Here are a few of my favorite books on dog training, dog cognition and human-dog bonding, as well as some links to their websites, where applicable, or to a research center.
1. Training Levels, Sue Ailsby – a genius and a poet… This is the book that the Intermediate (and later) classes are based on. ‘nuff said! But to say a little more, Sue's method is fail-proof for you and your dog, since it begins wherever the dog is, and with small steps. Get her books at Sue-eh.ca.
2. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Positive Dog Training, Pamela Dennison (conditioning) Pam is another pioneer of the ‘new’ dog training which has developed only in the last 15 years. Before that it was all ‘alpha’ dog and pack hierarchy…all of which has since been shown by repeated research to be false and even harmful. Now, for the first time ever, scientists are studying dogs! Pretty amazing (amazing that it took so long). This book is terrific: simple and direct and it has a good description of the 4 quadrants of conditioning – reminding us that ‘positive’ refers to ‘positive reinforcement’. (This book is out of print but you can still get it if you look!)
3. Beyond the Backyard, Denise Fenzi (key: generalization) Denise has an online training empire and deservedly so. This book shows, step by step, how to get that ‘sit-stay’ from the kitchen to the yard and into town. Our goal is to take our training 'beyond the back yard'. Also, Denise put together the Fenzi Team series, which we use as our sports foundation program. (link below)
4. The Genius of Dogs, Brian Hare (Dog cognition and scientific studies) This book is about dog cognition…really! Written in a fluid style, it also presents a clear outline of how science can measure what dogs really understand. It turns out that dogs have regular mid-level mammal-type understanding except when it comes to reading human gestures. Then they’re geniuses! Go doggies.
5. How To Behave So Your Dog Behaves, Sophia Yin (Your dog is learning all the time…) By the brilliant and now sadly departed trainer and vet Dr. Sophia Yin. She was a true master of the ‘shaping’ technique and understood how to communicate with all animals by word, gesture, and lifestyle. Her methods are powerful and beautiful. In spite of this she suffered from terrible depression. Her work is continued by Cattledog Publishing (link below) Also see her book: Perfect Puppy in 7 Days
6. Control Unleashed, Leslie McDevitt (doggie motivation – getting them to think!) This book is a sleeper. I thought it was just one more book about agility…but it’s a masterful presentation of how to understand canine motivation and empowerment. She shows you how to set up situations so that your dog feels like they are controlling you…by doing what you want. Amazing!
7. Reaching the Animal Mind, Karen Pryor (clicker training and operant conditioning) Karen Pryor runs ‘the academy’ named for her and is the expert’s expert on clicker training. The subtitle says it all: Clicker Training and What it Teaches us about All Animals. Ok!
8. And for the brand new and very exciting science of training by ‘mimicry’ check out Claudia Fugazza's book “Do What I Do” or any of her videos on YouTube.
9. Finally I have to mention Adam Miklosi of Eotvos Lorand University in Hungary. He has started a group called the Family Dog Project - and a huge amount of the most interesting and ground breaking research comes from him and this project.
10. And really finally, I have to mention Dr. Ian Dunbar (who reminds me of the vet in All Creatures Great and Small), who's a somewhat loquacious but funny and early advocate of R+ training and who has made some of his guides available in pdf form. See link below for 'What to do after you get your puppy'
1. Training Levels, Sue Ailsby – a genius and a poet… This is the book that the Intermediate (and later) classes are based on. ‘nuff said! But to say a little more, Sue's method is fail-proof for you and your dog, since it begins wherever the dog is, and with small steps. Get her books at Sue-eh.ca.
2. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Positive Dog Training, Pamela Dennison (conditioning) Pam is another pioneer of the ‘new’ dog training which has developed only in the last 15 years. Before that it was all ‘alpha’ dog and pack hierarchy…all of which has since been shown by repeated research to be false and even harmful. Now, for the first time ever, scientists are studying dogs! Pretty amazing (amazing that it took so long). This book is terrific: simple and direct and it has a good description of the 4 quadrants of conditioning – reminding us that ‘positive’ refers to ‘positive reinforcement’. (This book is out of print but you can still get it if you look!)
3. Beyond the Backyard, Denise Fenzi (key: generalization) Denise has an online training empire and deservedly so. This book shows, step by step, how to get that ‘sit-stay’ from the kitchen to the yard and into town. Our goal is to take our training 'beyond the back yard'. Also, Denise put together the Fenzi Team series, which we use as our sports foundation program. (link below)
4. The Genius of Dogs, Brian Hare (Dog cognition and scientific studies) This book is about dog cognition…really! Written in a fluid style, it also presents a clear outline of how science can measure what dogs really understand. It turns out that dogs have regular mid-level mammal-type understanding except when it comes to reading human gestures. Then they’re geniuses! Go doggies.
5. How To Behave So Your Dog Behaves, Sophia Yin (Your dog is learning all the time…) By the brilliant and now sadly departed trainer and vet Dr. Sophia Yin. She was a true master of the ‘shaping’ technique and understood how to communicate with all animals by word, gesture, and lifestyle. Her methods are powerful and beautiful. In spite of this she suffered from terrible depression. Her work is continued by Cattledog Publishing (link below) Also see her book: Perfect Puppy in 7 Days
6. Control Unleashed, Leslie McDevitt (doggie motivation – getting them to think!) This book is a sleeper. I thought it was just one more book about agility…but it’s a masterful presentation of how to understand canine motivation and empowerment. She shows you how to set up situations so that your dog feels like they are controlling you…by doing what you want. Amazing!
7. Reaching the Animal Mind, Karen Pryor (clicker training and operant conditioning) Karen Pryor runs ‘the academy’ named for her and is the expert’s expert on clicker training. The subtitle says it all: Clicker Training and What it Teaches us about All Animals. Ok!
8. And for the brand new and very exciting science of training by ‘mimicry’ check out Claudia Fugazza's book “Do What I Do” or any of her videos on YouTube.
9. Finally I have to mention Adam Miklosi of Eotvos Lorand University in Hungary. He has started a group called the Family Dog Project - and a huge amount of the most interesting and ground breaking research comes from him and this project.
10. And really finally, I have to mention Dr. Ian Dunbar (who reminds me of the vet in All Creatures Great and Small), who's a somewhat loquacious but funny and early advocate of R+ training and who has made some of his guides available in pdf form. See link below for 'What to do after you get your puppy'