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Don't Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training (平装)
by Karen Pryor
| Category:
Dog training, Dog behavior, Pet, Animals |
| Market price: ¥ 220.00
MSL price:
¥ 198.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
An excellent, well written book that helps explain why your canine friend behaves they way they do. Recommended as a beginner foray into behavior modification. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 10 items |
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Carol Tavris (Ph.D., Author of Anger) (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-12 00:00>
This delightful, clear, and utterly helpful book is for anyone who wants to understand or change the behavior of an animal - whether the animal in question is a barking dog, a nosy neighbor, a hostile cat, or you and your own bad habits. |
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Stewart Brand (The Coevolution Quarterly) (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-12 00:00>
In the course of becoming a renowned dolphin trainer, Karen Pryor learned that positive reinforcement (the only kind useable with dolphins, who can't be reached with leashes, bridles, fists, or yells) is even more potent that prior scientific work had suggested... This new book looks like the very best on the subject - a full-scale mind-changer. |
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Rebecca Johnson (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-16 00:00>
This is a must read for anyone studying applied behavioral analysis, preparing for a teaching career, business career, getting married or becoming a parent! Karen Pryor presents applied behavioral analysis in clear, easy to understand language. Her writing style is easy to follow and you will learn more about behavioral science than you ever thought possible. This book is an excellent text that can be used to teach a college level class or as a relaxing read to learn how you can become a better person. As strange as it sounds, you will be prepared to train and teach your dog, your boss, co-worker, spouse or improve your own habits! I've used this book in college classes and I buy a revised edition each time one is issued.
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Donald Fleck (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-16 00:00>
This little book explains reinforcement using examples that make it really clear how eight different methods of behavior modification work. It is a consumer's guide to behavior modification using reinforcement.
This little book is so basic that it includes examples of how to use reinforcement to:
-get a roommate to put away the dirty laundry
-correct your faulty tennis swing
-get the surly bus driver to stop being rude to you,
and much more.
How to modify each of these situations in 8 different behavior-mod ways is examined. While this is covered in a single chapter, the other chapters will help the reader understand learning principles, and to come up with her or his own methods.
My only wish is that behaviorists give more credit to love, or simple affection. When describing how a really big jackpot reinforcer such as giving a surprise party for the family can have an extraordinary effect on learning, the author keeps to her behavioral guns, rather than acknowledging that loving acts carry much more meaning than a calculated act done to reinforce good behavior. This is exactly what scared so many people away from the work of B.F. Skinner and his ground-breaking research - Skinner wanted to show that learning came from reinforcement, without affection. He was trying to make a point, but at a great cost to behaviorism.
Many readers will want to apply material in this book to their children. For readers who want this laid out in detail, good books are Your Defiant Child by Russell Barkley, and Loving Your Child is Not Enough, Positive Discipline that Works by Nancy Samalin.
These days, behavioral and cognitive therapies tend to be lumped together. For psychotherapists who want more detailed ways to use cognitive-behavioral therapy I can recommend two good books. The Clinical Handbook of Psychological Disorders, a Step by Step Treatment Manual gives detailed procedures for therapists to use with a dozen common psychotherapy problems, such as Depression, OCD, and couple distress. Cognitive Therapy, Basics and Beyond by Judith Beck gives a clear introduction to the famous therapy developed by her father that helps people get better by changing how they think.
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Sarah Rolph (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-16 00:00>
Karen Pryor is a terrific writer. This book is an excellent summary of the field of behavioral science, a field that is largely misunderstood. I certainly didn't appreciate its value until I read this truly excellent treatment of the topic.
Before I read this book, I had a general bias against behaviorism. I had heard that some behavioral techniques had gotten good results for some types of mental problems, but it seemed inappropriate to apply such simplistic ideas to humans on a regular basis.
Boy, was I wrong!
Pryor explains in this slim, fun-to-read volume that behavioral science is real and important. Behavior has its own set of rules, and we are subject to them just as surely as we are subject to the laws of gravity (regardless of how well we understand either). Pryor understands these underlying principles very well, and has a wealth of knowledge about how to apply them.
