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27 reviews for:
Culture Clash: A New Way Of Understanding The Relationship Between Humans And Domestic Dogs
Jean Donaldson, Jean Donaldson
4.28 AVERAGE
27 reviews for:
Culture Clash: A New Way Of Understanding The Relationship Between Humans And Domestic Dogs
Jean Donaldson, Jean Donaldson
4.28 AVERAGE
One of the better and most practical books on dog behavior and training that I have read. Gives a lot of insight into what motivates a dog vs what people think motivates them.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
I'm torn about this book.
I don't think it was organized in a meaningful way. The chapters had sort of vague titles, and the contents within did not necessarily hew tightly to their heading. The book is often fairly dry and technical, requiring two or three re-reads to begin to untangle what the author is talking about. In many ways, it reads like a 200-page rant.
However, it is a 200-page rant by a very informed, thoughtful, funny author. It reads a little like the Economist--the jokes pass you by if you aren't paying attention, but when you catch them you laugh aloud. The book covers a huge variety of training-related subjects, but does it in a consistent way that helps instill in you an understanding of how dogs think, and why they do what they do. The details are window dressing. What is important in this book is the idea that dogs are amoral animals who understand the world in terms of things they like, and things they do not like. A clever trainer will shape the dog's world in a way that positive behavior (sitting to say hello, returning upon command) yields treats, pets, and chances to play, and negative behavior (pawing, growling, peeing indoors) produces either no result or an aversive outcome.
I would recommend this book to someone who has read a few books about dogs, but is looking a wholistic philosophy. I would not recommend this book to someone who is just sort of vaguely interested in pups.
I don't think it was organized in a meaningful way. The chapters had sort of vague titles, and the contents within did not necessarily hew tightly to their heading. The book is often fairly dry and technical, requiring two or three re-reads to begin to untangle what the author is talking about. In many ways, it reads like a 200-page rant.
However, it is a 200-page rant by a very informed, thoughtful, funny author. It reads a little like the Economist--the jokes pass you by if you aren't paying attention, but when you catch them you laugh aloud. The book covers a huge variety of training-related subjects, but does it in a consistent way that helps instill in you an understanding of how dogs think, and why they do what they do. The details are window dressing. What is important in this book is the idea that dogs are amoral animals who understand the world in terms of things they like, and things they do not like. A clever trainer will shape the dog's world in a way that positive behavior (sitting to say hello, returning upon command) yields treats, pets, and chances to play, and negative behavior (pawing, growling, peeing indoors) produces either no result or an aversive outcome.
I would recommend this book to someone who has read a few books about dogs, but is looking a wholistic philosophy. I would not recommend this book to someone who is just sort of vaguely interested in pups.
This book teaches you how dogs think and how best to train them in a way that is engaging, effective, and entertaining! Would recommend to any dog owner or soon-to-be dog owner that wants to train their dog!
I read this book as part of the curriculum for a dog training apprenticeship program.
This is an excellent book for anyone who just got a puppy. Donaldson does a great job at dismissing outdated and inferior training methods while providing proper explanations and alternatives. She goes over many different training exercises which are essential to having a well behaved dog and explains how to go about them without losing the dog's interest and/or your patience.
I do wish she spent more time talking about rehabilitating older dogs (such as rescues or just untrained adults) but considering many people get a dog as a puppy this is still a great book.
I also wish her final note, to get a dog neutered/spayed wasn't just dropped in one sentence on the last page but instead giving more space and explanation why. She spent the rest of the dog going over in great detail how to have a well-behaved dog but barely touched on de-sexing. If this is someone's only book with dog training I can see how having little explanation on that point would not be enough to sway then towards the procedure.
This is an excellent book for anyone who just got a puppy. Donaldson does a great job at dismissing outdated and inferior training methods while providing proper explanations and alternatives. She goes over many different training exercises which are essential to having a well behaved dog and explains how to go about them without losing the dog's interest and/or your patience.
I do wish she spent more time talking about rehabilitating older dogs (such as rescues or just untrained adults) but considering many people get a dog as a puppy this is still a great book.
I also wish her final note, to get a dog neutered/spayed wasn't just dropped in one sentence on the last page but instead giving more space and explanation why. She spent the rest of the dog going over in great detail how to have a well-behaved dog but barely touched on de-sexing. If this is someone's only book with dog training I can see how having little explanation on that point would not be enough to sway then towards the procedure.