Karen Pryor (1932–2025)

`Reaching the Animal Mind' far surpasses what I expected when I ordered a book to help me get my dog to stop barking. While It has what I was looking for (thank you very much), it also has much, much more.

Pryor's book should be required reading for any animal trainer, veterinarian, zoologist, pet owner or anyone else who interacts with animals on a regular basis. She clearly explains the principles and methods of operant (AKA `clicker') training and cites many examples of how the desired show more behavior was achieved. Her examples, each with a step-by-step description of how it is done, includes training an entire kennel of barking dogs to sit quietly in their cages, teaching six dolphins to leap out of the water and spin in perfect synchronization, and even to teach a hermit crab to ring a bell.

Another excellent feature about this book is the presence links to online slideshows and videos that demonstrate some of the techniques described in the book.

While not many people are interested in training hermit crabs the point is that the same basic techniques can be used to train just about any animal to do, or not do, just about anything. I was able to successfully teach my dog to catch and retrieve a frisbee using Ms. Pryor's techniques so I can personally vouch for their effectiveness. I highly recommend this book. show less

This was SO AMAZING. It talkes about the amygdala (the brain part I was named after LOL) and all of the physical things that happen with a noise like a click that can't happen with voice-training. She also gives a totally scientific argument against aversion training... I'm using so many things from this book and I thought I did a decent job before training my animals... now even Mama knows a trick (my stylish and oh-so-cooler-than-thou cat) and we're all happier.

There is a lot of books on clicker training now, but I believe she is one of the first that started propagating the practice. In the book she covers training dolphins/whales and several different animals including dogs. Even if one doesn't want to use a clicker, I think understanding the psychology behind why it works is important. I still find using a a clicker as annoying, but I can see and understand that it works VERY well. From this book you can still learn about the importance of show more timing and consistency of your signal. show less

There is a lot of books on clicker training now, but I believe she is one of the first that started propagating the practice. In the book she covers training dolphins/whales and several different animals including dogs. Even if one doesn't want to use a clicker, I think understanding the psychology behind why it works is important. I still find using a a clicker as annoying, but I can see and understand that it works VERY well. From this book you can still learn about the importance of show more timing and consistency of your signal. show less