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How to Behave So Your Dog Behaves
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Average customer rating:

Dog Training Lite, B+ : Understanding Your Dog's Instincts, D-
best dog training book in my library
Clear, Concise and Intelligent
Great book on dog behavior and training!
If you own a dog - get this book !!

How to Behave So Your Dog Behaves
Sophia A. Yin
Manufacturer: TFH Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0793805430

Book Description

Dr. Sophia Yin's How to Behave so Your Dog Behaves will not only teach you how to get the best behavior you can can from your dog, but help you forge a deeper relationship with your canine companion. This instructional guide provides:

-a positive, scientifically sound approach to behavior modification with clear, straightforward explanations;

-an in-depth guide to not only understanding dogs, but also understanding how to efectively communicate with them;

-friendly, instructional drawings that enhance training concepts;

-problem solving exercises and spot quizzes that reinforce learning.

Dog owners and trainers alike will benefit from a clearer understanding of how changing their own behavior will result in a well-behaved dog.

Customer Reviews:

Dog Training Lite, B+ : Understanding Your Dog's Instincts, D-.......2007-01-26

I'd been hearing good things about Sophia Yin for a while, and since I like to keep up with new trainers who've got innovative ideas, I thought I'd give this book a look-see. Sad to say, I was more than a bit disappointed. Before I go further, I'm an author myself, so I don't want anyone to NOT buy this book based on my review. It's actually a fun, easy to read manual, giving the reader the basic highlights to the methods used by "modern, positive" trainers. I loved the clever, nicely drawn illustrations. The writing is clear and concise. And, as with most "positive" training manuals, if you follow the methods carefully you probably won't screw your dog up too much, at least not like you would by following the advice in books by the Monks of New Skete, or Cesar Millan. I call the kind of approach Yin uses "dog training lite", and give HOW TO BEHAVE SO YOUR DOG BEHAVES a B+ in that arena.

Here's my main criticism: dogs have deep, instinctive needs that Yin and most "positive reinforcement" based trainers don't understand. Their philosophy, and Yin's, is that play is just another way of rewarding good behavior. That's okay, there's nothing wrong with that, but Yin doesn't seem to understand that there's actually a lot more to play than mere positive reinforcement. It's the basis for all learning in dogs, because even though they no longer need to hunt for a living, their instincts still make them need to behave as if they did. That's why most of the games dogs play involve some aspect of their prey drive.

Here's Yin's view: "Both wolves and dogs have a prey drive, but the drive is more dangerous in the wolf. Thus,...tripping and squealing in the presence of a wolf could trigger an attack."

Perhaps it would trigger an attack, but it WOULDN'T trigger the prey drive. What she's describing is more of a fear-based reflex than a predatory motor pattern. And by the way, a dog's prey drive--if not given a proper outlet through play--is actually a lot more dangerous than the wolf's prey drive could ever be. In a later chapter Yin almost says as much, in that she tells us that the prey drive is what causes dogs to chase and bite children, which is partially true. But Yin neglects to mention, or even consider, that the prey drive is also what causes dogs to want to heel, and stay, and come when called. In fact, almost all obedience behaviors have their origins in the predatory motor patterns of wild wolves. Even the very act of obedience is directly related to the way wolves hunt together in a spirit of group harmony and cooperation.

Which brings up another problem: Yin perpetuates the outmoded view that canine social behavior centers around conflicts over who's alpha and who's not. This idea, which has now been disproven, was based on studies done in the 1930s and 40s on wolves living under the stress of captivity. Wild wolves don't form hierarchies. So what we've been taught were "dominant and submissive" behaviors are based on stress, and are not part of a dog's natural social instincts. Yet in HOW TO BEHAVE SO YOUR DOG BEHAVES, Yin frequently refers to dogs wanting to "wear the pants in the family", and has a whole chapter on "Dominance Aggression: A Struggle for Status", making her no different philosophically in this one regard than the Monks & Cesar Millan!

I DO give Dr. Yin points for printing "The Misbehavior of Organisms", a 1961 article from AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST, which details some conditioning failures where a group of various species were taught to push a button to get food, but ultimately preferred producing instinctive food-related behaviors even though those behaviors weren't reinforced. In fact, an experiment with a group of pigs had to be stopped or the animals would've starved to death! As a result, the authors of the study, Keller and Marian Breland (now Marian Bailey), wrote, "There are definite weaknesses in the philosophy underlying these techniques." There still are; instincts still trump conditioning, as any dog owner who's tried to lure his dog away from chasing squirrels or the neighbor's cat could tell you.

I don't mean to be too hard on Yin personally. I gave the book 3 stars, and I wish her well. At least her techniques don't usually CREATE behavioral problems like the Monks and Cesar's do (though clicker training has been shown to cause hyper-anxiety, and to increase scavenging and counter-surfing problems in some dogs). And as I said, this is a great version of a "dog training lite" manual. I just think that Yin needs a better understanding of the power of play, and what your dog's prey drive is really all about.

best dog training book in my library.......2007-01-24

This is hands down the best book on training dogs I have read. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give it a 6. Although I would have preferred actual pictures to the drawings, the drawings are entertaining and effectively illustrate the points being made. Her techniques are kind to the dog, easy to follow and have very effective results. I've begun using the techniques described in this book with a dog I recently adopted who had been badly abused in his prior life. He responds with enthusiasm, and really enjoys his lessons. I would recommend this book to anyone who owns a dog, whether they think their dog needs training or not!

Clear, Concise and Intelligent.......2005-12-04

I found this book extremely useful in training dogs. The emphasis is on understanding dog behavior so that you can effectively communicate with them. I have seen vast improvements in the dogs I have employed her technique on and I highly recommend this book!

Great book on dog behavior and training!.......2005-11-19

Sophia Yin has one of the best approaches I have read to explaining how dog's learn and then applying this to effective, humane training techniques. She not only explains "how to" but "how come." I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has invited a dog to become part of the family.

If you own a dog - get this book !! .......2005-11-17

"How to Behave" is packed with useful information on everything from how dogs learn to reading a dog's expression to what you can do if your dog barks too much. The material is presented in a style that is easy to understand and use to successfully train your dog. The exercises were very effective and easy to follow. Illustrations in the book are often funny and aid in conveying the large amount of information. I found the secton on reading and understanding a dog's posture and body signals especially valuable not only for my own dog but also when I meet unfamiliar ones. My only criticism is that if this book had been written a few years ago, my favorite dress shoes may not have become doggie chew toys.

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