The Culture Clash
- Thread starter Elizabeth
- Start date
Garden_girl
New member
Okay-I'll bite (pun intended!) :LMAO:
Patricia McConnell resides here in WI, I am a faithful listener of her radio program on WPR (NPR) Calling All Pets (anyone can listen to it online). I own two of her books and several booklets she has written. My kennel club sponsored one of her seminars here, it was very successful-I think she is wonderful. In 2006, I gave her latest book - For the Love Of A Dog, as Christmas gifts to all of my 'dog' friends. She is an excellent behaviorist, IMHO. BUT, she really just scratches the surface in her book TOEOTL, about why animals behave the way they do. I have a beaten up, dog-earred (oops-another pun :lol
copy of that book as it had been THE training reference book of choice for me.
By conrast, Jean's book is very interesting in that she takes the dog out of the human world and back into the dog world and explains 'why' we have so many training problems, pointing out that the way we view dogs and their issues is wrong a lot of the time. Take 'resource guarding' for example. This is very unacceptable behavior in the human world with the potential to cause harm to an un-witting dog owner AND the dog. It's a survival technique in the dog world and perfectly acceptable, other dogs understand that. For humans, expecting dogs to assimilate into the human world with relative ease, this can be a tremendous problem. If I didn't know about resource guarding and my dog growled at me everytime I wanted to take whatever item he/she is coveting at the time-I may be inclined to label that dog viscious and surrender him to my local shelter, without understanding what's really going on and seeking help. So, there is that underlying theme throughout this book .
For someone relatively new to dogs that wants to learn basic training, I would recommend The Other End Of The Leash. It's a soft, entertaining read, has a 'life is good' attitude with wonderful training techniques. Patricia has written booklets that offer help for dogs with issues. I have used Patricias techniques (from her booklets) on fearful dogs with success. She gets more involved with the differences and similarities between humans and dogs in For The Love Of A Dog. She also recommends the book 'How Dogs Think' by Stanley Coren. I've read parts of it online, it will definitely be my next purchase.
For someone that has greater need for more in-depth understanding, or someone that has training problems with their dogs, I would recommend Culture Clash. She has also written more in-depth booklets for training issues.
Here's a word for you: anthropomorphism. Probably the most debated term (theory-wise) in the dog world among behaviorists. I believe the truth lies somewhere in-between, but anthropomorphism attributed to dogs can have serious consequences for dogs when people only think in those terms. So, I guess Culture Clash would be more of a 'think outside the box' book.
Patricia McConnell resides here in WI, I am a faithful listener of her radio program on WPR (NPR) Calling All Pets (anyone can listen to it online). I own two of her books and several booklets she has written. My kennel club sponsored one of her seminars here, it was very successful-I think she is wonderful. In 2006, I gave her latest book - For the Love Of A Dog, as Christmas gifts to all of my 'dog' friends. She is an excellent behaviorist, IMHO. BUT, she really just scratches the surface in her book TOEOTL, about why animals behave the way they do. I have a beaten up, dog-earred (oops-another pun :lol
copy of that book as it had been THE training reference book of choice for me. By conrast, Jean's book is very interesting in that she takes the dog out of the human world and back into the dog world and explains 'why' we have so many training problems, pointing out that the way we view dogs and their issues is wrong a lot of the time. Take 'resource guarding' for example. This is very unacceptable behavior in the human world with the potential to cause harm to an un-witting dog owner AND the dog. It's a survival technique in the dog world and perfectly acceptable, other dogs understand that. For humans, expecting dogs to assimilate into the human world with relative ease, this can be a tremendous problem. If I didn't know about resource guarding and my dog growled at me everytime I wanted to take whatever item he/she is coveting at the time-I may be inclined to label that dog viscious and surrender him to my local shelter, without understanding what's really going on and seeking help. So, there is that underlying theme throughout this book .
For someone relatively new to dogs that wants to learn basic training, I would recommend The Other End Of The Leash. It's a soft, entertaining read, has a 'life is good' attitude with wonderful training techniques. Patricia has written booklets that offer help for dogs with issues. I have used Patricias techniques (from her booklets) on fearful dogs with success. She gets more involved with the differences and similarities between humans and dogs in For The Love Of A Dog. She also recommends the book 'How Dogs Think' by Stanley Coren. I've read parts of it online, it will definitely be my next purchase.
For someone that has greater need for more in-depth understanding, or someone that has training problems with their dogs, I would recommend Culture Clash. She has also written more in-depth booklets for training issues.
Here's a word for you: anthropomorphism. Probably the most debated term (theory-wise) in the dog world among behaviorists. I believe the truth lies somewhere in-between, but anthropomorphism attributed to dogs can have serious consequences for dogs when people only think in those terms. So, I guess Culture Clash would be more of a 'think outside the box' book.
Last edited:
Garden_girl
New member
Well, I have to tell ya, Angela - get a good night's sleep before you go. :lol: A trainer friend of mine went to one of her seminars. She said she was a brilliant speaker, the thoughts and words literally just flow out of her. But, she said it takes a lot to keep up with her as some of it can be complicated and she waits for no one taking notes. :LMAO: If she were coming here, I would definitely go, even though I need time to process stuff, I'm sure I'd get my money's worth.
