Customer Reviews

The Thinking Dog: Crossover to Clicker Training (Dogwise Training Manual)

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I love this book! I am a 12 year veteran of "traditional" dog training and wanted to see what clicker training was all about. I purchased this book and it is a fabulous cross-over manual! A must have for dog trainers who are interested in dabbling in clicker training!

Many years ago when I started training, I used a book by Gail Fisher to help me become a better instructor. At that time, I was doing traditional training since that is really all that existed then. Several years later I am now very happy as a crossover trainer and have never been more intrigued by dogs and how they learn. So what better way to continue learning about clicker training than with someone who has "been there, done that"! Gail's book provides so much information on how to crossover to clicker training. I could see myself in so many of the issues she discussed. It would have been SO HELPFUL to have this book as I crossed over in my own training methods. This is a must read for anyone who loves dogs and wants to learn how they think and how to train them better. You'll understand why and how clicker training works and get your answers to all the common questions raised when you crossover to this method of training!

"The Thinking Dog" is a great book on dog training. Gail uses both professional and personal insights into a subject which she has pioneered, dog training, to guide and enlighten both the beginner and seasoned pro dog trainer. This book is bound to become one of the must reads in the dog training world. If you are or are thinking about using positive clicker training, you need to read this book!

The Thinking Dog is a great book for the training library. Gail has an easy style of writing and takes an experienced based approach to a controversial topic of training methodolgy. She does not say one method is right or another wrong, just why this method works better in her experience. She outlines her progession through different methods and points out that all of us are cross-over trainers. I've recommended the book to others and bought a second copy for our training library. Every trainer can find something to use in this book. Gail, thanks for a super book that's a great resource for our library and trainers.

Susan Briggs
Urban Tails, LLC
Houston, TX

As pointed out in the book, few of us come to clicker training without being influenced by the ideas and methods which have their source in traditional dog training methods. As a practical training manual this book is a very thorough and comprehensive treatment of the problems faced by such "crossover trainers". Gail's writing helps to clarify muddled thinking so that we know exactly what true "clicker training" is (when say compared to training with a clicker), how it works, what skills we need to properly apply clicker training, and how to overcome any problems that may crop up from time to time. A Highly Recommended practical training manual.
In my opinion two other books are good companions to this book - the more academic but thoroughly readable "How Dogs Learn" by Mary R Burch and Jon S. Bailey, and "Reaching the Animal Mind" by Karen Pryor, a more anecdotal and general book about her training methods for animals, from hermit crabs and dolphins to horses, by using markers to mark desirable behaviour and rewarding it. Note that unlike "The Thinking Dog", I feel that neither of these latter two books are intended to be comprehensive practial training manuals, but they do provided very good good background information on the marker method and its application.

I bought this book because I wanted to learn all about clicker training, from teaching the behavior all the way thru to getting reliable responses without the use of food. This book did exactly that! This is my dog training manual. It covers all aspects of clicker training in very easy to comprehend way. Perfect combination of humorous stories and training tips. I can go to this book whenever I have a problem and find the answer. A must have book for anyone that wants to be a "Real" clicker trainer.

This book is for the "thinking trainer". It is right up there with Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson, and Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor. If you are looking for a book that will provide in-depth, well illustrated, cross-referenced information on the thinking behind the training, you'll love the book. Read it, digest it and read it again. Its pages are destined to become well-worn and marked up. Like others who have reviewed this book, I wish I had gotten my hands on it sooner. However, if you are looking for a recipe book that takes you step-by-step through training sequences, don't bother. There are plenty of "recipe" training books out there. This isn't one of them.

This is the perfect book for anyone thinking of crossing over in methods AND for those who want to know even more about the principles of clicker training. The author is a former traditional trainer who I think is the perfect voice of how and why to cross over to positive training for all dogs. (And she also believes positive does not equal permissive and includes a section on the proper use of punishment.) I have been using lure/reward and verbal marker training for 10 years now and this book has already helped me be even clearer in my communication with dogs during training. I think everyone who trains dogs should read this book. It will improve training skills regardless of methods because there is alot of fabulous information relating to timing of rewards that I think will be useful to all dogs and their trainers. I really loved this book for it's ease of understanding and I think people will also find the history of dog training section very interesting. If you only buy one book for your training library this year I highly recommend this one. My only warning would be to buy this in solid book form and not the Kindle version. I had a very hard time seeing the font (even when enlarged) of the journal entries while reading it on my Kindle. Happy training! Marie in Maine

There is indeed a lot of discussion on how dogs learn, but if you don't understand this then you will not understand clicker training.
She does a nice job of explaining the concept of clicker training. She does not give formulas such as if you do this or that your dog will sit, what she does do is teach you how to be a thinking and observant teacher. She also discusses the pros and cons of various kinds of training. I think this is a must read for all dog owners.

When I first opened the book, I thought oh, right just another clicker training book. How wrong I was!!! Even though I made the cross-over 6 years ago and instruct classes using clicker training, I found information presented in a very novel, succinct and easy to understand way that is perfect for those who currently train with compulsion/praise or lure/reward training. Or... this is a great book for those who are attending their first clicker training class and want a text book to explain all those new words the instructor is using. I recommend the book to all of my students; experienced clicker trainers, crossover or new to dog training.

If you already are a clicker trainer or are trying to train with a clicker, you'll find this book absorbing, practical and very useful.