Positive animal training

Clicker Training
Clicker training is a powerful, fun, transformative and sometimes magical way to train and communicate with your animal friends. Dogs, cats, horses, bunnies, birds, sheep.... they all love it! (www.clickertraining.com)

Whole Dog Journal
A well-researched, fascinating, and inspiring monthly journal on holistic dog care and positive training! (www.whole-dog-journal.com)

Don’t Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training, by Karen Pryor. A wonderful, comprehensive overview of the principles of clicker training and positive reinforcement. She discusses applying these principles in relationship with dogs, cats (!), dolphins, and even children and mothers-in-law! (www.clickertraining.com)

The Culture Clash: A revolutionary new way of understanding the relationship between humans and domestic dogs. By Jean Donaldson. This book is fascinating. Not written from an animal communication perspective, still it is a wonderful, solid, well-written book, which looks at the human-dog relationship in a refreshingly accurate new light. Excellent for any dog owner to read.

The Power of Positive Dog Training, by Pat Miller. Pat Miller is a professional positive-reinforcement dog trainer, and has years of experience clicker training difficult dogs. Very specific and clear... a good “how-to” book.

The Other End of the Leash: Why we do what we do around dogs, by Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D. Another wonderful, inspiring read. McConnell specialized in rehabilitating dangerously aggressive dogs. She has years of experience and many stories to tell of the power of positive reinforcement to transform animals (and often save their lives).

On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals, by Turid Rugaas. A small book, easy to read, but just wonderful for anyone who wants to understand canine body language.

Click for Joy! Questions and Answers from Clicker Trainers and Their Dogs, by Melissa Alexander. (www.clickersolutions.com)

You Can Train Your Horse to Do ANYTHING!, by Shawna and Vinton Karrasch. A wonderful, clear, easy to understand book about using clicker training for horses. Shawna’s background was training orcas and dolphins at Sea World. Unlike many trainers with a traditional horse background, Shawna “thinks outside the box” when it comes to training and inspiring horses with positive reinforcement.

Clicker Training for Your Horse, by Alexandra Kurland. Again, a very thorough and inspiring book which makes clicker training for horses easy to apply and understand. Kurland comes from a more traditional equine background (with a lovely dose of Linda Tellington-Jones’ philosophy mixed in), and illustrates more specific and advanced training movements (lateral work, etc).

Clicker Training for Cats, by Karen Pryor. Teach your cat to fetch, play piano, or even walk on a leash. Any training system that impresses cats has got to be good!

Think Like a Cat: How to Raise a Well-Adjusted Cat, NOT a Sour Puss and Twisted Whiskers: Solving Your Cat’s Behavioural Problems, by Pam Johnson Bennett, Feline Behavior consultant. Both of these books are wonderful all-around cat behaviour manuals. Well written.