This short book covers so much!
It provides an excellent overview of the laws that govern the behavior of all creatures.
It gives us a short course in animal training, pointing out the differences among animals. (Training cats is very different from training dogs, training dolphins, Pryor's specialty, brings additional challenges, elephants are incredibly smart; there are some wonderful animal stories in this book.)
And it's a really nice short course in how to apply the laws of behavior and the options for reinforcement to our own lives.
Pryor makes it clear that much of our character and many of our actions are shaped NOT through language or understanding but through our experiences. Pryor's clear explication of exactly how this works gives us a new language to think with and to experiment with. It was really eye-opening to me. A better understanding of behavior and reinforcement gives us a whole new toolkit to explore.
Both a realist and an optimist, Pryor writes absolutely delightful prose. It's uplifting and inspiring, which is pretty amazing for a book that also shows just how far we are from having a good shared understanding of this topic.
This book makes a huge contribution toward rescuing an underappreciated body of knowledge. |
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Paul Harris (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-16 00:00>
I am a behavioral optometrist and recommend this book routinely for use by parents of children with ADD and ADHD. Many parents don't have the skills for handling their children. Their inconsistencies in parenting from episode to episode and between two parents gives the child confusing signals and leads to behavior problems. For my optometric vision therapy to be effective and to carry over into real life the child needs to do regular home practice. If the parents and child are at each others throats or fighting then they can't do the home therapy. This book helps families in this situation acquire the insights to begin to find new ways to relate. I also use the book in courses I teach for other professionals.
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Bob and Hannah (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-16 00:00>
I first heard the name of Karen Pryor from a good friend who had worked with her some years ago. John told me several memorable stories about her, then, novel approach to training marine mammals. Because you can't easily give a porpoise a pat and a good girl, when a new behavior is mastered, a whistle is used as a positive reinforcement from a distance. First you associate that sound with food, then later the sound itself becomes a reward. When I decided to take my own dogs' training to the next level, Pryor's book was the first resource that I sought out.
This book will not teach you how to clicker train your dog. That's not its intent. Don't shoot the Dog is more accurately described as a philosophical treatise on the approach and world view underlying clicker training. Herein lies its greatest strength - the clear way it goes behind the technique to explain the underlying philosophy. She carefully ties the approach back to B. F. Skinner and the behaviorists, which provides a sense of scientific continuity. Her anecdotes are intriguing and well written
I recommend this book especially for those who have not yet begun to train their pets. The best time to decide on your philosophical approach is before the first successful sit-stay. Like good teachers everywhere, dog trainers (i.e., you) need to be comfortable with their own style. Furthermore, some teaching styles work better with some students (i.e., your pet) than with others (i.e., your neighbors pet). I agree with Jon Katz Kats on Dogs, find your style, your philosophy, and then begin to train.
Read it once, maybe twice; decide whether the approach is for you and for your dog. And, if you decide that it is, then, and only then, pursue clicker training technique. For me, the approach was quite different and very appealing. In fact, the week after I finished Pryor's book, I ordered a clicker and enrolled in an online clicker training class. The class is good, but like so many of them, it's very applied, like recopies in a cookbook. Don't Shoot the Dog provided me with an invaluable working knowledge of the theory behind clicker training. |
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A reader (MSL quote), New Zealand
<2007-01-16 00:00>
This book is a great introduction to the science of operant conditioning, and a must read for any dog owner or trainer.
Drawing on decades of behaviourism, the author covers the effective use of different types of reinforcement and punishment, discusses the use of markers and bridges (such as the popular 'clicker'), and explains the nuances of extinction, shaping and different reinforcement schedules. Unlike many recent behaviourist-based training books, Ms Pryor's book is not specifically "purely positive" and does rationally discuss the uses of aversives in training and learning.
This book is not specifically a dog training book, and as such it will not give you step-by-step instructions to make your dog sit or lie down. What it will give you is an understanding of the basic techniques needed for effective teaching. After reading this book it should be possible for even an unexperienced dog owner to design an effective behaviour modification programme for their canine companion.
