Karen Pryor’s clear and entertaining explanation of behavioral training methods made Don’t Shoot the Dog a bestselling classic with revolutionary insights into animal—and human—behavior.
In her groundbreaking approach to improving behavior, behavioral biologist Karen Pryor says, “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.”
Now Pryor clearly explains the underlying principles of behavioral training and 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. From the eight methods for putting an end to all kinds of undesirable behavior to the ten laws of “shaping” behavior, Pryor helps you combat your own addictions and deal with such difficult problems as a moody spouse, an impossible teen, or an aged parent. Plus, there’s also incredibly helpful information on house training the dog, improving your tennis game, keeping the cat off the table, and much more!
“In the course of becoming a renowned dolphin trainer, Karen Pryor learned that positive reinforcement…is even more potent that prior scientific work had suggested…Don’t Shoot the Dog looks like the very best on the subject—a full-scale mind-changer” (The Coevolution Quarterly). Learn why pet owners rave, “This book changed our lives!” and how these pioneering techniques can work for you, too.
Karen Pryor is a behavioral biologist with an international reputation in marine mammal biology and behavioral psychology. She is a founder and leading proponent of “clicker training,” a training system based on operant conditioning (isolate wanted behaviors and ignore the unwanted) and the all-positive methods developed by marine mammal trainers. Pryor is the CEO of KCPT/Sunshine Books, Inc., a publishing, training product, and online company. In addition to her bestselling Don’t Shoot the Dog, Pryor wrote Nursing Your Baby (more than 2 million copies in print) along with several other books and many scientific papers and popular articles on learning and behavior. She has three grown children and lives in Boston with two clicker-trained dogs and a clicker-trained cat.
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Essential read
When I first read Don’t Shoot the Dog! by Karen Pryor, I was working in the marine mammal world, where positive reinforcement, shaping and understanding the science of learning were central to my day-to-day work. Re-reading it now as a dog trainer and behaviourist has been a great reminder of just how transferable the principles of learning are across species. Much of what I learned training marine mammals still underpins how I approach training and behaviour work with dogs today. The species may change, but the underlying principles of learning don’t. What I particularly love about this book is that it encourages you to think beyond simply teaching behaviours and really understand the processes behind them. For anyone starting out in animal training, I’d consider this a must-read. And for those of us who have been doing it for years, a reminder that going back to the fundamentals is never a bad thing. Sometimes the books we need most aren’t new ones, they’re the ones we need to read again!
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Just buy damn book! You need it!
Don't Shoot the Dog is a seminal book on the art of using positive reinforcement to train just about anything with a brain, including your spouse and kids. Seriously! Karen Pryor explains how this incredibly effective approach to teaching taps into the innate desire of your dog (or spouse) to work for something they want. Want to teach your dog to sit when asked? Or get your spouse to wash the dishes? This book is your go-to! This book belongs on the shelf of every serious dog person, not just professional trainers. Hell, it should probably be required reading for teachers of all kinds, whether their students are the furry, four-footed variety or the two-footed naked ape variety. It was the first book I ever bought on positive reinforcement training, and I have referred back to it and recommended it countless times in the decades since buying it. If you don't already own this book, you need to ask yourself why. Then pop it into your cart along with a few other impulse purchases and just buy the damn book.
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A Must Read for Every Dog Enthusiast
I don’t know many trainers who didn’t encounter this classic at some time in their career or pre-professional life and find it to be life altering. What a bargain for dog training canon!
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A little elementary
This book is a little below the knowledge and skills of a professional
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Great Book for any animal trained
I am companion bird trainer, and this book is great to learn the art of training not just for dogs but any companion animal.
