Oh Behave!: Dogs from Pavlov to Premack to Pinker

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 264 pages
• Published by: Dogwise Publishing April 7, 2008
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1929242522
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1929242528
• Book Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Weighs: 15.2 ounces

Reader Reviews
I bought this book, sight unseen, because Jean Donaldson wrote it. One of her other books, The Culture Clash: A Revolutionary New Way to Understanding the Relationship Between Humans and Domestic Dogs, is generally regarded as one of the top books in dog training and animal behavior. That said, here are some things I wish I had known before I bought this book. First, almost all the chapters start with a "Dear Jean" letter sent in from a reader. Since it is a Q&A format, the answers sometimes seem specific to the question. Second, she also highlights the "Key Concepts" that are covered in that chapter. However, sometimes I feel that these concepts are merely touched on, not always 100% covered, because they are often huge topics. Third, I wish I had thumbed through the table of contents to get a rough outline of the book's sections to understand if it would be useful to me overall. At the risk of disclosing too much, here are the section and chapter headings. Section 1: Behavior Chemistry and Constraints: How We Choose Our Dogs Test Your Dog's IQ Observation vs Interpretation Wolf Behavior Patterns Social Organization Models; A Mind Virus Neonate Puppies The Owner Signature: How We Build Our Dogs What Is Play? Dog Cognition Research Ambivalence and Conflicting Motivation Nutrition and Behavior Malingering: Do Dogs Ever Fake It? Section 2: Training Dog Training Philosophies Puritanism and Reward Training Pavlov in Everyday Life Prompting and Fading Shaping Exploiting Premack's Principle Ringwise Dogs Training Deaf Dogs Managing Barrier Frustration Home Alone Training Scratching the Rescue Itch Section 3: Behavior problems A Problem According to Whom? Marking Barking Oh Behave! Love and Mounting Car Whining Behavior Problems in Geriatric Dogs Understanding and Executing Time Outs for Dogs High Performance Dogs Dogs and Cats Small Dog Syndrome Tales From The Potty Training Trenches Section 4: Fear & Anxiety Better Safe Than Sorry: Fear Compulsive Disorders in Dogs Understanding Psychotropic Medications for Dogs Desensitization to Veterinarian Visits Separation Anxiety Do Dogs Pick Up Their Owners' Prejudices? Section 5: Aggression The Dog Bite Epidemic Aggression Prognosis Estimates Resource Guarding in Puppies Resource Guarding Prevention Fighting Dog Rehabilitation Predatory Drift Breed Specific Legislation and Behavior Section 6: Genetics & Evolution My Genes Made Me Do It Genes and Behavior Adaptive Significance of Various Dog Behaviors Chows vs Border Collies Theories of Domestication Breeder Power Dog Moms and Other Evolutionary Misfires Last night, I read through the chapters in section 1. I have to say that I think that each chapter is going to be hit or miss with me. For example, the chapter called "Chemistry and Constraints: How We Choose Our Dogs" wasn't that enlightening. Jean even admits that there isn't a lot of research about how we choose our dogs, and she confesses, "So, using a wholly rigorous approach -- mulling it over in the shower and chatting with some dog friends -- I have generated the following list of dog choice factors." At least she's honest, but in a book that throws Pavlov, Premack, and Pinker in the title, I figured the conclusions would be based more in research than mulling it over. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the chapter called "Observation vs Interpretation." She contrasts the behaviorism school of thought versus other interpreters, and I'm pretty sure she's implying folks like Caesar Millan in the later case. It's pretty clear from the subtext that she doesn't like the whole "the dog is displaying his dominance" school of thought. In the end, I think I'll end up marking the chapters that are worth reading, and then taking the bibliography in the back and doing some further reading. This book is almost like a series of blog posts strung together, and although that's not really what I look for in a book, it's probably a good starting point for learning more about what we really know about animal behavior science.