Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 21-25 of 50
 Your Dog Doesn't Think He's A Person May 20, 2007
Gallivan Burwell (New Orleans, La.)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
I can't tell you how many times I've had a dog-owner tell me "My dog thinks he's person." They usually deliver this gem as if this is a good thing, while their. dog (mostly small and fuzzy) barks wildly, snaps, charges, wraps it's leash around my ankles while I walk my own well-trained dog (who is perfectly content being a dog). Occasionaly the dog-who-thinks-it's-a-person is constrained in a baby carriage. I have yet to meet one of these "person/dogs" who wasn't a total mess.
Well, your dog doesn't think he's a person. Jean Donaldson makes this perfectly clear in the 2nd edition of her ground-breaking book "The Culture Clash: A revolutionary new way to understanding the relationship between humans and domestic dogs." Donaldson fires a clean shot across the bow of our Disney-fication of dogs by stating right at the top that dogs are amoral scavenger-predators by nature, whose self-interest trumps any desire to please us. Human concepts of Good & Bad are lost on them. They are loveable aliens in our midst, who are best integrated into our households and society by understanding the huge differences our two species, not by papering over them.
Otherwise dogs suffer greatly at our hands, often winding up abandoned, in shelters, euthanized. Donaldson offers us an alternative to this deadly disconnect. By understanding how dogs learn we are able to teach them
(without jerking, and pulling, and punishing) how to best live in our society to our mutual benefit. "The Dog Whisperer," that fount of misinformation and discredited techniques, would be well-served to read this book, as would every dog owner, or anyone considering becoming one.
This book belongs on any dog owners book shelf! April 18, 2007
Angelica Steinker (Tampa, FL, USA)
2 out of 12 found this review helpful
Simply one of the best books ever written on dog training. A monumental work. Jean Donaldson is a goddess.
Great book! Informative and funny April 10, 2007
K. Barkman
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
Jean Donaldson nails it. She explains behavior so that the dog owner realizes that Fido doesn't have an ax to grind - Fido just found something fun to do. Whether or not it coincides with the owner's wishes is an entirely different matter! Makes me see my 6 month old, 75 pound German Shepherd in an entirely different light. I've been around dogs for 30 years and this is one of the best books I've seen. She doesn't sugar coat anything, just explains behavior and suggests how to shape it to fit the owner's life style. Mandatory reading for every dog owner!
 behavior seeker April 2, 2007
J. Guinn (Amarillo, TX USA)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book has been a great eye opener into the minds of our dogs. If you are truly interesting in understanding why your dog does some of the things it does and are eagar to learn this is a great book to start.
Very useful, if you can get past the author's nastiness March 25, 2007
Ellen Hanson (New York)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
"The Culture Clash" is a how-to dog training book that's filled with loads of useful information. I gave it five stars because reading this book and using the knowledge imparted has proven invaluable in the training of my own dog.
But "The Culture Clash" does have its problems. First and foremost, the author's obvious disdain for dog owners (and dog trainers who don't adhere to Donaldson's brand of doggie-psychology) is all too apparant. A good editor would have taken care of this when the book was in draft form. Donaldson's nastiness is especially virulent in the first chapter; it's a miracle anyone would read on. I myself put the book down after the first few pages, but a dog-trainer friend encouraged me to continue - promising that if I could see past the author's vitriol, it'd be well worth the effort. (She was right!)
The second problem has to do with the author's overly technical language. Donaldson throws around complicated behavioral words and phrases as if everyone's as familiar with the terminology as she is. I happen to be a clinical psychologist, so I'm familiar with the terms she so casually tosses around. But I'm guessing not every reader will have taken college level courses on learning theory, so reader beware. She begins explaining the basic terminology in the 5th chapter instead of the 1st, so starting there might be helpful.
Which brings me to the third problem. The arrangement of the chapters, as well as what she includes within each chapter, is so disorganized that the book reads like a first draft. And the table of contents is so general it's useless. My book is dog-eared and filled with stickies so I can refer to various topics without having to pull my hair out.
That said, "The Culture Clash" is one very helpful book on dog training!
|
