Jean Donaldson - The Culture Clash

N E W S E C O N D E D I T I O N

"A very definite two paws up!" Dr. Ian Dunbar Contents

CULTUR

THE

E

Acknowledgements.............................................6

Foreword by Dr. Ian Dunbar.....................................7

CLASH

1. Getting the Dogs Perspective.................................9

(Dog Intelligence and Morality)

2, HardWiring: What the Dog Comes With....................... 23

(Predatory and Social Behavior)

3. Socialization, Fear and Aggression.............................53

(Biters and Fighters)

4. Its All Chew Toys to Them..................................95

(Behavior Problems and Solutions)

5. Lemon Brains But We Still Love Them........................121

(How Dogs Learn)

6. Nuts and Bolts of Obedience Training.........................159

(Sequences for Training and Proofing)

A revolutionary new way of Recommended Reading.......................................203

understanding the relationship between humans and domestic dogs Jean Donaldson

THE

CULTURE CLASH

Jean Donaldson

James & Kenneth

P U B L I S H E R S

The Culture Clash

1996, 2005 Jean Donaldson

First published in 1996 by:

James & Kenneth Publishers

2140 Shattuck Avenue #2406

Berkeley, California 94704

1-800-784-5531

James & KennethUK

Cathargoed Isaf, Golden Grove

Carmarthen, Dyfed SA32 8LY

01558-823237

James & KennethOZ

P O Box 1715

Gawler SA 5116

8-8523-2004

Second Edition published in 2005

Printed in the United States of America

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used in reviews, no part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher.

ISBN 1-888047-05-04

Acknowledgments

Iwould like to express my deepest gratitude to the unparalleled Ian Dunbar, for his advice, encouragement, influence and inspiration over the last fifteen years, Paul Klein and Janis Bradley for the spectacular editing of the second edition, Jennifer Murray for the beautiful photography, and Martin Coles for inestimable help on the first edition, including the cover concept.

Eternal thanks also to the following: Bob Bailey, Carolyn Clark, Helen Colombo, Irene and Bill Donaldson, Shirley Donovan, Alichan Hajjar, Bon Hong, Kin Hong, Delva Howell, Joan McCordick, Cathy McNaughton, Judy Miller, Kim Moeller, Gina Phairas, Kathy Pickel, Diana Shannon and Julie Webber.

Foreword

The Culture Clash is special. Jean Donaldsons first book is quite simply the very best dog book I have ever read. It is utterly unique, fascinating to the extreme, and literally overflowing with oodles of information that is so new it virtually redefines the state of the art in dog behavior and training.

Written in Jeans informal yet precise lecture style, the book races along on par with a good thriller. In fact, I read the manuscript of the first edition three times in a row before the book was even published. The long-awaited arrival of a second edition has given me the delightful excuse to read The Culture Clash for a sixth time. The second edition is substantially revised and expanded (with an extra eleven thousand words). And, the second edition is even better and much more thought-provoking than the first.

The Culture Clash depicts dogs as they really arestripped of their Hollywood fluff, with their inimitably existentialist right-now, can I eat it, chew it, urinate on it, whats in it for me? philosophy. Jeans tremendous affection for dogs shines through at all times, as does her keen insight into the dogs mind.

Relentlessly she champions the dogs point of view, always showing concern for their education and well being.

The Culture Clash joins a very distinctive group of dog training classics and it runs at the head of the pack. The Culture Clash has a refreshingly original perspective and always cuts to the chaseno ifs and no butsheres the storyeducate your dog! Without a doubt, Jeans book is the hottest doggy item on the marketthe quintessential book for dog owners and dog trainers alikea very definite two paws up! Do yourself and your dogs a big favor: give it a read. And lets look forward to many more books by Jean Donaldson.

Ian Dunbar

Berkeley, California

8th June 2005

For Lassie

Getting the Dogs Perspective

Abook published in the early 1990s refers to the moral code of dogs.

It became a bestseller. It seems that most people still buy into the Walt Disney dog: he is Very Intelligent, has morals, is capable of planning revenge, solves complex problems, and understands the value of the artifacts in Walts home. Nobody wants B.F. Skinners dog: the input-output black box who is so obviously not the furry member of our family. Its been marketed all wrong, I think. Skinner was right but has gotten bad press. The truth must be presented in a way that people will start to buy into. They have to, because not getting it has led to the death of countless dogs. Here is an example to illustrate the difference.

Walt Disney vs. B.F. Skinner

A dog has been reprimanded every time he was caught chewing furniture. Now the dog refrains from chewing furniture when the owner is home but becomes destructive when left alone. When the owner comes home and discovers the damage, the dog slinks around, ears back and head down.

Walts view: The dog learns from the reprimand that chewing furniture is wrong. The dog resents being left alone and, to get back at the owner, chews the furniture when the owner leaves. He deliberately, in other words, engages in an act he knows to be wrong. When the owner comes home the dog feels guilty about what he has done.

BFs view: The dog learns that chewing furniture is dangerous when the owner is present but safe when the owner is gone. The dog is slightly anxious when left alone and feels better when he chews. It also helps pass the time. Later, when the owner comes home, the dog behaves appeasingly in an attempt to avoid or turn off the harsh treatment he has learned often happens at this time.

The owners arrival home and/or pre-punishment demeanor have become a predictor: the dog knows hes about to be punished. But he doesnt know why.

THE CULTURE CLASH

There is no question whatsoever that the second view is correct. The question is really no longer which interpretation is the truth but rather why anyone still argues the point. Amazingly, this information has been around for decades, yet most people who own dogs havent learned it yet. If peoples knowledge about driving cars were similar to their knowledge about driving dogs, theyd try going across lakes and then sue the manufacturer when the thing didnt float.

Dogs are extremely prevalent in our society, though not as prevalent as cars.

One reason for our astonishingly poor understanding of dogs might be extremely slow trickle down from experts: trainers educating one owner or one class at a time rather than something on the scale of public service announcements or spots on Oprah.

But I think theres a second reason for the slow acceptance of realistic interpretations of dog behavior: simple reluctance to let go of anthropomorphism. Behaviorism, made famous by Skinner, has suffered some serious backlash since its assault on the world of psychology in the mid-twentieth century, largely because it could be successfully argued that hardcore behaviorism comes up short for understanding humans in all their mega-brain complexity. When it comes to animal training and behavior modification, however, the fit is incredibly good. But in the case of dog training and behavior modification, it would seem no amount of evidence makes the behaviorist model palatable to the average dog owner. The implications of this are really important.