Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 14
 Still Relevant After All These Years August 11, 2005
Lee Charles Kelley (New York City)
31 out of 36 found this review helpful
One of the innovations of PLAYTRAINING YOUR DOG was the idea of using tug-of-war as both inducement and reinforcement for learning obedience skills. I think this book was actually first published in 1980 or 82, when the idea of playing tug was strictly verboten in most dog training circles. In fact, I'd venture to say that nearly all dog trainers at the time, particularly pet dog trainers, would've told you not to play it with your dog. Now here we are, 23 years later (in 2005), and I can't tell you how many of my potential clients, when I ask them during a phone consultation if they play tug with their pups, still say no, they don't because they heard it causes aggression. Or they say, yes, they do, but they were told to never let the dog win because winning will make him think he's alpha.
WRONG: tug-of-war doesn't cause aggression; it's actually a safe outlet for it. Plus, truly aggressive dogs don't even like to play tug. And the truth is, if you can finally get them to play with you, you'll find that they're much less aggressive if not over their aggression entirely! (It's kinda funny how that's just the opposite of what we've all been told, huh?) And then there's the fact that it's one of the best training tools ever invented because it stimulates a dog's desire to learn and obey to the highest possible level.
As for a dog thinking he's alpha, that's bunk. To quote ex-cop turned dog trainer Jack Field (who's the fictional narrator of my detective novels), "Dogs don't care who's alpha and who's not. Only emotionally dysfunctional owners and trainers do." (Jack's got a bit of a chip on his shoulder about this topic. . .) And if you think Jack's nuts to say that, recent studies done on wild wolf packs prove his point; certain top wolf researchers don't even like to use the word alpha anymore because, as Dr. L. David Mech puts it, "it falsely implies a hierarchical system in which each wolf assumes a place in a linear pecking order," (Canadian Journal of Zoology, 2002).
The other innovation Pat Burnham introduced was teaching a dog to jump up on command in order to increase the dog's focus on you, to increase the dog's drive to obey, and to reinforce other behaviors like the recall, the stay, and the heel. How many other training books can you think of that recommend using jumping up on command this way? (I only know of one: NATURAL DOG TRAINING, by Kevin Behan.) And remember, back in the early 80s we were told that a dog who jumped up on people was supposedly showing dominance and trying to be alpha! (Not this again...)
So if you think this book is behind the times, I'm sorry, but you've got it backwards.
Oh, and yes, Pat Burnham does make the mistake of promulgating the now-discredited alpha theory in her book. That's why I've only given it four stars. (If they had half stars, it would've been four and a half; no one was that far ahead of the times in 1982, not even Pat Burnham.)
 Obedience training a sight hound December 26, 2004
Jill Malter (jillmalter@aol.com)
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
There are plenty of books on obedience training for dogs. But what if you don't own a Border Collie or a Poodle or a German Shepherd? What if you own a basenji, or a Whippet, or a Komondor, or a Greyhound? How do you get started? Matter of fact, how do you get the dog not to bite you?
This book answers some of these questions, and tells about the way the author managed to train some of these less likely obedience candidates. The goal generally was qualification in Utility Class, which typically takes several trials. We see how Ms. Burnham managed to train several greyhounds and even a komondor (the photo of the komondor clearing the bar jump is one of the most unbelievable photographs of a dog I have ever seen).
As a basenji owner, I found this book useful and enjoyable.
a great approach to training 'independant' breeds February 1, 2002
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
I really appreciated the insights into finding 'motivators' for independant breeds such as sighthounds and in my case, Siberian Huskies. This book is a mainstay on my dog training shelf. In addition, I recommend William Campbell's 'Behavior Training in Dogs' (at least the edition I purchased in the 70's).
Excellent motivator for show dogs May 26, 2000
10 out of 14 found this review helpful
having shown dogs for 25 years it is always great to find a publication like this that makes training fun for your dog, rather than him/her just having to do it. Although it is designed as an obedience book, many things in the first part of the book also apply to show training as well. I often reccommend this book to people, but unfortunately it is very hard to purchase in Australia
 Not bad, but not the best you can do. August 27, 1999
17 out of 21 found this review helpful
I was frankly rather disappointed by this book. I love the writing style, and the author's anecdotes about showing her dogs are hilarious. Unfortunately, I was expecting more actual ideas for games you could play with your dog that would motivate or teach him, and there isn't much that's new in this book. Also, as a clicker trainer, I find the fact that the author claims to support learning by positive reinforcement to be mildly amusing, since she's miles away from what most of us would call by that name. (I got The Culture Clash at the same time as this book, and the difference is striking.) To sum up, I think this was a useful, cutting-edge book... for 1986.
|
