Culture Clash: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding the Relationship Between Humans and Domestic Dogs

Great read. At times the author uses words that are more complicated than necessary to express herself (and I had to look up their meaning), but it wasn’t often enough to stop me from reading the rest of this entertaining and informative book. In fact I couldn’t put it down! Her training philosophy is grounded in science and explained clearly with examples so you can follow along by the end of the book. I learned a lot and will find this book to be a great resource on the shelf that I can read several more times to pick up more nuanced pieces that I may have glossed over when I was initially learning the information. The first few chapters are fantastic where she explains what our world looks like from the point of view of the dog and what their tiny little lemon brain can actually comprehend and process ... and it’s a lot less than us humans would like to believe! I really got a lot out of the trouble-shooting potty training section having rescued a dog recently that I thought was potty trained because she did it correctly outside several times and didn’t realize she was also using my closet when I wasn’t looking and wasn’t taking her out often enough, whoops. We think its so clear the difference between inside and outside, yet they are discriminating different details such as the texture of what they are peeing on (carpet isn’t all that different from grass), or the fact that the owner is present or not. When we scold them for peeing inside they learn rather quickly that it is much safer to eliminate inside when we aren’t around! Now try and get them to stop peeing in your closet. The instructions for how to make your ball-disinterested dog fetch like a retriever really worked for my dog too! Clicking and treating any interest in the tennis ball had her bringing it to me in a manner of sessions. Very cool!!! I loved this book so much that I ordered several more by the author and plan to enroll in her training school when I can afford it.

Great book!

This is actually the second copy of this book I’ve purchased. The first was for me, but this one was a gift for a friend of mine who adopted her first puppy. It has great science-based, humane training procedures, as well as very helpful information about how dogs learn. The best part of the book is that it’s very easy to read and still gives solid, useful information for both new and experienced dog owners.

I've read several dog training books and have trained several puppies, but I admit I still have a lot to learn. I rate this book highly because it has a lot of great information about, among other things: - Motivation. We all behave according to what we find rewarding in life, so why not use a dog's natural motivators (usually treats, but also play and contact) to get the behavior we want? Most of what we ask a dog to do (such as chewing only items we select, not eating food wherever it is found, not rushing to greet other people or dogs, not walking as fast as possible) is unnatural for the dog, so trained behaviors have to be made more worthwhile than what comes naturally. - Understanding dogs. Dogs are social creatures who do not like being alone. Dogs (like humans) are wary of unfamiliar objects and places. Dogs are not moral creatures who know right from wrong and feel guilt; rather, they learn what's safe and what's dangerous and avoid the dangerous. - The human-dog relationship. If your dog associates you with punishment for a given behavior, he will learn to wait until you're not around to do the behavior. If your dog comes to you on command and you ignore him when he arrives, he will learn that coming to you is not that important. - Generalizing obedience. Just because your dog sits on command in the living room, it does not mean he will do the same in the kitchen, the backyard, or the park. Every environment provides different cues which your dog picks up on; he must be trained in a variety of places to really understand that SIT always means SIT. All of this information and more make this book an easy recommendation. However, it comes in a sometimes off-putting package. Besides a few regrettable typos that make some points harder to understand, the author has an axe to grind. Instead of letting her positive training approach speak for itself, she repeatedly denigrates all methods of corrective training and the people who use them. Like many who advocate a positive approach, she undercuts her argument by suggesting that corrective training never works (though she briefly allows that it may occasionally be necessary). Not only have I seen it work, it can be much faster and more effective than using treats – and without any obvious deterioration in the handler-dog relationship that is usually claimed. Corrective training is also a fact of life: dogs (and other animals) use it on each other all the time. The author also denigrates the concept of leadership as a corollary of aversive training, but I find that silly. Clearly the human has to be the leader in the human-dog relationship for it to be harmonious, and in my experience, the relationship is more solid when the human accepts that role. The author also manages to blame Walt Disney(!) for decades of poor dog training, which is just bizarre. Finally, I would say that the title of the book doesn't really match its contents (is the clash between positive and corrective trainers? between humans and dogs? hard to say), but I suppose that doesn't matter. I regret spending so much time on the negatives, but for someone approaching this book in good faith, they are (ironically) aversive and might tempt you to stop reading. However, I feel there is so much good info to be gleaned that it is worth putting up with the author's missteps.

I have been diligently studying and training dogs for 5 years. Jean Donaldson was one of the first instructors I followed and learned how to teach my dog tricks using her push, drop and stick concept. My dog has her professional trick title and I teach tricks at a dog club because of her simple to understand video series. This book helps you to understand your Dog and how it learns. I slowly read every page and take notes because every page is so great!!!

This book correctly begins by pointing out common misconceptions about dogs and their motivations, but makes a convincing case for why dogs are awesome creatures anyway. The author also does a good job of explaining why other disproved methods need to be left behind, and clearly this is something a lot of people still struggle with. The following chapters are full of helpful hints and training guidance. Just make sure you actually read past the first few pages before you write a review.

One of the best books on dogs ever written! It deconstructs many popular myths about dogs that prevail among the general public. The style is very engaging but scientific at the same time. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who owns a dog or works with dogs!

Lisez ce livre si vous aimez votre ami à quatre patte : vous aller découvrir un monde que vous donnera beaucoup plus de proximité avec les chiens, tout en détruisant de tonnes d’idées dépourvue d'aucune réelle utilité , à partir du très très surestimé concept de "dominance" .... magnifique!

Excellent book. I bought it as a gamble against the negative reviews, started reading it with trepidations but was soon very pleasantly surprised by the quality of its vocabulary and content. maybe the fact that I am an MD helped to understand its contents, but to be honest there were no obscure words used. there was one technique mentioned early on which I did not know before, but I persevered until it was explained halfway through the book. in my opinion, this is a very interesting and well written book with solid content.

Excelente leitura

I give this book to everyone who gets a dog AND I recommend it to anyone who has a baby or toddler. I bought my first copy of Culture Clash in 2004 when I got my dog, and the lessons I learned stayed in my head until now. My dog was a senior rescue so she was sort of beyond training, but it helped me understand her perspective. A decade later, the lessons in Culture Clash were equally applicable to dealing with my kids. Everyone looks at me funny when I say that, but they would understand if they read this book. Especially the passage about being alone in a strange country full of kindly giants who speak a different language and tower over you and control your every waking moment..... I really took home some of the messages from Culture Clash when parenting small children. (And I personally hate, and cannot read, self-help books or parenting books, they are basically pages and pages of filler with a few tips hidden within and a know-it-all attitude....)