Product Description
Natural Dog Training is about how dogs see the world and what this means in regards to training. The first part of this book presents a new theory for the social behavior of canines, featuring the drive to hunt, not the pack instincts, as seminal to canine behavior. The second part reinterprets how dogs actually learn. The third section presents exercises and handling techniques to put this theory into practice with a puppy. The final section sets forth a training p… More >>
This training guide has an interesting theory about dog behaivour being based entirely on the hunting drive, but I don’t agree with some of the methods.
Ten years ago, I trained a dog using the “shock” method (corrections on the leash and an electrical shock collar) and will never use it again. I feel that is is abusive. I was training the dog with a trainer that charged close to $2,000.00 to teach me how to abuse my dog. Any time you jerk a leash against a dogs neck you are risking cervical injury. My dog, Bear, continued to have severe behavior problems that I now know were due to these antiquated training methods.
I finally had a behavior specialist (doggie psycologist) come to my house to work with the dogs. She recommended the following books and helped me with some basic positive-reinforcement training methods. Bear’s behaviour improved that afternoon. We recently lost hime to renal failure, and at the time of his death, he was the most gentle dog I’ve ever known.
I would recommend “The Dog Whisperer” and “The Culture Clash” (Jean Donaldson) for training without punishment.
Rating: 2 / 5
How anyone let alone the supposed”dog trainer” author can call this book natural dog training I don’t know!! I’m a dog trainer myself and there is no way ever that I would use any of his so called “natural” dog training methods!! How can prong collars and the use of electric collars in dog training be considered natural. I wonder without the use of these barbaric tools could Kevin Behan even train a dog. Has he ever heard of compassion! How can he happily write about “training” using these torturous tools? Come on America wake up quit looking for the quick fix, it’s generally done by using harsh methods. If you love your dogs look at the up to date training methods using gentle, kind, motivational methods, not these methods where you have to strike fear mentally or physically into a dog before you can get him to do what you want.
Rating: 1 / 5
I have now been reading this book for about three weeks and can’t get through it. It’s content is of very high interest and surely some “AHA” exclamations from me when I am getting the point. It is a great book for people who are more interested in reading then getting a few picture hints. There are no illustrations in this book what so ever and I probably finding it a bit boring as it feels like I am reading a novel and not a dog training book. So if you are like me and likes a bit of illustrations don’t go for this book, If you like reading only you will love this book.
Rating: 4 / 5
I got this book based on the reviews provided here. I was very disappointed with the book. If you are into the more humane method of dog training, positive reinforcement, this book is NOT for you. This books continually talks about shocking the dog to correct a behavior. Not in the electrical sense, although “that could easily be worked into this discussion.” The equipment that this books recommends are flat collars, heavy choke collars and pinch collars. I do not prefer to torture my dog into a “correct” behavior. I recommend McConnell, Rogerson, or King’s books over this one.
Rating: 1 / 5
Behan’s book is typical of many other dog training books — he has observed dogs, seen what works for him, and assumes that it’s a great method. He does make some good points. Often, I have seen some people focus on positive reinforcement as being only food rewards, and I think it’s good to focus more on life rewards. For this reason, I’m giving the book 2 stars instead of just 1.
However, the bottom line is that this book isn’t the best way. It’s clear to anyone who understands animal learning theory that Behan hasn’t done the research on the science of learning. For example, he recommends physical corrections. While animals can learn from physical corrections, scientific studies overwhelmingly support positive reinforcement and non-physical punishment (such as timeouts or removing something the dog wants from his environment) as much better methods that efficiently get reliable results with few or no side effects. Some people will argue that those opposed to physical corrections are just being politically correct. I have used physical corrections. I have seen professional trainers use physical corrections properly, and I don’t believe that they were abusing the dog. I don’t believe that physical corrections are unethical, when used properly; I simply accept the evidence that they are less effective than positive reinforcement.
As pet owners, I think we have a responsibility to them to stop choosing what people guess is best (which is what Behan does) and start choosing what has been studied and proven to be best. I’m sure these methods work for some people, but I’m just as sure that more people would benefit from the methods supported by science, and that even those who find that Behan’s methods work will find that science-based methods work better (assuming the methods are used correctly). If you’d like to learn more about science-based methods, I’d recommend Karen Pryor’s “Don’t Shoot the Dog” — the science behind these methods has been studied and tested since the 1940’s, although it has been largely ignored by dog trainers. Another book, “How Dogs Learn” by Mary Burch and Jon Bailey, is also good for learning about the science of dog training, although I saw one inaccurate comment (the book claims that physical punishment should start off gently and be increased as necessary, but actually punishment should start off severe in order to be effective). If you’re looking for detailed instructions on how to train your dog with these methods, look to Pat Miller’s “The Power of Positive Dog Training.”
Rating: 2 / 5