Reddit reviews Culture Clash
We found 13 Reddit comments about Culture Clash. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Used Book in Good Condition
Reddit reviews Culture ClashWe found 13 Reddit comments about Culture Clash. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Welcome to the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Breed. Everything you have described as good and bad qualities of the corgi is a standard for the breed. If you are unfamiliar with training, this will be a challenge! But highly manageable if you put in the time and effort.
"bad" behaviors have nothing to do with dominance - it has everything to do with instinct butting up against what humans tend to want. If you want to learn more about canine behavior, some good books to pick up are Don't Shoot the Dog and The Culture Clash.
Figuring out how to redirect a problem behavior depends on the specific problem. Have you done training classes with your corgi at a reputable training club focused on positive reinforcement? If you have not, that would be a good first step.
In addition, making sure the puppy is well exercised and has a good mix of physical and mental activities throughout the day will help reduce how much they find outlets for their energy through undesired means. Pembrokes are working dogs, high energy and highly intelligent.
Now lets look at the behaviors you have listed:
In addition, these training methodologies may prove helpful for your working breed puppy:
It is important to remember a few things about training, in general:
Why is Dominance Theory no longer used?
Dominance theory was rooted in what we thought we knew about wolves forming strict hierarchical packs and has since been debunked. Dominance does not exist in wolves in the way it was originally believed to - you can learn more here.
This is, of course, WOLVES not dogs. Using dominance theory frames up your relationship with your dog in a negative and harmful light and can make it very difficult to be successful in training. You are not a dog, your dog knows you are not a dog - they are not fighting you for power. Surprisingly, some of the theories within dominance theory also exist in Positive Reinforcement / Modern training, but in a different light. In a way, it is very much about how you understand and approach problem behaviors that really differentiates 'dominance' from modern training.
Simply using punishment in training has NOTHING to do with dominance theory - punishment (as outlined above) is used in different degrees in MOST training programs. The books I listed at the beginning of this post are really worth picking up and go in depth into how modern training is framed up, a deeper dive into what we know to be true about dog behavior and how to use all this knowledge to make your training plan the best it can be.
I can't really say anything that won't be an echo of what everyone else here has already said, but I do have a book recommendation as well: The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson. I don't really know what to say... I hope you can get your husband to watch the videos and read the books that have been suggested here. I can understand if he still thinks he needs to be the "leader" of your dog, but by god if he can't understand that hitting is wrong, then... I'm apt to side with the folks who say take the puppy back until you can agree on a training method (or rather, change his mind about the training method). It's not fair to subject a puppy to that kind of abuse, or even the confusion of two people using two different training methods. If you really want to keep the dog then maybe you can tell him that he needs to take a break from training while he does some research about training methods and after that he can have another chance.
I've also heard a story here of someone who was in a similar situation. She and her partner had a similar discrepancy in training methods, and her solution was to tell her partner that they were going to try her training method for 6 weeks, and if it didn't work they could change it. Obviously her (positive) training methods worked, and she was able to get her partner to change their mind. So maybe you could try that.
Edit: I also have to add: training can be a very emotional experience. It shouldn't be. Sometimes when people hit or yell at their dogs it is because they are frustrated that the dog is misbehaving and they take out that emotion on the dog by punishing it. Another exercise you might want to try is to have your husband take a time out whenever the puppy has an accident or does something he feels is punishment-worthy. While he's in time out, you "discipline" the dog (clean up the mess, or have a productive training session with it). After his time out, if he still feels like punishment is the right answer... Well, hopefully he won't. And you will get him to see that he is punishing because it's heat of the moment frustration. Also, if you can afford a trainer or behaviorist, I would highly recommend it. They could be a mediator between you and your husband on this issue.
Good luck.
It sounds to me like it's time to bring in a professional. Seek out someone who does force free training, if she's already bitten multiple people then using force could make things exponentially worse.
And here's a few of my favorite 'dog' books, which might help you figure out what's happening until you can find a good trainer and book an appointment.
Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor
Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson
The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller
Please don't follow Ceasar Millan's advice. He follows dominance theory which has been disproved for many years. If you want a book on dog training check out Don't Shoot The Dog by Karen Pryor. It also goes into explaining how you would train other animals, your roommates, your parents, spouse, etc. Positive reinforcement training is scientifically proven to be the most effective way to train a dog. (or a turtle, or a bird, or a human) Or you could check out The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson.
Also /r/dogtraining is great if you need advice about anything specific your dog is doing.
edit: Specifically, with your hair, you want to set up training games where you teach her when you move your hair around in exciting ways, the correct thing for her to do is not bite it, and reward her for doing so. If you follow the rolling onto their back advice, it can take a very long time for many dogs to make the connection, and be very frustrating for the dog and you. Also, it can cause her to hate being on her back and hate when you touch her muzzle, which you do not want. It will make vet visits much more stressful. This is a good video on how to stop biting and mouthing. It doesn't talk specifically about hair, but you can apply the same idea. At about 2:00 when she is shuffling her feet, that's what you want to do with your hair. Move it around and reward for not biting. It's not about being stern, it's about being consistent and showing your dog what you DO want them to do instead.
source: I am a dog trainer.
