How Dogs Learn

"...this book should be on every animal trainer's bookshelf for future reference. How Dogs Learn covers the content of an undergraduate course in learning and behavior, but the examples are taken from dog training it is practical and very useful without sacrificing scientific and technical accuracy." --Jack Michael, PhD, Department of Psychology, Western Michigan University How Dogs Learn explore the fascinating science of operant conditioning, where science and dog training meet. How Dogs Learn explains the basic principles of behavior and how they can be used to teach your dog new skills, diagnose problems and eliminate unwanted behaviors. It's for anyone who wants to better understand the learning process in dogs. Every concept is laid out clearly and precisely, and its relevance to your dog and how you train is explained. A Howell Dog Book of Distinction

A revolutionary way to raise and train your dog, with “a wealth of practical tips, tricks, and fun games that will enrich the lives of many dogs and their human companions” (Dr. Ian Dunbar, veterinarian and animal behaviorist). Zak George is a new type of dog trainer. A dynamic YouTube star and Animal Planet personality with a fresh approach, Zak helps you tailor dog training to your pet’s unique traits and energy level—leading to quicker results and a much happier pup. For the first time, Zak has distilled the information from his hundreds of videos and experience with thousands of dogs into this comprehensive dog and puppy training guide that includes: • Choosing the right pup for you • Housetraining and basic training • Handling biting, leash pulling, jumping up, barking, aggression, chewing, and other behavioral issues • Health care essentials like finding a vet and selecting the right food • Cool tricks, traveling tips, and activities to enjoy with your dog • Topics with corresponding videos on Zak’s YouTube channel so you can see his advice in action Packed with everything you need to know to raise and care for your dog, this book will help you communicate and bond with one another in a way that makes training easier, more rewarding, and—most of all—fun!

Excel-erated Learning: Explaining in Clear English How Dogs Learn and How Best To Teach Them reveals the secret for increasing the speed and efficiency of dog training. With the freedom of understanding "how your dog learns" comes the ability of making the process easy, efficient and enjoyable for your dog.

Human medicine has long recognized the health implications of stress on our physical and mental health. Dogs feel stress too. Learn how to identify and resolve more than 30 signs of stress in dogs and help your dog live a longer, happier life. Simple, sensible solutions for both the professional and concerned dog owner. Includes dozens of full color illustrations.

“Based on the latest findings in the field of canine cognition and behavior, this book is an invaluable resource.” —Hal Herzog, author of Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard To Think Straight About Animals Every dog owner knows that along with the joy can come the stress and frustration of behavioral problems, which are expensive to diagnose and treat. Enter Kim Brophey, award-winning canine behavior consultant. Using cutting-edge research, Brophey has developed a groundbreaking system that allows owners to identify what their dog is struggling with, why, and how they can fix it. Brophey’s approach is unlike anything that has been published before and will give dog owners a new understanding of what motivates and affects their dog’s behavior. This innovative technique rethinks the way we categorize dogs, and distills information from over twenty scientific disciplines into four comprehensive elements: learning, environment, genetics, and self. With revolutionary tips for specific dog breeds, this book will change dog owners’ lives—and lead to happier human-canine relationships. “It’s refreshing to finally find a book that takes into consideration the many predispositions to behavior problems in dogs . . . teaches us to really see the dog in its entirety.” —Alexandre Rossi, author of A Dog at the Keyboard

An intimate, surprising look at man’s best friend and what the leading philosophies of dog training teach us about ourselves. Years back, Melissa Holbrook Pierson brought home a border collie named Mercy, without a clue of how to get her to behave. Stunned after hiring a trainer whose immediate rapport with Mercy seemed magical, Pierson began delving into the techniques of positive reinforcement. She made her way to B. F. Skinner, the behavioral psychologist who started it all, the man who could train a pigeon to dance in minutes and whose research on how behavior is acquired has ramifications for military dolphin trainers, athletes, dancers, and, as he originally conceived, society at large. To learn more, Pierson met with a host of fascinating animal behaviorists, going behind the scenes to witness the relationships between trainers and animals at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, and to the in-depth seminars at a Clicker Expo where all the dogs but hers seemed to be learning new tricks. The often startling story of what became of a pathbreaking scientist’s work is interwoven with a more personal tale of how to understand the foreign species with whom we are privileged to live. Pierson draws surprising connections in her exploration of how kindness works to motivate all animals, including the human one.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An incredible, revolutionary true story and surprisingly simple guide to teaching your dog to talk from speech-language pathologist Christina Hunger, who has taught her dog, Stella, to communicate using simple paw-sized buttons associated with different words. When speech-language pathologist Christina Hunger first came home with her puppy, Stella, it didn’t take long for her to start drawing connections between her job and her new pet. During the day, she worked with toddlers with significant delays in language development and used Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices to help them communicate. At night, she wondered: If dogs can understand words we say to them, shouldn’t they be able to say words to us? Can dogs use AAC to communicate with humans? Christina decided to put her theory to the test with Stella and started using a paw-sized button programmed with her voice to say the word “outside” when clicked, whenever she took Stella out of the house. A few years later, Stella now has a bank of more than thirty word buttons, and uses them daily either individually or together to create near-complete sentences. How Stella Learned to Talk is part memoir and part how-to guide. It chronicles the journey Christina and Stella have taken together, from the day they met, to the day Stella “spoke” her first word, and the other breakthroughs they’ve had since. It also reveals the techniques Christina used to teach Stella, broken down into simple stages and actionable steps any dog owner can use to start communicating with their pets. Filled with conversations that Stella and Christina have had, as well as the attention to developmental detail that only a speech-language pathologist could know, How Stella Learned to Talk will be the indispensable dog book for the new decade.

Learn to communicate with your dog—using their language “Good reading for dog lovers and an immensely useful manual for dog owners.”—The Washington Post An Applied Animal Behaviorist and dog trainer with more than twenty years’ experience, Dr. Patricia McConnell reveals a revolutionary new perspective on our relationship with dogs—sharing insights on how “man’s best friend” might interpret our behavior, as well as essential advice on how to interact with our four-legged friends in ways that bring out the best in them. After all, humans and dogs are two entirely different species, each shaped by its individual evolutionary heritage. Quite simply, humans are primates and dogs are canids (as are wolves, coyotes, and foxes). Since we each speak a different native tongue, a lot gets lost in the translation. This marvelous guide demonstrates how even the slightest changes in our voices and in the ways we stand can help dogs understand what we want. Inside you will discover: • How you can get your dog to come when called by acting less like a primate and more like a dog • Why the advice to “get dominance” over your dog can cause problems • Why “rough and tumble primate play” can lead to trouble—and how to play with your dog in ways that are fun and keep him out of mischief • How dogs and humans share personality types—and why most dogs want to live with benevolent leaders rather than “alpha wanna-bes!” Fascinating, insightful, and compelling, The Other End of the Leash is a book that strives to help you connect with your dog in a completely new way—so as to enrich that most rewarding of relationships.