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The Culture Clash (Paperback)
by Jean Donaldson
| Category:
Dog training, Dog behavior, Pet, Animals |
| Market price: ¥ 208.00
MSL price:
¥ 178.00
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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:
A flawed classic, this dog psychology/training book is still a valuable resource for all dog owners. |
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Author: Jean Donaldson
Publisher: James & Kenneth Publishers
Pub. in: January, 1997
ISBN: 1888047054
Pages: 223
Measurements: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA00617
Other information: ISBN-13: 978-1888047059
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Rate this product:
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- Awards & Credential -
One of the best received books on dog psychology and training out there. |
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- MSL Picks -
Donaldson should be required reading for all trainers. Blanche Saunders, the Monks and Carol Lea Benjamin were fine in their day, but it's time to take advantage of the latest, best learning theory out there.
Donaldson puts that theory at our fingertips. We used to think, many decades ago, that the only way to train a dog was through force. Pack and dominance theory changed a lot of that for the better in the 60's and 70's; now it's time for the next stop in our evolution as trainers. This book is not about some pie-in-the-sky ideas - it's as practical and essential as food and water.
The only thing we would take points off for is the same thing some other readers have mentioned: the writing style is a little disorganized. Overall, however, this is a wonderful book.
Target readers:
All dog owners and dog lovers.
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Jean Donaldson is the owner of Renaissance Dog Training in Montreal. She and her dogs have won numerous titles in obedience, tracking and Flyball. Jean one of the the most sought after speakers on the doggy circuit in both the U.S. and Canada.
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From Publisher
The Culture Clash is special. Jean Donaldson's first book is quite simply the very best dog book I have ever read. It is utterly unique, fascinating to the extreme, and literally overflowing with information that is so new it virtually redefines the state of the art in dog behavior and training. Written in Jean's inimitably informal yet precise lecture style, the book races along on par with a good thriller. In fact, I read the manuscript three times in a row before it was even published. The Culture Clash depicts dogs as they really are - stripped of their Hollywood fluff, with their loveable 'can I eat it, chew it, urinate on it, what's in it for me' philosophy. Jean's tremendous affection for dogs shines through at all times, as does her keen insight into the dog's mind. Relentlessly, she champions the dog's point of view, always showing concern for their education and well being. The Culture Clash joins a very distinctive group of books and it runs at the head o! f the pack. Like Karen Pryor's Don't Shoot the Dog, The Culture Clash has a refreshingly original perspective. Like Gwen Bohnenkamp's books, The Culture Clash cuts to the chase - no if's and no but's - here's the story - now educate your dog! Without a doubt, Jean's book is the hottest doggy item on the market - the quintessential book for dog owners and dog trainers alike - a very definite two paws up!
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| View all 10 comments |
Dr. Ian Dunbar (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-11 00:00>
Do yourself and your dogs a big favor: Give it a read! And let's look forward to many more books by Jean Donaldson. |
D. Emanuel (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-12 00:00>
The teacher of my puppy's obedience class recommended this book to me. After I got through the first half, I found that I really liked it. The first half is ridiculously preachy, especially if you already believe in using positive reinforcement in training. The second half, while still peppered with diatribes against owners who use training collars, random moments of near-anthropomorphic descriptions of dog behavior (a bit much from a book that begins by explaining how ridiculous it is to anthropomorphize your dog), and other attempts to make the reader feel guilty, is also filled with exercises that are extremely valuable.
If it weren't for these excellent exercises, the book would be worthless. At times, it reads more like an overgrown master's thesis than a book for the general public. Perhaps a master's thesis dumbed down and extended for the general public is a better descriptor. Donaldson's diction bounces all over the place. She often begins a sentence with a keyword taken from behavioral psychology and ends with a coloquial expression. This mixed diction is a massive stylistic fault, making understanding the author's meaning somewhat difficult from time to time.
The book's organization is present but not in any truly engaging manner. The chapters seem a bit like lectures written into book form. Its lack of an index makes note taking, highlighting, etc. an absolute must. I am surprised that the second edition does not include an index, this seems like the sort of thing you would actually think to do when you go back to improve a text for its second edition.
As I said before, this is a good book. It has its problems, but when it's on it's dead on. In spite of all of its stylistic and structural problems, it's still better written than some of the other books that people have recommended to me. The exercises are incredibly useful and generally easy to understand. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a handy book to help you understand obedience training in terms of the way dogs learn (and also recommend that you find a good trainer, have him or her recommend other titles to you and start classes as quickly as possible). Donaldson's explanation of how to teach your dog how to play fetch works. My dog wasn't really getting it, but Donaldson's book gave me the tools I needed to get my dog to understand what I was wanting from him. |
A. Walker (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-12 00:00>
Already a convert to positive training methods, the "attitude" of the book was not obvious to me (perhaps it would be obvious to those more sensitive, such as those still very attached to traditional training methods). As far as I could tell, only rarely does Jean Donaldson make these comments that the reviews have made out to be so prevalent and it hardly slows the reading down. I've only counted 2 statements she has made that I considered rather disrespectful and off-topic, and these are the very two quoted by previous reviews, I believe... and both were in the first chapter. I haven't found any since.