I recommend this book to every new dog owner I meet. However, although this is a valuable foundation text I wouldn't recommend it as the sole reference work for any dog owner or trainer. It definately needs to be complemented by species-specific reading on dog body language and instincts. In particular I would recommend reading The Other End of The Leash (Patricia McConnell), The Truth about Dogs (Stephen Budiansky) and Cesar's Way (Cesar Millan). |
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Barry (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-16 00:00>
Believe me when I tell you that those that criticized this book never read it and integrated its principles. Instead, these are people that might have vast experience with different systems that give them good results. The techniques they use have become second nature to them. They conclude: my system is different, my system works, therefore every thing else is crap. One reviewer rambled about how it mainly applies to dolphins because they are confined to a tank. The kindest thing I can say about him is that he never read Don't Shoot The Dog. If he did, I would have to insult his reading comprehension. Little of what he rants about is even in the book. Instead of ranting about hearsay on the somewhat different topic of clicker training, allow me to tell you about "Don't Shoot the Dog". This book teaches far reaching techniques with universal application. I have trained dogs, horses, and wild caught birds of prey (which were flown free daily not confined to pools or tanks). Though I understand alpha dog training, use negative reinforcement, and have employed many successful techniques, this is one of my all time top 10 books on any subject and it is a MUST READ even for those that will never own a pet. Karen Pryor was in fact a trainer at Sea World but contrary to the title this book is not about the specifics of animal training. It is instead a handbook on behavioral modification complete with an introduction written by B.F. Skinner, the father of behavioral psychology. While he was not a man without faults, he was a huge contributor to some profoundly simplified techniques for modifying behavior. While an easy read (one long afternoon) the power of this book lies in studying the principles and then training yourself to modify behavior. In an entraining and practical manner Karen explains a principle, explains its applications and LIMITATIONS and then gives a scenario that illustrates how to apply this principle with an animal, an adult, and a child. A lay person soon learns that most instinctive responses to unwanted behavior are non productive. We have many roles in life and it is a rare person in which some of these roles don't require us to influence behavior. While people are not animals, behavior modification is behavior modification and we all use it. Unfortunately, more often than not we make critical mistakes that result in the opposite result we want and expect. I read this book 10 years ago. As soon as I did I wished I had read it about 25 years sooner. It brought greater success to training at opposite ends of the animal kingdom. It worked on free flying wild birds of prey that are not social creatures and interpret any negative reinforcement as a death threat. These wild animals can easily leave the trainer and return to the wild to fend for themselves. They get this chance every day. In fact it is nothing but unnatural that they will return from being a tiny speck in the sky just from operant conditioning and positive reinforcement. More amazing, they can be properly trained to do this within 10 days of being trapped from the wild, so much for the hilarious comment about it won't work on things that can run loose like dogs. Speaking of dogs, I have used it on Setters and Springer's not to mention a very strong willed, male Jack Russell Terrier, with a well developed alpha dog mentality. Karen never implies that negative reinforcement is not a legitimate tool. She simply fine tunes its use, timing, and consistency to give you an even more powerful tool. The principles in this book have greatly enhanced what was decades of successful training. Finally, don't under estimate these principles when it comes to inter- personal relationships. If you do, you missed a great part of what makes this a must read.
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-16 00:00>
Fun and clever, this book should be compulsory reading in every high school! It is not so much about training dogs as it is about general behaviour and how to treat your fellow people and animals, with the method of Positive Reinforcement. Karen Pryor explains with clear and simple language HOW and WHEN it came about (dolphin training) and WHY it actually works. (Later on, it was adopted by the dog training community as "clicker-training".) The theories and the training methods are supported by memorable anecdotes. Most importantly, this book is not about any hokus-pokus, but simply an explanation of why we (humans and animals) behave the way we do and how we can go about changing each other's behaviour without using force.
After having read the book, I couldn't wait to try out Positive Reinforcement on my cats, my husband, my sons and my mother - and it works really well! The more copies that are sold of this book, the better a place the world would be.
If you get hooked on this book and you have a dog, I recommend that you follow up with the more detailed "The Power of Positive Dog Training" by Pat Miller.
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