Ranger Recommends Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor

Don't Shoot the Dog: The New Model of Teaching and Training
by Karen Pryor

In Don’t Shoot the Dog, Karen Pryor provides magnificently managed descriptions of positive reinforcement clicker based training. This book is  the most fundamental text on the subject of clicker based training. Pryor’s book gives you a sound understanding of the process of using a clicker as an adjunct to positive reinforcement training. The book is delightfully written and laden with engaging stories. I especially enjoyed her description of teaching a kitten to play the piano—literally to play a simple song. Pryor is a gifted teacher and writer. As well as ways to employ positive reinforcement principles with animals she includes suggestions on how to change negative behavior of human beings into more pleasant interactions.  I finished the book energized and anxious to put the things I had learned to work. It made me a better and more effective trainer for Ranger.  I consider this book to be one of those that are essential reading for everyone who wants to train animals.