As a result of hosting a dog training podcast I’ve had the fortune to interview and get to know some of the best animal trainers out there. I decided to reach out to a handful of them and ask this question…

“What book would you recommend to a fellow animal trainer and why?”

Some of the responses listed multiple books and being a book lover rather than leave them out I’ve included them below. A few books were recommended by more than one person.

1) The Behavior of Organisms by B.F. Skinner

Recommended by Bob Bailey

The Behavior of Organisms was Skinner’s first book. He detailed the analysis of behavior and gave many examples using the rats that he studied.

“I think every professional trainer should have read Skinner’s The Behavior of Organisms to get the flavor of where operant conditioning came from and how simple it is, plus learn a bit of how boring and tough reading science can be” – Bob Bailey

2) The Science of Consequences by Susan M. Schneider

Recommended by Susan Friedman & Ken Ramirez The Science of Consequences brings together research from wide-ranging fields such as genetics and parenting to share the story of how consequences impact the world.

“I would recommend that every trainer read Susan Schneider’s book “The Science of Consequences” because she provides the big picture evidence of how behavior works in a fun and mind-blowing way. In short, her work supports the conclusion that the consequences of behavior “I would recommend that every trainer read Susan Schneider’s book “The Science of Consequences” because she provides the big picture evidence of how behavior works in a fun and mind-blowing way. In short, her work supports the conclusion that the consequences of behavior 1) are why we behave in the first place, and 2) affect all systems including genes and brains.” – Susan Friedman

” It is such a great over view of the power and effectiveness of consequences.”– Ken Ramirez

3) Don’t Shoot The Dog by Karen Pryor

Recommended by Bob Bailey & Ken Ramirez

Originally published as a self-help book Don’t Shoot the Dog became a bestselling classic amongst dog trainers.

The book played a huge part in the popularisation of clicker training and less punitive methods in training.

“Karen Pryor describes operant conditioning in words of one syllable” – Bob Bailey “For the novice, I still recommend Don’t Shoot the Dog, by Karen Pryor. Because it still speaks to the beginner clearly about the benefits of positive reinforcement training.” – Ken Ramirez

4) The Thinking Dog by Gail Fisher

Recommended by John McGuigan

A book about clicker training written with traditional trainers in mind. Gail makes the case for training dogs in a way that enables them the freedom to think and problem solve as opposed to just waiting for the next command.

“When I was just on the cusp of abandoning corrections it helped me get there – along with loads of articles by Ian Dunbar, Nicole Wilde and Pat Miller” – John McGuigan

5) Learning and Behavior by Paul Chance

Recommended by Ken Ramirez

Paul Chance makes the science of behavior clear, engaging and easy to understand.

“For those looking for a good scientific reference I suggest Learning and Behavior by Paul Chance. Because of all the scientific references, it is the clearest for the non-scientist. Just one of many good scientific references, but I suggest it first because of its relatively simple approach to explaining the science” – Ken Ramirez

6) Animal Behavior by Keller and Marian Breland

Recommended by Bob Bailey

Keller and Marian Breland were graduate students of B.F. Skinner and put his teachings to practical use training thousands of animals in the process.

In this book they brought their findings to world.

“Combining animal behavior and biology from the practical side” – Bob Bailey

7) Coercion and It’s Fallout by Murray Sidman

Recommended by Ken Ramirez

Murray Sidman makes the case against using coercion to change behavior and offers alternative solutions. An important read for anyone seeking to understand the full consequences of choosing to use aversives in their training.

“Coercion and it’s Fallout by Murray Sidman is a must read for anyone wrestling with the reasons punishment is not the best choice when training.” -Ken Ramirez

8) Man’s Search for Meaning – Victor E. Frankl

Recommended by Steve Mann

Prominent psychiatrist Victor Frankl writes about his observations from inside of Auschwitz during the holocaust.

His experiences lead him to conclude that man’s deepest desire is to search for meaning and purpose in life.

“Animal Trainers tend to get overwhelmed emotionally and this book is great for a perspective recalibration.” – Steve Mann

When I was gathering the recommendations for this list I had lots of lovely responses but I particularly wanted to include the rest of Bob Bailey’s email as I think it has a lot of relevance.

Bob’s Email:

“All of my suggestions are very old (1938 to 1984), and there is a LOT of newer stuff. However, based on my questioning my own students, I bet less than 10% of professional trainers have read, or even attempted to read, these books. And, we wonder why much of dog training is both driven by the latest “fad” and, at the same time, harkens back thousands of years.

Trainers are constantly rediscovering the wheel. Until the majority of professional trainers understand the fundamentals of their technology, and the history of that technology, I have no particular recent books to recommend.

Much of the issue has to do with sales – selling a “new” gimmick (device, process, procedure) is a way to become a guru and make money. The public likes new things, gimmick or not.

Yes, I concentrate on tried and tested technology, and that technology, and the practice of that technology, has changed little in the last 40-50 years. I don’t claim to have invented or discovered the basic principles, just practice and teach them.

What I teach is skilled practice of that technology. Sure, there has been a fine-tuning of what I do and how I do it, but no revolutions – My training procedures have changed a little over the 60 years, but the fundamental training principles hold today just as they did in the 1940s and 50s. But, trainers are still looking for that “magic bullet,” that “touchstone”, that changes behavior with no skill required, and there are people still willing to sell that “magic bullet” or “touchstone” to those willing to pay the price.“

Podcasts:

If you want to hear more from the above line-up then check out these podcasts…

#50: John McGuigan – Social Media and Mental Health– John and I spoke about his rise to dog trainer fame on Facebook and his experiences with mental health.

#41: Steve Mann – Puppy Training – In this episode I spoke to Steve about puppy training and the release of his new book Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy.

#34: Bob Bailey – The History of Animal Training – If you’re interested in the history behind training or just hearing Bob’s incredible training stories then this is the one for you.

#24: Ken Ramirez – The Making of An Animal Training Legend – Ken shared with me his own journey to mastery in the field of animal training. From working crazy hours at Shedd Aquarium to training wild marine mammals for conservation.