Post by Am on Jun 9, 2005 0:54:21 GMT -5
"Click to Calm" by Emma Parsons
“Click to Calm” begins by describing the history of Ms Parson’s own dog Ben. The author describes a typical puppy who started to display aggressive and pushy behaviour as he entered adolescence. Ms Parson booked a lesson with a “traditional” trainer who punished Ben severely with a prong collar. Understandably, this treatment escalated Ben's problem and led to severe displays of fear aggression towards other dogs. In "Click to Calm" Ms Parsons describes the purely positive methods she used to cure Ben of this learned fear.
The author starts off by recommending readers follow a NILIF type programme, in order to reinforce their status as leader. She describes how to use a clicker to teach several basic “groundwork” behaviours, such as focus and recall. She then discusses how to use classical conditioning to improve a dogs’ emotional reaction to the presence of other dogs, and describes ways to reduce aggression by clicking appropriate behaviour. There is a section on managing a multi-dog house hold, and a chapter on aggression towards humans.
Ms Parsons is one of Karen Pryor’s clicker protégés, and as such writes from an almost purely positive viewpoint. She ascribes a near mystic status to the clicker which can grate at times: “Simply hearing a click physiologically calms your dog”…“Clicker-trained shelter animals show a quiet confidence in sharp contrast to their kennel mates’ frantic barking. No wonder they are adopted more quickly and more likely to be kept”.
My main dissapointment with this book was the fact that it focuses almost entirely on fear aggressive dogs. The author does not address health issues that can lead to aggression, and spends little time discussing dogs who are rank aggressive with other dogs, or who attack small dogs out of misplaced prey drive. The dogs in "Click to Calm" are invariably described as anxious or fearful, and the book concentrates on desensitising them to the scarey presence of other dogs.
I realise this focus does make sense for a PP book, since PP training probably does work better for dogs who would rather not be fighting as opposed to dogs who find fighting intrinsically rewarding. However I do wish the promotional material had admitted that the book was mainly about fearful dogs, instead of somewhat dishonestly promising "answers for anyone facing this most challenging behaviour problem".
Despite the harsh review, I would recommend this book to anyone with a fear aggressive dog. The theory is sensible, and the exercises are laid out in logical and easy to understand format. The author’s knowledge of learning theory and experience with fear aggressive dogs would make this a valuable reference book for owners of many dogs.
But as for me, I’m still looking for the ultimate reference book for owners of stubborn, bossy and rank aggressive little bull terriers!
“Click to Calm” begins by describing the history of Ms Parson’s own dog Ben. The author describes a typical puppy who started to display aggressive and pushy behaviour as he entered adolescence. Ms Parson booked a lesson with a “traditional” trainer who punished Ben severely with a prong collar. Understandably, this treatment escalated Ben's problem and led to severe displays of fear aggression towards other dogs. In "Click to Calm" Ms Parsons describes the purely positive methods she used to cure Ben of this learned fear.
The author starts off by recommending readers follow a NILIF type programme, in order to reinforce their status as leader. She describes how to use a clicker to teach several basic “groundwork” behaviours, such as focus and recall. She then discusses how to use classical conditioning to improve a dogs’ emotional reaction to the presence of other dogs, and describes ways to reduce aggression by clicking appropriate behaviour. There is a section on managing a multi-dog house hold, and a chapter on aggression towards humans.
Ms Parsons is one of Karen Pryor’s clicker protégés, and as such writes from an almost purely positive viewpoint. She ascribes a near mystic status to the clicker which can grate at times: “Simply hearing a click physiologically calms your dog”…“Clicker-trained shelter animals show a quiet confidence in sharp contrast to their kennel mates’ frantic barking. No wonder they are adopted more quickly and more likely to be kept”.
My main dissapointment with this book was the fact that it focuses almost entirely on fear aggressive dogs. The author does not address health issues that can lead to aggression, and spends little time discussing dogs who are rank aggressive with other dogs, or who attack small dogs out of misplaced prey drive. The dogs in "Click to Calm" are invariably described as anxious or fearful, and the book concentrates on desensitising them to the scarey presence of other dogs.
I realise this focus does make sense for a PP book, since PP training probably does work better for dogs who would rather not be fighting as opposed to dogs who find fighting intrinsically rewarding. However I do wish the promotional material had admitted that the book was mainly about fearful dogs, instead of somewhat dishonestly promising "answers for anyone facing this most challenging behaviour problem".
Despite the harsh review, I would recommend this book to anyone with a fear aggressive dog. The theory is sensible, and the exercises are laid out in logical and easy to understand format. The author’s knowledge of learning theory and experience with fear aggressive dogs would make this a valuable reference book for owners of many dogs.
But as for me, I’m still looking for the ultimate reference book for owners of stubborn, bossy and rank aggressive little bull terriers!