Clever Dog - Sarah Whitehead

UncleBob

UncleBob

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Title: Clever Dog (Understand what your dog is telling you)
Author: Sarah Whitehead
ISBN: 978-0-00-748854-4
RRP: £8.99 (around £6 on Amazon)
Pages: 308

OK, this isn't a dog training book. Rather, it is a guide to interpreting the behaviour of dogs (not an in-depth scientific guide, more of an overview in simple terms). There are a number of chapters addressing different areas and each is focused around a particular case study - each chapter has a summary or tips section at the end to highlight the keys aspects to understand as they might relate to your own dog.

All in all I found it quite an enjoyable, educational and entertaining read (although I have to say that my wife didn't enjoy the writing style of the author - it can come across as a bit 'preachie' - so it may be a book that appeals to some and not to others). As is often the case - see if you can form a view as to whether you may like a book by using the preview feature on Amazon.
 
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MaccieD

UncleBob said:
my wife didn't enjoy the writing style of the author - it can come across as a bit 'preachie'
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That's interesting as knowing Sarah you couldn't find someone less 'preachie' and more down to earth and practical. That said she also lives and breathes behaviour and training and how all the latest research can make life better for our dogs and cats.
 
Joy

Joy

Location
East Sussex
I haven't read the book but I watched a webinar by Sarah Whitehead the other day on rethinking puppy socialisation which was good. It had a crisp pace (especially compared with the OTT Absolute Dogs freebies!) It focused on what not to do ( things like 'pass the puppy') and looking at body language - fight, flight, freeze, flirt (roll on back etc) and flock (try to climb on known human's lap or hide behind legs etc for safety).
I think I might see if I can get the book.
 
M

MaccieD

Joy said:
I haven't read the book but I watched a webinar by Sarah Whitehead the other day on rethinking puppy socialisation which was good. It had a crisp pace (especially compared with the OTT Absolute Dogs freebies!) It focused on what not to do ( things like 'pass the puppy') and looking at body language - fight, flight, freeze, flirt (roll on back etc) and flock (try to climb on known human's lap or hide behind legs etc for safety).
I think I might see if I can get the book.
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So pleased you enjoyed Sarah's free webinar, She's just published a new booklet 'He's only playing' - I'm still waiting for my copy as it's lost in the post but I'm informed it is very good. I'll let you know :)
 
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MaccieD

Jelinga said:
I did a 'distance' course with Sarah Whitehead many years ago, it was so many that we did it by post!
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Only difference today is that you can submit assessments by email :) . I'm better with a course that's 'paper based' rather than online - as long as I can do assignments and email. I'm not a lover if reading everything on screen or having to print it all off to read which isn't always practical. There is a course I'm very keen to do but it is 'online' ?
 
Joy

Joy

Location
East Sussex
I've now read the book and found the style chatty and anecdotal -an easy read. Not really one I feel I gained anything from reading.
I had a few reservations. At one point the author says, 'Don't reinforce the fear by giving attention' which I disagree with.
There were several other bits about puppy socialisation (such as 'immunising' a puppy to stress by allowing it to have some stressful experiences) that were out of tune with current thinking - but then the book was published 6 years ago and I believe that Sarah Whitehead's own views have developed and changed over this time, judging by the recent webinar I watched.
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Joy said:
There were several other bits about puppy socialisation (such as 'immunising' a puppy to stress by allowing it to have some stressful experiences) that were out of tune with current thinking
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Weeeellll... there is a thing called hormesis which is just this. Patricia McConnell talks about it in a really interesting podcast here: https://soundcloud.com/hannah-branigan%2F60-resilience-in-dogs-with-patricia-mcconnell
Hormesis comes from chemistry, and is basically that just the right amount of exposure to a stress (or toxin) creates resilience. Too little, it'll do nothing. Too much, it'll have a detrimental effect.
So she's not wrong, even in terms of current science, but the practicalities of it are difficult, because we need to know what "just the right amount" is. We can't entirely protect our puppies from exposure to stresses (whether those are "good" or "bad" stresses), so the thing we have to be careful of is that we don't end up sensitising them. We can do this by creating classical conditioning protocols we can use in the event of something too (bad) stressful occurring, to redress the balance, and, of course, not repeatedly exposing the puppy to something they find traumatic in the hope they'll just get over it.
 
Stacia

Stacia

Location
Malvern Worcestershire
A friend of mine with a scared puppy, insisted dragging him from under the chair in a puppy class "you will come out and NOT hide" and took him to the edge of a busy road, he was frightened of cars. I tried to suggest she started way back and gradually got nearer as he relaxed, but no, he HAD to get used to it. He is still a nervous wreck 7 years later.
 
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