Don't Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training | 
|  | | | Title: | Don't Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training | | Author: | Karen Pryor | | Publisher: | Bantam | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | 03 August, 1999 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0553380397 / 9780553380392 | | List Price: | $16.00 | | You Save: | $5.12 | | Amazon Price: | $10.88 | |
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| Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
A Better Way to Better Behavior
Karen Pryor's clear and entertaining explanation of behavioral training methods made Don't Shoot the Dog! a bestselling classic. Now this revised edition presents more of her insights into animal—and human—behavior.
A groundbreaking behavioral scientist and dynamic animal trainer, Karen Pryor is a powerful proponent of the principles and practical uses of positive reinforcement in teaching new behaviors. Here are the secrets of changing behavior in pets, kids—even yourself—without yelling, threats, force, punishment, guilt trips...or shooting the dog:
•The principles of the revolutionary "clicker training" method, which owes its phenomenal success to its immediacy of response—so there is no question what action you are rewarding
•8 methods of ending undesirable habits—from furniture-clawing cats to sloppy roommates
•The 10 laws of "shaping" behavior–for results without strain or pain through "affection training"
•Tips for house-training the dog, improving your tennis game, or dealing with an impossible teen
•Explorations of exciting new uses for reinforcement training
Learn why pet owners rave, "This book changed our lives!" and how these pioneering techniques can work for you too.
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Customer Reviews:
• Excellent Overview Of Applied Operant Conditioning As Communication 13 July, 2008
"This book is about how to train anyone -- human or animal, young or old, oneself or others -- to do anything that can and should be done. How to get the cat off the kitchen table or your grandmother to stop nagging you. How to affect behavior in your pets, your kids, your boss, your friends. How to improve your tennis stroke, your golf game, your math skills, your memory. All by using the principles of training with reinforcement."
That first paragraph from the foreword pretty much sums it up. The book is delightful to read. I'm not a behavioral scientist, but it seems like a reasonably thorough introduction to training through reinforcement and shaping. It has helped me better train our dogs, and clarified my understanding of what actually is going on in the training process.
I really like her systematic approach to the material, with definitions and examples. She includes a little background -- the"Clever Hans" phenomenon, the contributions of B.F. Skinner, her own background with marine mammals, the traditional punitive approach to animal training. The book is not exclusively about training dogs; she doesn't address dominance (except as an explanation for the prevalence of punishment in society) or pack psychology. She does clearly explain reinforcers, aversives, markers and the importance of timing, stimulus control, methods ("recipes") vs. principles, variable schedules, behavior chains, successive approximation (shaping), etc. Particularly valuable for me are the rules of thumb about reinforcer size, the "Ten Laws of Shaping," the "Training Game," and the concept of backwards chaining.
Perhaps controversially, the book advocates using operant conditioning to improve the behavior of one's fellow humans. This struck me as manipulative, but I think I'm starting to agree with Pryor. Operant conditioning ultimately is a tool for communicating. There are clearly occasions when it is a more effective and efficient way to communicate than discussion or argument.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A26BIKXXE4CGGW
• Webdogtrainer.com Review 26 June, 2008
As a dog trainer this was one of the required reading materials when I first started at Guide Dogs for the Blind. I think it is a good idea to read many different kinds of training guides as I find myself using positive only training methods.
-Julie the online dog trainer from www.webDogTrainer.com
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2OY385RL4S9JX
• Good Foundation And Approach, But Clicker Gadget An Unnecessary Add-on 20 December, 2008
I've been a professional dog trainer and instructor for 30 years. Pryor does an excellent job setting forth the research and reasoning behind reinforcement training and behavior shaping; she's articulate and clear and fun to read.
My issue is with the clicker gadget itself. ***If a handler has developed the eye and timing that enables him/her to implement these techniques successfully, an appropriately chosen verbal cue meets the need quite effectively.*** There is no need for the clicker gadget. It's just another bit of litter cluttering up the handler's hands. In my training hall experience, novice handlers too often conclude that clicker training is an 'easy gimmick' method for dog training. They screw around confusing the dog and losing his attention all together by using the clicker inappropriately, while failing to acquire the basic leash-handling and body language techniques that would have better served them.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3P8Y8LFZVRX6Q
• Easy As Far As Learning Theory Goes 06 July, 2008
I liked this book better than all the other learning theory books. Although she does teach the scientific jargon which is important to know, the author explains learning theory in terms/analagies that the layperson can easily understand.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A9QNROS137MHX
• Dont' Shoo The Dog ---best Book About Training Dogs, Yourself And Those Around You! 30 October, 2008
Don't Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training
Best book I've ever read. Applications for life as well as dog training. Wish I had read it before I raised kids!
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1ZKYJ8GBVXMZ7
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