Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 26-30 of 157
 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!
Useful March 8, 2007
Bob Fitzsimmons (New York City)
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book has become popular among dog-trainers, not without cause. But if you want to dive deeper into understanding and communicating with your dog, I recommend "Adam's Task: Calling Animals by Name," by Vicki Hearne, which combines animal training with philosophy and literary criticism. The Atlantic Monthly called it "A fascinating and often surprising discussion of animal-human encounters." If you are an animal trainer-- or even just an animal lover-- it's definitely worth checking out.
What everyone should be taught in kindergarten January 7, 2007
D. Carpentier (California)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
This is by far the most useful compilation of general dog-knowledge I have read. It is especially valuable if you have a new puppy, but also a MUST for those of us with older dogs who have 'problems' that need to be resolved, including chewing, dog-dog aggression, dog-human aggression, fear, barking, urinating, etc. IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN, you should absolutely read what Donaldson says about how dogs view small people staring into their eyes, clinging to their necks, and patting them. Considering the thousands of children injured by dogs every year, training children to behave around dogs, and vice-versa, should be common place. Another interesting read that goes MUCH deeper into canine-primate relations is The Other End of the Leash (McConnell).
This is not a cookbook for dog training (though there are several puppy-lessons to give you an idea of how to go about that). It should be viewed as a foundational, Dogs 101 class. The stuff you should know BEFORE you look down into those happily mischievous puppy eyes and say "BAD DOG!"
I bought this book because it was highly recommended by professional behaviorists in dealing with aggression. I was so impressed with it, I have since, in four months, loaned it to 3 friends, and am waiting to get it back so I can quick-read it again. Interestingly enough, while I thought it easy to read and completely fascinating, the first friend found it too dry to finish. :-D Give it a try: if you stick with it, you WILL find out SOMETHING that will change how you relate to your dog.
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