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A gift to dogs and their humans

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I love any information that allows us to better understand a species that doesn't communicate via human language. Dogs certainly have a wonderful ally in Jean Donaldson. Her explanations are clear and insightful, based on science rather than subjective interpretation. Anyone who reads this book will have a much better understanding of how to interact respectfully and effectively with dogs. And isn't that what dogs really and truly deserve?

For Anyone That Really Wants To Understand Dog Behavior

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My dog-eared, worn-cover, beaten up copy of The Culture Clash, signed by Jean Donaldson Oct. 5, 1997, is one of my most prized books in my dog training library. I've had the great opportunity to attend her seminars and listen to her speak on a few occasions. It's a book that is required reading for any serious student of dog behavior. It's also great for anyone just interested in learning more about dog behavior and training. Let me explain why: 1. The book opens with "Getting The Dog's Perspective - Walt Disney vs. B.F. Skinner" and goes on to explain that dogs are amoral animals, that they have no understanding of right and wrong. She adds that dogs don't spite us, get back at us or feel guilty for doing "bad behavior." When we believe that our dogs are getting back at us, or trying to spite us, they end up getting a lot of punishment. Think about it, you come home after a long day at work only to find your favorite $200 pair of shoes chewed to bits. If you think your dog did that to "get back at you" you would dole out a nice big dose of punishment. In reality, your dog was stressed at being left alone and chewed to relieve the stress. The next day you leave for work and your dog feeling stressed again, chews your kitchen chairs. You walk in the house and think, "He did it again to ME!" Severe punishment follows. If this happens again and again the behavior is likely to get worse. In reality, your dog is not associating the chewing with his behavior. The chewing is a direct result of your behavior. Your dog associates the punishment with your homecoming. You walk in the door and pound him - this sets up a behavioral history. When you walk out the door there is a good chance that when you come back in a beating will follow. Everyday you leave and your dog learns that when you come home he is going to be punished. It's all very stressful. How does the dog relieve stress - CHEWING! Jean Donaldson explains this process so well and really gives you insights into why your dog is behaving a certain way. 2. Chapter 2 continues with the fact that dogs are predatory animals, that they are hard wired to search, stalk, rush, chase, bite/hold/shake/kill, and to dissect and eat(prey). This chapter is particularly important because of the writing on tug-o-war, the most misunderstood game in "dogdom". In addition to tug-o-war, she discusses alone training, chew training and a lot more. 3. Chapter 3 on Socialization, Conflict Resolution, Fear and Aggression goes on to give some of the best advice for new puppy owners. The sections on bite inhibition, timid puppies, dog-dog socialization, food bowl exercises, object exchanges, and the bite threshold model is a must read for any new puppy owner. 4. Chapter 4 - Its All Chew Toys To Them, starts off with the story of The Gorns. The Gorns is an excellent story of putting us in the position of dogs. Humans are kept as companion animals to a more intellectually sophisticated species. Imagine living on a planet with a Gorn and this Gorn punishes you for doing normal human behavior like: Shaking hands, sitting on couches, eating anything but "Human Chow," etc. Think about dogs, they get punished for sniffing each others butts (human equilevlent to shaking hands), sitting on the couch, trying to eat anything other than the food from a bag that we feed them. This is a very eye-opening chapter. 5. Chapter 5 is the one chapter that I think makes a lot of people upset - "Lemon Brains But We Still Love Them." The first paragraph of this chapter she states: "The enmeshment between dog owners and Walt Disney has been too tight to allow behaviorism in. We've been clinging to the wish that dogs might just have big, convoluted, melon brains like humans and have a natural desire to please. The fact of the matter is dogs have little, smoothish lemon brains and are looking out for number one. I personally still like them." It's an excellent chapter that goes on to explain how behaviors are taught. Much of what has been taught on dog training is false. For years dog owners have been told that when a dog does NOT do the command the dog is being dominant. The dog owner is then instructed to be "The Alpha" and apply appropriate force, setting up a negative situation between dog and owner. If we truly believe that the dog has a natural desire to please, then the dog should want to do it for us. On the other hand, if we take a realistic view and understand that as Jean states, `They are looking out for number one," we figure out what the proper motivation is to teach the dog to do the command. 6. The final chapter finishes up with instructions on how to teach your dog obedience commands starting with kindergarten levels and working up to PhD levels. The relationship between dogs and humans is a long one. It's time that we stop expecting our dogs to think like us and learn to think like our dogs. Is it any reason that we have 56 million dog bites every year in the United States? The only way were going to make that number go down is to read books like Jean Donaldson's book, The Culture Clash.

2005 UPDATED EDITION is available but not sold on Amazon	Customer Rating:
This is the most significant dog book ever written -- yes, it's that good. Everyone who owns a dog should read it. I'll let you read the other reviews to hear why. But you should know that there is a revised edition (with 11,000 more words) available, though for some reason Amazon isn't selling it.

Too Extreme, No Balance

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Ms. Donaldson takes a judgemental moralistic view of owners (like me)who like that their dogs do not bolt through doors before them, or like to eat before their dogs, and like to be their dog's leader. She even goes as far as to call us *stupid*. Okay, I draw the line when I spend $15.00 to buy a book then the author calls me stupid in the first chapter. I train in AKC competition obedience so I am all for reward based training. Dogs do learn faster when rewarded for doing the right behavior as opposed to being corrected for the wrong behavior. However, it is incomplete advice when Ms. Donaldson tells people that dogs should never receive any corrections. Maybe those highly skilled behaviorists and professional dog trainers have the talent, time, experience to only train with rewards but the average pet owner will never be able to accomplish this without years of trial and error. I am sorry, but I do not want to spend 5 years just to train my dog to not bolt out the door or decide to chase a squirrel and possibly get hit by a car. She is far to extreme in one direction. Like everythig in life, there needs to be a balance. And by the way, I am not in Cesar's camp either with his flooding methods and overly simplistic dominance fix-all solution either. Like I said, you've got to have balance and adjust with each dog. If you interested in dog training and learning theory I liked Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor much better. The author uses easy to understand human analagies to illustrate learning theory. I am a very literal and visual person so if I could understand it, anyone can.

A good starting point, but we should be well beyond it by now

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When I read this book the first time, I really enjoyed it and felt that it had changed most of my ideas about dog training. Everything Donaldson says is correct and works for most behaviors, because she uses basic principles that can be applied to any animal. Basically, if you understand positive and negative reinforcement/punishment, there is no need to read this book. Her main point is that you can get dogs to do whatever you wish using positive reinforcement alone, and the use of aversives is unnecessary and a result of expecting our dogs to be smarter than they really are. She also gives some good insight into the behavior of dogs, such as bite thresholds, and it's very useful for people to know that just because a dog bites doesn't mean it is evil and should be put down - it's NORMAL dog behavior. Unfortunately, I could only give it one star because her theory is very limited and basic. It is helpful for someone with no knowledge of canine behavior, thought process, or pack mentality, and for the many people who misuse aversives and think it is normal for you to be able to punch a dog in the face and not have him bite you. It is a good starting place, and nothing more. But for the rest of us who wish to understand the true behavior and potential of dogs, her book is of little value. Clicker training and an endless supply of treats works great for training specific behaviors, but not for achieving harmony and balance in the bigger picture. Not to mention the many breeds who are not food or play motivated, which she never addresses. Also, for those true problem dogs who are aggressive or have other serious behavior issues, she never says how to address these problems, and instead recommends other books! There are countless better books out there that are much more in depth and educational. This book only detracted from my knowledge of dog behavior and training.