Don't Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training

So, I finally got around to reading this and I can see why people say this book is life-changing. Pryor spent very little time talking about dogs specifically but showed many examples on how these methods could be used with people with disabilities, your own kids, spouse, cat etc.

I'm a trainer's assistant at a dog obedience school, and as I read this, it all looked familiar. It is basically the foundation philosophy of our school. It's a method of communication. A way to build a relationship and communicate what you want from your dog in a positive, punishment-free manner. Reading this book helped me clarify why we at the school do things as we do. And as I finished the book, I was thinking of one of the comments a woman made at a trainer's funeral. The gist was that she had learned from his gentle approach to the dogs, and this had spread to the way she approached people as well.

It's true. "Clicker training" as some people call this training philosophy will spill outside of your doggy life and into other areas... if you come to this as a dog trainer. As a dog trainer, your dog doesn't sit when you say sit. Instead of getting mad and saying sit sit sit! jerking on the collar or pushing on the butt, first you think "does my dog understand 'sit?'" Then you'd break it down into it's components -- sit is an action (head goes up, butt goes down) and responding to the command requires that 1. the dog knows the action 2. the dog knows the word is connected to the action. Then you'd find a way to get your dog past whatever is hanging him up. So, if this is your habitual style of response to other's "mistakes," you will start to develop patience, compassion and clear communication. And those skills will take you far in life.

And extra bonus -- besides learning training methods, you'll read alot of funny anecdotes about frisbee-playing elephants and bell-ringing hermit crabs too.


Shoot The Trainer, Not The Dog...   September 4, 2002
Adam G. Katz (Austin, Texas United States)
115 out of 218 found this review helpful

Clicker training has become the New Age buzz word amongst the humanist-oriented dog training bunch-- as well as for many of the pet industry book publishers eager to capitalize on this latest trend.

As the owners of the popular dog training web site, ..., we are frequently asked about our opinion of Karen Pryor's book, "Don't Shoot The Dog."

Based on theories of operant conditioning first expounded by psychologist B.F. Skinner, and later popularized by dolphin trainer Karen Pryor in books such as, "Don't Shoot The Dog", clicker training involves attaching a positive, motivator (such as food) to an event marker (such as a clicking sound made by a child's toy known as a `cricket') in order to improve timing and allow the dog to more easily understand which behavior he did correctly.

One of the original uses for this type of training-- if I'm remembering correctly-- was to train dolphins. Instead of using a clicker, they used a whistle.

Advocates of clicker training often argue that you can't put a prong collar on a dolphin, and since this approach was developed to train a beast as large as a dolphin that it is also the best method for training a dog.

But let's not forget: Dolphins are kept in small containment areas, where they are surrounded by nothing but water. Ever.

A dolphin can't accidentally [make a mess] on your sofa. A dolphin can't chew through the electrical wiring at the observation park where it is kept.

So using clicker training to teach parlor tricks to a dolphin isn't exactly an apples-to-apples comparison.

The problem I have with clicker training is not inherent to the use of a small child's toy to assist in training a dog (which, it could be argued, strays away from the natural way dog's communicate with each other) but rather in the promotion and word of mouth associated with this behavioral approach. An approach which closely resembles the ramblings of a college girl newly converted to Evangelism.

Furthermore, clicker training has quickly evolved into the poster child of those who view traditional dog training as something closer to torture for the dog, rather than as a method of training new behaviors. (They refer to using a training collar and a leash as using "violence" against a dog.)

Get real.

The weak point of the clicker trainer's argument is in the assumption that using compulsion (giving a dog a correction) is the same as punishment and/or force. In reality, a well timed motivational correction is merely a method of telling the dog that he did something wrong.

(I guess they think that the mother dog uses "violence" on the puppies, too?)

Whatever.

Imagine trying to learn how to drive a car with an instructor who only told you when you were doing something right. And refused to tell you when you were doing something wrong. Sure, you might eventually learn how to drive (if you didn't kill yourself first), but the fastest and easiest method of learning ANYTHING is to know when you are doing something right as well as when you are doing something wrong.

I feel there is a definite place for clicker training in a trainer's bag of tricks... for movie and TV training for example... however, as a behavior modification tool... leave this one for the birds. Or dolphins.


I've just read most of the new version.   August 7, 1999
kathleen@metronet.com (Dallas Texas)
99 out of 107 found this review helpful

All of the reader reviews currently on the page deal with the first edition. I just received the new edition.

First, for those who are looking for a cook book to solve specific problems, this may not be it -- as a response to people who felt mislead by the title.

This ISN'T a dog training book, what it is, is a manual and a philosophy for solving the problems in your life caused by other's behavior, whether it is your husband, your children, your pets, or your co-workers.

The new edition brings in our new research and our ideas. Anecodotes are more relative and talk about people we all know and have met through the click-l list and other internet interactions.

This is definately the definitive book on behavior modification, and it is infinitely readable.

Good job Karen!


Fascinating, intellectually stimulating and fun to read   March 4, 2000
69 out of 72 found this review helpful

I recently bought this book on the advice of a doggy foster "parent", as a prelude to adopting from a local rescue organization. While this is not a how-to or step by step guide for training your dog, it is an excellent and clear book about behavior and how to shape it in a positive way. I was surprised at how much information I found useful for understanding my own relationship with my parents and how to be a better manager. The anecdotes help clarify the concepts, as well as making for very entertaining reading, and I especially appreciated the series of charts comparing different training methods and showing what can work best for a slew of different behavior problems. My next purchase will be a clicker training instruction manual, and I think it will be all the more valuable because Pryor's book has helped me understand WHY positive reinforcement works. Her book really explains the philosophy behind the methodology. Kudos.


Don't waste your $$   October 11, 2002
65 out of 168 found this review helpful

Being a Professional Dog Trainer for the 15 years I have been asked many times my opinon about this book. Although it is not "bad" advice it certainly is not complete, and should not be used as the sole method of training. In order to teach a dog properly one must use a combination of "traditional" training, "altered" traditional training and "modern" (clicker) training. There must be a clear message of right/wrong/reward/correction for a dog to fully understand what is being taught. Yes you may easily teach a dog how to "sit" or "down" using a lure and a clicker, but for serious trainers who wish to keep their dog truly safe and teach such life saving commands such as the emergencey down-- such tools as the clicker are not the best to work with.

The fact is, every dog is different. Some are correctable with just a "unhappy face" others are head strong powerful animals that need a firmer hand and a more no-nonsense approach. As long as the animal is treated humanely with love & patients, all forms of training have their purpose. People need to stop trying to be experts on issues they know very little about (it requires more then reading a book and teaching a trick or two to become an expert). Unless you see abuse or neglect, mind your buisness..You're intitled to your preference, and others are intitled to theirs...