Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 46-50 of 50
 "Positive Training" = A Negative Learning Experience? August 12, 2005
Lee Charles Kelley (New York City)
25 out of 34 found this review helpful
I admire Jean Donaldson and her ideas. And what a pleasure it was to read something by a trainer who has a "so what?" attitude toward the "rules" about showing your dog you're alpha. She really sticks it to trainers whose techniques rely too much on the old alpha myth* (which accounts for the two stars, above). But what Donaldson fails to realize is that operant conditioning is almost as big a myth as the alpha theory (which accounts for there only being two stars).
One of her main points is that "traditional" training (meaning dominance) creates negative side-effects, which is the main reason I gave up using those techniques years ago (in 1992) and turned to operant conditioning as a possible alternative. What I found, though, is that not all behavior can be learned (or unlearned) through conditioning. I also found that instinctive behaviors tend to override conditioned ones, and that a training system based primarily on food rewards (and by extension, clickers, since their effectiveness is dependant on the association made between the click and being given a food treat) can also create a negative learning experience for a dog. The truth is, food makes for a great inducement for most behaviors, but it's a rather shaky reinforcement.
Someone reading this might say: Wait, go back a second. Did you just say that food rewards create a negative learning experience? That's impossible to believe. I mean, after all, it's called positive reinforcement, right?
Yes, but "operant conditioning" works best when you use INTRINSIC REINFORCERS, meaning they're directly related to the behavior being learned. And food is not directly related to any obedience behavior other than sitting on command, or to a lesser degree to coming when called. On the other hand, EXTRINSIC REINFORCERS, which is what food usually is, don't work as well. Not only that but, according to the behavioral textbooks, extrinsic reinforcers can actually undermine the effectiveness of intrinsic reinforcers or just plain ruin the learning process entirely. How positive is that?
Imagine you're a dog and you have strong instincts to chase things and bite them. That's what really floats your boat. The dominance trainer says, "Don't use your predatory energy or I'll punish you," and the dog learns to obey by repressing those instincts, which leaves him feeling unfulfilled. The clicker trainer says, "There's no need to use that energy-look! I've got a cookie!" And the dog learns to obey by giving up what he really loves for some instant gratification of a lesser kind. And although his tummy is now full he still feels empty inside. A smart trainer would say, "What great instincts you have! Let's play a game that lets you use them by obeying my commands!" And the dog learns to obey because it just feels good, naturally. He feels totally happy and emotionally fulfilled because the reinforcement is built into the learning process and, thus, into the behavior itself.
So, which of these models of learning is really the most positive for the dog? And which is the most effective?
Nobel Prize winning biologist Konrad Lorenz said, "All animals learn best through play." So while I'd read CULTURE CLASH for a fresh viewpoint about dogs, I definitely wouldn't use it as a training manual. Buy a copy of PLAY TRAINING YOUR DOG by Patricia Gail Burnham, instead. Or better yet, try the more comprehensive NATURAL DOG TRAINING, by Kevin Behan. Both methods work via intrinsic reinforcers. It's kind of like the difference between learning something slowly and painfully by rote, through endless repetitions, and learning it instantly and permanently by being "in the zone."
*(The top wolf experts don't even like to use the word alpha anymore because, as Dr. L. David Mech puts it, "it falsely implies a hierarchical system." (Canadian Journal of Zoology, 2002). No Alpha Wolf + No Hierarchy = No Alpha Theory.)
 Dogs aren't "furry people" July 28, 2005
Wolf (Florida)
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
Many dog owners regard their dogs as "furry people" or children. I LOVE my dogs but they are wonderful in their own right as dogs. This book explains in an entertaining way why dogs should be allowed to be dogs and helps people understand why this is better.
It's a standard reference book for dog enthusiasts.
 Great book for all dog lovers July 19, 2005
DoglvrMary (California, USA)
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
Ms Donaldson explains how we can help our dogs be better doggie citizens by working with their dog minds and behaviours and not turning them into people. I learn something every time I pick it up. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to learn about dog training.
BEST EVER DOG TRAINING/BEHAVIOR BOOK!!!!!!!! March 31, 2005
Dog Mom (Chilly Northern MN)
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
Culture Clash is the best book I have ever read related to dog training/behavior. I have read and reread my copy. I have loaned my copy to friends. One friend I loaned it to was hesitant to read a "dog training book". She felt it would be boring dry lecture type reading like other training books. She read the parts I highlighted in my copy of Culture Clash and then read the rest. She commented on what wonderful ideas the book had. She has used the advice and methods in the book to raise her new pup into a friendly, confident, well behaved adult.
I have used the information I gleaned from Culture Clash to work with problems in my own dogs and especially in my foster dogs. I volunteer with Eskie Rescuers United and have recommended that all adopters read this book. It has the power to teach people to teach their dogs and thus have a loving lifelong relationship with them.
The bible of dog training March 29, 2005
M. D. Miller
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
I am a certified canine obedience instructor. I love this book and have read it many times, will read it many more. I tell my students that if they read only one dog book- this has to be the one. Excellent descriptions of how dogs think with many examples. It supports positive reinforcement methods of training, which is the only type of training I do unless it is a survival issue. It is set up in a weird way, but as long as you read it through, you will get all the info you needed. She does have a kind of tough attitude- but it is a response from so many ignorant beliefs that have been proved wrong yet are still being used by thousands. Not everyone should have a dog- not everyone should even have children! It is a nice outlet for me to read this because I totally agree with her, but I can't tell my students, "Well you don't have time for a dog so you shouldn't have one!" That won't fix anything, but reading this book helps me vent. If I can get some of my students to read it, then I'm not the bad guy for telling them the bitter truth. Lassie is not real, so don't expect that from your dog.
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