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Don't Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training (Paperback)
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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Author: Karen Pryor
Publisher: Bantam; Revised edition
Pub. in: August, 1999
ISBN: 0553380397
Pages: 224
Measurements: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA00619
Other information: ISBN-13: 978-0553380392
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- Awards & Credential -
A recognized classic in behavior training for dogs and people. |
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- MSL Picks -
"Whatever the task, whether keeping a four-year-old quiet in public, housebreaking a puppy, coaching a team, or memorizing a poem, it will go fast, and better, and be more fun, if you know how to use reinforcement." - Karen Pryor.
Now Karen Pryor clearly explains the underlying principles of behavioral training and through numerous fascinating examples reveals how this art can be applied to virtually any common situation. And best of all, she tells how to do it without yelling threats, force, punishment, guilt trips - or shooting the dog. 8 methods for putting an end to all kinds of undesirable behavior. The 10 laws of "shaping" behavior - for results without strain or pain through "affection training." How to combat your own addictions to alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, overeating or whatever, how to deal with such difficult problems as a moody spouse, an impossible teen, or an aged parent. Plus... House training the dog, improving your tennis game, keeping the cat off the table, and much more!
Target readers:
Dog owners, parents, care givers, baby sitters, teachers, dog trainers, and other types of behavior trainers.
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Karen Pryor wrote the first edition of Nursing Your Baby in 1963. A biologist by training, she currently writes and lectures on the art of positive reinforcement training.
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From Publisher
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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What Is a Positive Reinforcer?
A reinforcer is anything that, occurring in conjunction with an act, tends to increase the probability that the act will occur again.
Memorize that statement. It is the secret of good training.
There are two kinds of reinforcers: positive and negative. A positive reinforcer is something the subject wants, such as food, petting, or praise. A negative reinforcer is something the subject wants to avoid - a blow, a frown, an unpleasant sound. (The warning buzzer in a car if you don't fasten your seat belt is a negative reinforcer.)
Behavior that is already occurring, no matter how sporadically, can always be intensified with positive reinforcement. If you call a puppy, and it comes, and you pet it, the pup's coming when called will become more and more reliable even without any other training. Suppose you want someone to telephone you -your offspring, your parent, your lover. If he or she doesn't call, there isn't much you can do about it. A major point in training with reinforcement is that you can't reinforce behavior that is not occurring. If, on the other hand, you are always delighted when your loved ones do call, so that the behavior is positively reinforced, the likelihood is that the incidence of their calling will probably increase. (Of course, if you apply negative reinforcement - "Why haven't you called, why do I have to call you, you never call me," and so on, remarks likely to annoy - you are setting up a situation in which the caller avoids such annoyance by not calling you; in fact, you are training them not to call.)
Simply offering positive reinforcement for a behavior is the most rudimentary part of reinforcement training. In the scientific literature, you can find psychologists saying, "Behavioral methods were used," or, "The problem was solved by a behavioral approach." All this means, usually, is that they switched to positive reinforcement from whatever other method they were using. It doesn't imply that they used the whole bag of tricks described in this book; they may not even be aware of them.
Yet switching to positive reinforcement is often all that is necessary. It is by far the most effective way to help the bed-wetter, for example: private praise and a hug for dry sheets in the morning, when they do occur.
Positive reinforcement can even work on yourself. At a Shakespeare study group I once belonged to I met a Wall Street lawyer in his late forties who was an avid squash player. The man had overheard me chatting about training, and on his way out the door afterward he remarked that he thought he would try positive reinforcement on his squash game. Instead of cursing his errors, as was his habit, he would try praising his good shots.
Two weeks later I ran into him again. "How's the squash game?" I asked. A look of wonder and joy crossed his face, an expression not frequently seen on Wall Street lawyers.
"At first I felt like a damned fool," he told me, "saying 'Way to go, Pete, attaboy,' for every good shot. Hell, when I was practicing alone, I even patted myself on the back. And then my game started to get better. I'm four rungs higher on the club ladder than I've ever been. I'm whipping people I could hardly take a point from before. And I'm having more fun. Since I'm not yelling at myself all the time, I don't finish a game feeling angry and disappointed. If I made a bad shot, never mind, good ones will come along. And I find I really enjoy it when the other guy makes a mistake, gets mad, throws his racquet - I know it won't help his game, and I just smile..."
What a fiendish opponent. And just from switching to positive reinforcement.
Reinforcers are relative, not absolute. Rain is a positive reinforcer to ducks, a negative reinforcer to cats, and a matter of indifference, at least in mild weather, to cows. Food is not a positive reinforcer if you're full. Smiles and praise may be useless as reinforcers if the subject is trying to get you mad. In order to be reinforcing, the item chosen must be something the subject wants.
It is useful to have a variety of reinforcers for any training situation. At the Sea World oceanariums, killer whales are given many reinforcers, including fish (their food), stroking and scratching on different parts of the body, social attention, toys, and so on. Whole shows are run in which the animals never know which behavior will be reinforced next or what the reinforcer will be; the "surprises" are so interesting for the animals that the shows can be run almost entirely without the standard fish reinforcers; the animals get their food at the end of the day. The necessity of switching constantly from one reinforcer to another is challenging and interesting for the trainers, too.
Positive reinforcement is good for human relationships. It is the basis of the art of giving presents: guessing at something that will be definitely reinforcing (guessing right is reinforcing for the giver, too). In our culture, present giving is often left to women. I even know of one family in which the mother buys all the Christmas presents to and from everyone. It causes amusement on Christmas morning, brothers and sisters saying, "Let's see, this is from Anne to Billy," when everyone knows Anne had nothing to do with it. But it does not sharpen the children's skills at selecting ways to reinforce other people.
In our culture a man who has become observant about positive reinforcement has a great advantage over other men. As a mother, I made sure that my sons learned how to give presents. Once, for example, when they were quite young, seven and five, I took them to a rather fancy store and had them select two dresses, one each, for their even younger sister. They enjoyed lolling about in the plush chairs, approving or disapproving of each dress as she modeled it. Their little sister enjoyed it too; and she had the ultimate veto power. And so, thanks to this and similar exercises, they all learned how to take a real interest in what other people want; how to enjoy finding effective positive reinforcers for the people you love. |
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| View all 10 comments |
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. |
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. |
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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