Reaching the Animal Mind: Clicker Training and What it Teaches us about all Animals by Karen Pryor


Posted on May 14, 2009
By Tanya Turgeon



Scribner, 2009
258 pages
$25.00

    If you're the dog owner who bought a dog clicker  when you first got your dog, tried it a few times, and then left it forgotten in a junk drawer (like I did); it's time to get it out, dust it off, and read Reaching the Animal Mind. It will confirm you had no idea what you were doing the first time (as I apparently didn't), inspire you to give it another go, and leave you feeling smarter just for having read it.

    Karen Pryor shows herself to be one part scientist, one part writer, and two parts genius with bits of biologist, behaviorist, psychologist, and grandmother thrown in. It would be a mistake to say she simply takes a dog training method touched on by so many others (including Sundance in The Dog Rules) and stretches it into an entire book. In truth, without Pryor clicker training wouldn't even exist. Her exploration and development of no force training techniques with dolphins in the 1960s led directly to the clickers of today.

    As a purveyor of information, Pryor provides ample anecdotes and case studies on how this approach has been successfully utilized. A constantly barking rottweiler learned to be calm and quiet without reprimand, punishment, fear, or dominance. A schipperke got creative with a clicker thinking game encouraging new behavior. Even more amazing are Pryor's experiences taking this beyond Canis lupus familiaris. She trained a fish, a hermit crab, a wolf, and witnessed it work on an octopus. Even humans have benefitted under Pryor's tutelage (among others, a golfer improved his swing and an autistic 3 year old learned to spit-out his toothpaste) leading to a whole new way of teaching (check out www.tagteach.com, it's fascinating!)

    Pryor's explanations are like a light bulb coming on...over and over again. Communication is clearly essential but the concept that the clicker allows information to be conveyed at a precise moment may be new. You quickly realize that any behavior you could possibly want, your dog already does. It's just a matter of providing a cue and positive reinforcement. If you're anything like me you will be not be able to resist trying it out within a few chapters. Just be sure to eventually read from cover to cover as Pryor has hidden the step-by-step guide to hand-targeting (which to my great excitement my pit bull learned in 5 minutes) in the very back behind the glossary.

    If you've read too many dog training books yielding little results you may understandably be a bit skeptical. Don't forget that at Pryor's core is a fact-seeking proof-providing scientist. She takes time to track down top neuroscientists (to the brink of stalking) to confirm why it works (because the click enters the brain via the amygdala, which registers memory and emotion). Plus you can always see for yourself at the website www.reachingtheanimalmind.com, which has been set up to directly correspond with training examples described in the book.
    
    Any type of dog training requires patience and you can start by practicing now as Reaching the Animal Mind won't be available until June 16th. Until then resist picking up any old clicker training book as with all things it's best coming straight from the creator. If you feel the need for a quick fix track down a copy of Pyror's Don't Shoot the Dog (1984, revised 1999) and place a pre-order for Reaching the Animal Mind at amazon.com.
 
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