Definitely speak to management and provide direct quotes. Ask to use the other trainer, or your money back immediately so you can go elsewhere.
Look up kikopup on YouTube for some good positive training videos.
I am also a huge fan of Culture Clash by Jean Donaldaon. If looking for some good info and perspective.
> every now and then she has some dominance trip
Something I would strongly recommend before you address the problems your dog is having is to research the concept of "dominance" in dogs and the role it plays in their behaviour. The idea that common misbehaviour among dogs arises as a result of their desire to be "dominant" over you has been widely discredited by modern behavioural science and research into dog psychology. Here are some links to get you started:
http://www.apdt.com/petowners/choose/dominance.aspx
http://www.apbc.org.uk/articles/why-wont-dominance-die
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090521112711.htm
For further information, these books are excellent:
Don't Shoot The Dog by Karen Pryor
Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson
It is unlikely to be a dominance issue with your dog. As for your problems, it is hard to say exactly what is happening without watching your dog's interactions. You say when she bites at the other dog's neck when she is running/playing with them as a way of "correcting" their behaviour. Are you sure this isn't simply an instance of overenthusiastic mouthing as a result of excitement/lack of boundaries? For example, if you watch this video from the 11:20 mark, you will see the dog exhibiting biting/mouthing behaviour as a result of excitement: http://youtu.be/2wm_cWySHA4?t=11m20s
The trainer uses vocal interruption and the removal of stimulus (stopping play) to indicate to the dog that mouthing/biting is not acceptable behaviour for play. Perhaps you could apply similar methods to your dog by using a long leash and controlling her play with other dogs, interrupting play when poor behaviour is demonstrated. But as I said, I can't tell exactly how your dog is acting, and would strongly recommend getting in touch with a local positive-method trainer if she is exhibiting signs of unchecked aggression.
As to her guarding you, this is again unlikely a "dominance" issue. Her desire to protect you more likely stems from feelings of fear/insecurity, and could be addressed in the same way that food or toy resource guarding would be addressed. You need to guide your dog into realising that other dog pose no threat to you or her and she does not have to exhibit aggressiveness. You can do this through desensitisation and counterconditioning. Information on these methods can be found in the sidebar and in the training books I linked to above.
I'm going to recommend The Culture Clash, by Jean Donaldson.
https://www.amazon.com/Culture-Clash-Jean-Donaldson/dp/1617811122/ref=wl_it_dp_v_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=EB90Z6TWT7WO&coliid=I11ONUF37YZUPX
There is also a list on the side bar.
>the nicest person I've been in touch with
Thanks :) You've been pretty reasonable and interesting to talk to also (sometimes thats really hard when you're passionate about something).
So, if anything I've said so far seemed to make sense to you, I'd recommend you get and read a few books that talk about how dogs (and animals in general) "work". They're all fairly cheap, interesting / easy to read, and are written by really qualified animal behaviorists / trainers:
Patricia B. McConnell
Donaldson
(They're in /r/dogtraining's book list, but I think these 3 are a really good place to start)
They aren't going to turn you into a behaviorist just from reading those 3 books, but they'll give you a good background / base of knowledge to build on. Your girlfriend will probably think they're interesting too, and think you're pretty cool for researching / being interested in what she thinks is the best way to train / change behavior.
The person behind the biggest changes in Dog training and uncovering the myths behind the old school of thought is Dr. Ian Dunbar. He really changed the entire landscape of training. This is the book I get new puppy owners: http://www.amazon.com/Before-After-Getting-Your-Puppy/dp/1577314557
Anything else by him will also rock I'm sure. I also recommend
http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Clash-Jean-Donaldson/dp/1617811122/ref=pd_sim_b_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=05B0YMSXJHAPV8HKYE03
100% this. There's a great book on how we put human emotions onto dogs that they just don't feel. They don't understand "right" and "wrong" the way they think we do. They don't feel guilt. They also aren't able to connect past actions with current actions, so if they got into the trash an hour ago and you point at it now, they make zero connection between THEM getting in the trash and you pointing at it now. There's a great book that discusses this more: Culture Clash.
If you're really committed to training, you gotta sort of take a broader look at canine psychology and behavior instead of having a more narrow focus on breed characteristics. I would strongly recommend reading "The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson.
If you want a puppy guide, I'd check out this book or this one.
For a more general dog training guide, check out this one or this one.
Hope this helps!
> eager to please
The Eager to Please Fallacy:
by Jean Donaldson in 'The Culture Crash'
http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Clash-Jean-Donaldson/dp/1617811122/
The anthropomorphic spin on dog behaviour is not limited to exaggerations of their intelligence. We also misinterpret their regard for us. When are we going to put to bed once and for all the concept that dogs have a "desire to please"? What a vacuous, dangerous idea. I'm still waiting to meet this dog who wants to please his owner. Indeed, where is this dog who is interested at all in the internal state of his owner except with regard to how manifestations of this state impact events of relevance to the dog? Actually, let's start by tracking down a dog who can form representations of another being's internal states at all. Although praise works as a reinforcer for some individuals in the total absence of any competing motivation, this effect is limited, and casts some pretty extreme doubt on a "desire to please" module.
