When Pigs Fly_ Training Success With Impossible Dogs - Jane Killion [87]
Patricia McConnell. The Other End of the Leash. Ballantine Books, 2002. Ms. McConnell is not only a primate and canine behaviorist, but an incredible writer, as well. Her stories are entertaining as well as instructive. Even though I have had dogs my whole life, I saw my relationship with them in a different light after reading this book.
Jean Donaldson. Culture Clash. James and Kenneth Publishing, 2005. An insightful and profound book about how dogs think, how dogs learn, and how we can effectively communicate with them. Like Patricia McConnell’s book, it is well written and very interesting to read. This is not a dry dog training book!
Stanley Coren. How to Speak Dog. Fireside Books, 2002. Immensely helpful in understanding how to communicate with a dog, and how dogs of different type/ breeds communicate with each other. I will give a caveat that I do not recommend all the training advice Mr. Coren prescribes, but the book is very interesting, informative, and worth reading.
Brenda Aloff. Canine Body Language, a Photographic Guide. Distributed by Dogwise Publishing, 2006. An extremely clear and detailed collection of photos with annotations explaining exactly what each dog’s body language is saying. This is a fascinating read and will open your eyes to a whole new world!
Aggression
Pamela Dennison. How To Right a Dog Gone Wrong. Alpine Publishing, 2005. Ms. Dennison outlines a practical program for re-conditioning an aggressive dog with positive training, counter-conditioning, and desensitization. I heartily suggest that anyone with a dog with any aggression issues buy this book.
Jean Donaldson. Mine! A Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs. San Francisco SPCA, 2002. See comments in the “Foundation Books” section.
Websites for Training Information and Supplies
American Kennel Club
www.akc.org
Source for information on purebred dogs and dog sports.
Association of Pet Dog Trainers
www.apdt.com
Clean Run
www.cleanrun.com
Source for training toys, particularly the Tug-N-Treat and the Everlasting Treat Ball.
Clicker Solutions
www.clickersolutions.com
Wonderful clicker training site with excellent resources and a chat list.
Dogwise
www.dogwise.com
The source for all of your dog book and DVD needs.
Karen Pryor’s Clicker Training.Com
www.clickertraining.com
Very extensive information about how to clicker train.
Lupine Dog Collars
www.lupinepet.com
Makers of great martingale collars. Guaranteed for life, even if chewed!
My website
Madcap Bull Terriers
www.madcapbullterriers.com
Positive Motivation Dog Training
www.positivedogs.com
Lots of articles and information on positive reinforcement training from Pam Dennison.
Doggone Safe
www.doggonesafe.com
Fantastic site dedicated to dog bite prevention. They offer games and other interactive materials that will help you and your children learn how to safely interact with dogs.
Soft Touch Concepts
www.softtouchconcepts.com
Makers of front hook harnesses.
Stacy’s Wag’N’Train
www.wagntrain.com
Very good site on learning theory, training, and behavior.
Pet Edge
www.petedge.com
Source for inexpensive rope toys and other chew items.
Reinforcement Schedules
For most basic pet obedience behaviors, it is best to reinforce (with food, praise or any other reinforcer) every repetition of a behavior you desire. Everytime your dog sits, lies down, or comes to you, he gets a treat, a pat, or a warm word of praise. There are some behaviors, however, that you cannot train this way. If you want to train a behavior that goes on for a long time, such as a stay, you can’t reinforce each second of the stay, or you will never get anywhere. Similarly, some behaviors are actually a series of behaviors repeated again and again. Walking on a leash is a good example of this. If you reinforced every single step of walking, your dog would only ever learn to take one step.
You should use a variable reinforcement schedule when you are teaching duration behaviors, such as stay or walking on a leash. With a variable reinforcement schedule, you give your dog