Product Description

"...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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21578 in Books
• Published on: 1999-04-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

From the Inside Flap
How Dogs Learn explains the fascinating science of operant conditioning. The authors, recognized experts in this field, are also experienced dog trainers, and they explain each operant conditioning principle using dog training examples. For the first time, behavioral procedures that are used with humans, such as Behavioral Diagnostics and Functional Analysis, have been translated for applications with dogs. How Dogs Learn will help all dog owners solve canine behavior problems and improve their proficiency as trainers.

From the Back Cover
"...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

About the Author
MARY R. BURCH, PHD, is a Certified Behavior Analyst. She has also been approved as a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist by the Animal Behavior Society. Her behavioral research has been published by the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Burch has trained dogs to the advanced levels of obedience and is considered a national expert on the topic of therapy dogs. She is the author of Volunteering with Your Pet and The Border Collie, published by Howell Book House. Dr. Burch has won the Maxwell Medallion from the Dog Writers′ Association of America for her writing on dog–related topics. She is a founding member of the Animal Trainer′s Forum in the Association for Behavior Analysis.

JON S. BAILEY, PHD, is a Professor of Psychology at Florida State University. Dr. Bailey is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and was on the Board of Directors of the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. Dr. Bailey is a past editor of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. He is the author of the book Research Methods in Applied Behavior Analysis, the co–author of Behavioral Diagnostics, and is one of the most widely published researchers in the field of behavior analysis. Dr. Bailey serves as an expert witness on behavioral issues.

Customer Reviews

An excellent starter for the would-be dog behaviourist
I have read many books which claim to teach you about dogs and their ways of thinking. This is the first such book which actually keeps its promise.
Another reviewer here said it was boring, but with respect I think that is unfair and probably says more about the attention span of the reader than the quality of the book.

Unlike other books in this category it doesn't waffle on about the authors' personal and/or professional lives. It does exactly what it says on the cover. It explains the theory of how dogs learn (much like the rest of us in many ways), what they respond to, their understanding of reward and punishment, and how these concepts can be used in the pursuit of real-world dog training and behaviour objectives. It also gives some (but not so many as to waste space by waffling) real-life examples from the author's own experiences to back-up the theory.

I read it from cover to cover within a few days. There were some points I didn't fully digest the first time, so I then re-read the more involved parts again more slowly. Having done so, I can honestly tell you hand on heart that my personal understanding of my dogs' minds and the effects that what I do has upon them, has dramatically improved. Before I read this book I used to just follow the steps listed in other more practical books without really understanding why I was doing it (and they often didn't work, because real life does not pan out the same as it does in books!).
But now, because I understand more about why the things I do have the effect they do, my training methods have improved significantly from what they used to by 'blind faith', and I have even begun to design my own training scenarios with at least a basic expectation of how different situations will benefit my dogs' training in different ways.

As long as your own mind is in itself capable of learning (and hasn't been dumbed down by today's trash culture), and you want to learn serious facts, rather than just be entertained, I feel sure you will find this a very worthwhile and useful book on this subject.

I can thoroughly recommend this book (and no I don't have any shares in it's sales, I promise!)

Easy reference book
I thought this book was presented in an easily readable style, and explained principles well. I would recommend it for people who are interested in learning about behaviour though rather than to a dog owner who wants to find a solution for a problem with their pet.
It gives examples and human comparisons to help get your head around the phrasiology, which is an important part of diagnosing behaviour problems, clients find you more credible if you know the jargon!

an interesting read
An excellent book for anyone with a keen interest in dog behavior and training.It is not a training manual but rather an explaination of the scuientific principles behind behaviors and as such some may find it heavy going, but I felt it was well written and presented.
It explains some of the terminology that you may hear in other dog training books e.g positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, extinction, respondant conditioning etc.