Culture Clash Description:

Culture Clash review:
2 stars ("Positive Training" = A Negative Learning Experience?) -

I admire Jean Donaldson and her ideas. And what a pleasure it was to read something by a trainer who has a "so what?" attitude toward the "rules" about showing your dog you're alpha. She really sticks it to trainers whose techniques rely too much on the old alpha myth* (which accounts for the two stars, above). But what Donaldson fails to realize is that operant conditioning is almost as big a myth as the alpha theory (which accounts for there only being two stars).



One of her main points is that "traditional" training (meaning dominance) creates negative side-effects, which is the main reason I gave up using those techniques years ago (in 1992) and turned to operant conditioning as a possible alternative. What I found, though, is that not all behavior can be learned (or unlearned) through conditioning. I also found that instinctive behaviors tend to override conditioned ones, and that a training system based primarily on food rewards (and by extension, clickers, since their effectiveness is dependant on the association made between the click and being given a food treat) can also create a negative learning experience for a dog. The truth is, food makes for a great inducement for most behaviors, but it's a rather shaky reinforcement.



Someone reading this might say: Wait, go back a second. Did you just say that food rewards create a negative learning experience? That's impossible to believe. I mean, after all, it's called positive reinforcement, right?



Yes, but "operant conditioning" works best when you use INTRINSIC REINFORCERS, meaning they're directly related to the behavior being learned. And food is not directly related to any obedience behavior other than sitting on command, or to a lesser degree to coming when called. On the other hand, EXTRINSIC REINFORCERS, which is what food usually is, don't work as well. Not only that but, according to the behavioral textbooks, extrinsic reinforcers can actually undermine the effectiveness of intrinsic reinforcers or just plain ruin the learning process entirely. How positive is that?



Imagine you're a dog and you have strong instincts to chase things and bite them. That's what really floats your boat. The dominance trainer says, "Don't use your predatory energy or I'll punish you," and the dog learns to obey by repressing those instincts, which leaves him feeling unfulfilled. The clicker trainer says, "There's no need to use that energy-look! I've got a cookie!" And the dog learns to obey by giving up what he really loves for some instant gratification of a lesser kind. And although his tummy is now full he still feels empty inside. A smart trainer would say, "What great instincts you have! Let's play a game that lets you use them by obeying my commands!" And the dog learns to obey because it just feels good, naturally. He feels totally happy and emotionally fulfilled because the reinforcement is built into the learning process and, thus, into the behavior itself.



So, which of these models of learning is really the most positive for the dog? And which is the most effective?



Nobel Prize winning biologist Konrad Lorenz said, "All animals learn best through play." So while I'd read CULTURE CLASH for a fresh viewpoint about dogs, I definitely wouldn't use it as a training manual. Buy a copy of PLAY TRAINING YOUR DOG by Patricia Gail Burnham, instead. Or better yet, try the more comprehensive NATURAL DOG TRAINING, by Kevin Behan. Both methods work via intrinsic reinforcers. It's kind of like the difference between learning something slowly and painfully by rote, through endless repetitions, and learning it instantly and permanently by being "in the zone."



*(The top wolf experts don't even like to use the word alpha anymore because, as Dr. L. David Mech puts it, "it falsely implies a hierarchical system." (Canadian Journal of Zoology, 2002). No Alpha Wolf + No Hierarchy = No Alpha Theory.)


5 stars (Dogs aren't "furry people") - Many dog owners regard their dogs as "furry people" or children. I LOVE my dogs but they are wonderful in their own right as dogs. This book explains in an entertaining way why dogs should be allowed to be dogs and helps people understand why this is better.



It's a standard reference book for dog enthusiasts.
4 stars (Great book for all dog lovers) - Ms Donaldson explains how we can help our dogs be better doggie citizens by working with their dog minds and behaviours and not turning them into people. I learn something every time I pick it up. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to learn about dog training.