Closer scrutiny makes the case even weaker. Rule out, for starters, that the praise functions as a safety cue--a predictor of extremely low likelihood of aversives. This is evident in traditional obedience classes. The primary motivation is said to be praise. The primary motivation is actually avoidance of aversives, called "leash corrections". If the trainer is any good, the dog learns that if a response is praised, a correction has been avoided, and so the praise acquires meaning and relevance. But does this mean the dog is employing this sound as evidence of some internal state of the maker of the sound? This is unlikely.
Praise can also acquire some "charge" as a secondary reinforce in the day-to-day life of a dog. People tend to praise dogs more before doling out cookies, attention, walkies and games. This all is more evidence of what we already knew and should be exploiting with a tad more sophistication: dogs learn by the immediate results of their actions, and by tip-offs to important events in their lives.
And yet the use of food in training meets moralistic resistance among a staggering number of owners. I Once spoke to a traditional trainer who poured scorn on the use of food as a motivator. The line he trotted out, and which still makes me retch even to this day, was: "If you use food to train, the dog is doing it for the food and not for you." This man's dog, trained by avoidance with a strangle collar, was supposedly doing it for him because the only positive reinforcer was praise. Trainers who make claims about dogs working "to please" or strictly for praise seem oblivious to the main motivator they employ: pain. The first task in training any animal is finding out what motivates it. No motivation, no training. All animals are motivated by food, water, sex, and avoiding aversives. If they are not motivated by these at all, they die. A lot of animals can be motivated by play, attention, and the opportunity to socialize with or investigate other dogs and interesting smells. All animals can be motivated by signals that represent one of these primary reinforcers, provided the relationship between the signal and the primary is kept adequately strong. This is mostly where praise comes in, as sort of a imprecise marker that tells the animal the probability of a primary has improved. If you opt not to use positive reinforcement, you end up, like they all do, using aversives and announcing that your dog is doing it for you. Pathetic.
None of this is to say praise isn't good or important. I personally praise my dogs an embarassing amount because I like them and I like doing it. They like it when I'm in a good mood because Good Things Happen for Dogs when She's in a Good Mood. I personally love it when someone like my Kung Fu instructor, who has power over me, is in a good mood, but not because I'm genetically wired with a desire to please him. My interest in my teacher's mood is pretty selfish, and I;m supposed to be a morally advanced human. Any interest you dog has in your mood is based on what he has learned it means for him. And that's okay.
Praise does work as a primary reinforcer for some dogs. They like it enough to work for it, especially when it's the only game in town, but this is weak grounds on which to marginalize those dogs for whom praise does not work as a primary reinforcer. It is also weak grounds to support the hypothesis of an underlying mechanism of desire to please. A lot of dogs seem to kind of life praise but won't reliably work for it. This is fine. There's a difference between expressing affection to the dog, for what it's definitely worth to the human and for whatever it may be worth to the dog, and relying on praise as a principal means of motivating an animal in training or behaviour modification. In other words, don't confuse bonding activities with training and behaviour mod. For the latter, heavier artillery is usually needed.
Some people feel disappointed to discover the necessity of using heavier artillery like food and access to fund and games and other primary reinforcers in order to condition their animal. They feel like their particular dog is a lemon because "he listens when he wants to," "only does it when I have a cookie" and has in short little or no desire to please. Generations of dogs have been labeled lemons for requiring actual motivation when all along they were normal. In fact, many people are actually put off by the intensity with which dogs will work for strong primary reinforcers such as food. It too directly assaults any cherished belief they might have in the desire-to-please myth, and makes them feel less important to the dog. ("Wow, is this what motivation looks like?") I'm still waiting to meet a real dog with desire to please. If he shows up, I'll send him for therapy.
The desire to please thing has been fed, largely, by the misreading of certain dog behaviours. Dogs get excited when we come home, solicit attention and patting from us, and lick us. They are very compulsive about their greeting rituals. They often shadow us around when we're available and become gloomier or even anxious when we leave. They are highly social and genetically unprepared for the degree of absence from family members they experience in a human environment. They also bounce back amazingly well, to a point, from the immense amount of punishment we mete out at them. They monitor our every movement. I can see how this could be interpreted as worship, but it's important not to get a big ego about it: they are monitoring our every movement for signs that something might happen for dogs.
My dogs' brains are continuously and expertly checking out the behaviour of humans, working out to eight decimal places the probability at any given second of cookies, walks, attention, Frisbee and endless hours of deliriously orgasmic games with the latex hedgehog. They appear devoted to me because I throw a mean frisbee and have opposable thumbs that open cans. Not to say we don't have a bond. We both are a bonding species. But they don't worship me. I'm not sure they have a concept of worship. Their love is also not grounds for doing whatever I say. It is, in fact, irrelevant to training. To control their behaviour, I must constantly manipulate the consequences of their actions and the order and intensity of important stimuli. Interestingly, some of the most sophisticated training jobs are done where no love and little bond is present. THis is not to say that training is not one of the best ways around to foster a bond. It is. But it's not a prerequisite of training.