This is the book that I give as a gift to new dog owners. Nothing else I have read, especially books by some of the more well known (as in "seen-on-TV") dog trainers has made me understand my dog better, nor has dog behavior ever been explained more clearly. ( )

This book looks at dog training more from the dog's point of view, and I found it so inspiring that I lent it to friends who never returned it, and so I don't have it here to leaf through for this review.

I liked Jean Donaldson's emphasis on the fact that dogs are dogs and not people. One thing I found interesting was her discussion of how dogs don't generalize in the way that we do. That's why a dog may respond to Sit beautifully in the living room but not in the bedroom. The solution? Train in many places.

This groundbreaking book can be scathing on the force-based methods of dog training that have been the mode for too long. At times, I got tired of that aspect of Culture Clash. But then, the cutting edge is often just that... cutting. ( )

Must read (and own) book for dog owners. Great protocols for common problems, and changes your view of how dogs think. ( )

Jean Donaldson's book is hard going, but rewards the reader's effort, ultimately, in seeking to disabuse us of the notion of the 'Walt Disney dog' who exists solely to please us.

It's Donaldson's contention that our reluctance to believe that dogs are anything other than self-interested beings has hindered our understanding of the creatures themselves for years, and her book attempts to set out the hows and the whys in dog behaviour, and harness this information to inform the training process.

On the down side, this book is a very tough read, through the author's use of technical language from the spheres of behavioural science and psychology. On many occasions, I had to read the same sentence several times before I understood what it was Donaldson was trying to say.

And by 'many', I don't mean three or four, I mean literally every page. Also, an assumed knowledge of scientific terms doesn't aid the flow, and it took me almost a week to complete the read of what is, really, a relatively short book.

That said, it's a fascinating, illuminating read, and makes a lot of sense (or seems to), although it can read a little extreme, in places.

Having spent the most part of the book outlining the science and the principles, the final section contains a whole series of graduated training exercises for you and the dog (there are training examples throughout the text, too), and these look really good, although Mali and I have yet to work on them properly.

Not a book for the faint hearted, purely because of the writing style, which, seriously, is a big hurdle. But very, very good - that writing style cost it the fifth star. ( )

Donaldson is one of the best authors on dog behavior, imo. I learn from each and every one of her books. ( )