ask the right questions to identify triggers, patterns, and antecedents that contribute to aggression.

2️⃣Recreating Aggression is Dangerous
Intentionally provoking aggressive behavior can create reinforcement loops, where the dog practices the behavior and learns that aggression "works." Worse, it can escalate the response, making things more severe over time.

3️⃣Behavior is Predictable When You Understand Triggers
Instead of waiting for aggression to happen, a behavior consultant will analyze:
✅ Past incidents (when and where the aggression has occurred).
✅ The dog’s body language before an escalation.
✅ Environmental triggers and stress factors.
✅ What the dog does instead of being aggressive (avoidance, freezing, tension).

4️⃣Real-World Context Matters More Than a Single Moment
Aggression isn’t just about what happens in a session—it’s about what happens daily in the dog’s environment. A consultant will assess:
- The home setup and routines.
- How the dog interacts with family members.
- What management strategies are already in place.

What Should a Trainer or Consultant Do Instead?
A behavior consultant will work with you to set up a safe, structured training plan without exposing anyone to unnecessary risks. They will observe behavior without escalating it and provide solutions that address the root cause rather than the symptom.

A good detective doesn’t ask a suspect to commit the crime again—they gather evidence to understand what happened. The same applies to aggression cases.