Customer Reviews:
 Don't Shoot The Dog by Karen Pryor June 12, 2008
Good book for dog training and behavior, however there are lessons that can apply to other aspects of life, including human interactions.
 Don't Shoot The Dog June 4, 2008
The author, Karen Pryor uses a psychological approach for shaping the behavior or dogs. The title of the book invokes humor in teaching and training behavior. Behavior modification techniques have been around for many years and still affect animal behavior when used appropriately.
It could be easier to find a particular behavior like "biting" if it were listed in the index, so there is room for improvement there. Otherwise, learning about behavior modification techniques is very valuable, not only with animals but also with humans.
 Oh no. Please, no. May 10, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Please, tell me the author is not so uneducated that she doesn't know the difference between a reinforcer and a punishment! Holy Toledo! On page one she says, "A reinforcer is anything that, occurring in conjunction with an act, tends to increase the probability that the act will occur again." OK, so far, so good.
But then she says on the same page, "A negative reinforcer is something the subject wants to avoid..." Uh, not true. You fail even my undergrad course on behavioral principles.
A negative reinforcer is STILL A REINFORCER! It still increases the chance of said act recurring. Ms. Pryor has made the same stupid mistake of thinking that "negative reinforcer" is the same as "punishment." No, no, no!
A negative reinforcer is taking away a noxious stimuli, not adding one. It's really a basic issue, and one that is SOOOOO misunderstood and wrongly stated in the popular press. The noxious sound of the buzzer ringing because you didn't put your seat belt on is ONLY a negative reinforcer if you find it reinforcing to have the sound stop. The stopping is the key, not the addition of the sound. We are talking + versus -, not a smiley face versus a frowny face. Please, correct this horrible error, Ms. Pryor!
I haven't gotten all the way through the book, but what I was hoping to be a pleasant adjunct to a class certainly can't be used as one given the flat-out wrong information in it. It may be good for dog training (and I hope it is), but when you see such an egregious mistake on the first page of text, it doesn't bode well.
 Recommend it to everyone. May 5, 2008
I've read the reviews on this book. The 1-star reviews all seem to come from either dog training companies who view it as competition, scientologists who reject the whole field of psychology, angry individuals who didn't read the product description, or individuals whose worldview is threatened by the idea that our behavior is influenced by external stimuli.
"Don't Shoot the Dog" is the NAME of the book. It's not a dog training book. It's written for HUMANS. It's a book about the simple principles of operant conditioning which influence behavior. Pryor never makes any claims which are not strongly scientifically supported. She provides simple practical instruction for utilizing science to shape behavior. I recommend this book to so many people, I cannot count them. I do NOT recommend self-help books, as a rule. THIS however is solid science with solid evidence behind it being presented in an open, honest, and incredibly helpful way.
If you want warm-fuzzy yet ultimately hollow language to make you believe you have a spiritual connection with your pets or that you really are accomplishing your goals for change by repeating them in your head fifty times a day while wearing knee-high socks, go for one of the fifty million "self-help" books out there.
If you want actual scientifically supported methods for creating actual change, this book is for you.
My Dog is Really Smart Now February 22, 2008
After reading this book, I used the methods described to teach a very stubborn dog to sit, lay down and rollover in one afternoon. Easy to read, great examples, and applicable to human beings!
|
