Don't shoot the dog!
A Better Way to Better Behavior Karen Pryor's clear and entertaining explanation of behavioral training methods made Don't Shoot the Dog! a bestselling classic. Now this revised edition presents more of her insights into animal--and human--behavior. A groundbreaking behavioral scientist and dynamic animal trainer, Karen Pryor is a powerful proponent of the principles and practical uses of positive reinforcement in teaching new behaviors. Here are the secrets of changing behavior in pets, kids--even yourself--without yelling, threats, force, punishment, guilt trips...or shooting the dog: *The principles of the revolutionary "clicker training" method, which owes its phenomenal success to its immediacy of response--so there is no question what action you are rewarding *8 methods of ending undesirable habits--from furniture-clawing cats to sloppy roommates *The 10 laws of "shaping" behavior-for results without strain or pain through "affection training" *Tips for house-training the dog, improving your tennis game, or dealing with an impossible teen *Explorations of exciting new uses for reinforcement training Learn why pet owners rave, "This book changed our lives!" and how these pioneering techniques can work for you too.
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19recommend
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96% recommend4% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- > When you train a dog, you have to give a reward very soon after the desired behavior, otherwise the dog won't associate the reward with the behavior
Regarding dog training, one can use a placeholder for the reward. This is useful, for example, if you want to reward a dolphin jumping through a hula, because you will not be able to give the reward at that moment, but for example, you can say "yes!" or use a clicker at that moment, and give the reward later, and it will be clear what caused it.
For anyone training any animal, I recommend the book: Don't Shoot the Dog! The New Art of Teaching and Training by Karen Pryor (not affiliated in any way)
- I saw a trainer in my neighborhood kick a puppy in the face to get it to pay attention. This alpha crap has got to end.
The only resources you need:
Don't Shoot The Dog: https://archive.org/details/PSYDontShootTheDogKarenPryor
The Other End of the Leash: why we do what we do around dogs https://archive.org/details/otherendofleashw0000mcco
- The author of that book has been writing about behavior for years. And yet when I once sent him a picture of B. F. Skinner, he didn’t know who that was.
If you really think you need to optimize yourself, I’d recommend to skip the millennial bestseller lists and to closer to the source.
A few recommendations:
Self Help Without the Hype (R. Epstein) Tiny Habits (BJ Fogg) Self-Directed Behavior: Self-Modification for Personal Adjustment (Watson/Tharp) Don't Shoot the Dog (Pryor)
Really, just the first one will likely be enough.
- Read “Don’t Shoot the Dog” by Karen Pryor. Use operant conditioning to change their behavior. Make them your bitch.
- Indeed, it will not. Operant conditioning theory says that punishing someone almost always leads to more negative behavior.
Every leader and manager should read “Don’t Shoot the Dog” by Karen Pryor, as it clearly explains this and many other common mistakes that such people make when trying to influence or direct employee behavior.
- I felt addicted to the internet a year before the pandemic. I read the book “Don’t shoot the dog” and it had so many amazing training tips to kick that addiction. Am I a dog? No. But the training and reinforcement is pretty much universal. Having tools to deal with addiction is important.
Mindfulness sadly isn’t the big aha! moment. I know I was addicted. I know I wanted to change. This is why they say “admitting you have a problem” is the first step.
It’s not a matter of knowing you’re addicted and then suddenly stopping. That can happen, but more likely an incremental approach will happen. B.J. Fogg’s book about tiny habits talks about this epiphany moment being quite rare.
Only a couple times in my life have I had this epiphany moment and went cold turkey overnight. Once when I was larger and struggling to hike with friends like I used to. Another when I was playing video games and felt deja vu that made me feel like I wasted years of my life. Now, I’m in the best shape of my life and work on things I’m passionate about in my free time.