It's a very entertaining book, with a lot of very good information that would help ANYONE with a dog (whether trainer or owner). She "debunks" many myths (sometimes less gracefully than necessary) about dog training and general dog behavior, and she helps the reader understand WHY these are myths and what real behavioral science says. It's not so much meant to be a "How-To" (sit, stay, heel) book, though it touches on such things, but it's mostly a "this is how dogs work, so this is how we should change our methods to suit them" book. It allows for room for our brains to kick in and think of creative (and positive) ways to solve our individual problems. If you want more specifics, this isn't the book for you... but it's a great "general positive reinforcement training" book for those of us who don't know it all. Also a very easy read (there are some psychology terms but nothing overwhelming), so it's great for the ordinary dog-owner.
As has been noted, this will be a hard book to go back to if one is attempting to search for something specific... but this is why I take notes along the edge of the pages. Then you can flip through the pages and find the relevant points in your own writing. I also agree with the previous review in that the flow could be better between chapters and sections of chapters.
Overall, not as well organized as I would like but the best book I've read on the "Culture Clash" between man and dog that's so prevalent in society today. |
A reader (MSL quote), New Zealand
<2007-01-12 00:00>
Jean Donaldson has a winner with the Culture Clash. The book is packed from cover to cover with useful information, with scarcely a page lacking some nugget of training wisdom. I have to admit that when I first found this book, I read it straight through twice (once while taking notes!) and then returned it late to the library because I was constantly referring back to it. It really is that good.
The main theme of The Culture Clash is a plea for us to honestly understand the motives of our canine companions, instead of seeing them through the distorting lens of anthromorphism. Ms Donaldson is a behaviourist, and includes a lot of information on operant conditioning and learning theory in this text. However, the book also teaches us how to apply this theory - included are a wealth of practical suggestions on how to live with and train your dog. The theory and practical in The Culture Clash are equally good, and I do not exaggerate when I say that many individual chapters would alone be worth the purchase price of the book. Ms Donaldson leaves us understanding not only how to train our dogs, but also exactly why we are doing what she says.
So why not five stars? The content of this book is inspired, but unfortunately Ms Donaldson shoots herself in the foot with her sanctimonious tone. Ms Donaldson champions the effectiveness of positive reinforcement when changing behaviour, so it is strange that she feels the need to resort to punishing her audience so much. Dog trainers who use punishment are variously labelled "pathetic", "cruel" and accused of finding personal gratification by punishing dogs. Choke chains are not called by their proper name, but are melodramatically renamed "strangle collars". Trainers who believe in pack theory are "too stupid for words". The vast majority of owners will find this approach alienating. If punishment really is that ineffective and morally bankrupt, then why must she continually resort to it throughout the book to blugeon her hapless readers?
Ms Donaldson could also use a little education on the subject of canine drives. Unpleasant as it may be for a behaviourist to admit, it is easy to see that domestic dogs have intense inborn genetic drives, and good training exploits these desires in a much more sophisticated way than outlined by Ms Donaldson. Unfortunately, this truth doesn't fit Ms Donaldon's behaviourist paradigm at all. Instead of rewarding in drive, she treats all rewards as equivalent, which in turn results in her promoting a couple of quite unlikely techniques. For example, she recommends luring aggressive dogs away from each other with tidbits of food (hint: if they can switch from fight to food drive so quickly, then they didn't really have a major aggression problem in the first place. I can promise you that if you tried this with a high fight drive dog, your food would be completely ignored.)
It is also concerning that Ms Donaldson seems a little confused about her own stance on the use of punishment. She has a helpful and well-thought out chapter on the proper and appropriate uses of punishment when training dogs. And her methods include a great deal of punishment - she regularly prescribes negative punishment and "no reward markers" to her dogs. On the other hand, positive punishment is given the thumbs down, and negative reinforcement is a definate no-no. Ms Donaldson fails to explain why negative punishment is so much less damaging to a dog than positive punishment - I imagine many dogs would rather be verbally reprimanded than denied dinner or isolated from their human family for any period of time. One gets the feeling that negative punishment is sometimes promoted as 'better' than positive punishment not because of its effect on the dogs concerned, but merely because Ms Donaldson feels more comfortable using it.
If I could have given this book four and a half stars, I would have. I honestly believe that any dog owner or trainer could benefit from a read of this book; it is one of the very best dog training manuals published so far. In fact, in a perfect world, all new dog owners would recieve a complimentary copy of The Culture Clash when they collected their new puppy! Here's hoping one day this book will be re-edited and re-published, so that it retains the gems of information while losing the occasional blunders and distractingly spiteful tone. |
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