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Humans like the affection of dogs. We find it reinforcing when they come to us for petting and attention. Once they find something that annoys us, they can be masters at using it to get us to do things in order get them to stop doing it. It’s cause and effect, consequences dictating behaviour. And they know it. As Jean Donaldson put it in her book Culture Clash, “Dogs do what works.” So who is training who in this relationship? The answer is probably both you and the dog. The good news is that it’s probably best that way!
I’d like to recommend a great book. “Reaching The Animal Mind” by Karen Pryor is a wonderful book about how and why training based on behavioural science works. Karen shares stories from her own life about training horses, goldfish, ferrets, and even humans with behavioural science in a fun and effective way. This book has received critical acclaim and comes highly recommended. It’s a great read! You can find it at the Dogwise online store or at Amazon. It’s also probably at your local book store.
A transcript of the main text of Dog Training? Who’s Training who? is available at the Life As A Human online magazine website. You can visit Life as a Human to find this and other articles.
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