Excel-Erated Learning: Explaining in Plain English How Dogs Learn and How Best to Teach Them

This book is for anyone who wishes to compete in obedience competition, become a pro dog trainer or has an interest in understanding the canine brain and how they learn. It's not for your average pet owner or first time dog owner. I enjoyed this book and it has made me a better trainer.

This book is a must for anyone serious about training dogs. Scientific mumbo jumbo is streamlined for the rest of us.

Simply excellent. It explained in clear terms how and why many techniques work and where they might go wrong. As someone who competes in obedience regularly I would highly recommend giving this book a read.

This book is a very thorough presentation of learning theory. Yet, by referring to experiments and to dog training, the author makes a difficult subject very approachable. I had a number of "ah-ha!" moments and will re-read to get more out of it. I was concerned about all the abbreviations I saw when browsing the book, but they are not used to such excess that you get lost/confused.As I said, the book is thorough, so it does present the negative end of the scale -- aversives and punishment. I understand why the author had to include this information, but it is still difficult reading for those of us who consider our dogs our friends -- and who applies electric shock to their friend? I only wish she had placed the caveats of using these methods at the beginning, rather than at the end, of their respective sections.If you are looking for more depth and science than found it dog training books or "Don't Shoot the Dog," in a book that won't bore you to tears, get a copy of Excel-erated Learning, well worth it's reasonable price.

Very well written with good, specific examples. Presents a very well-rounded historical perspective about animal behavior in both scientific and practical examples. I have already read it a couple of times to allow all of the info to sink in. There is a LOT here!! It has very useful information whether you are a professional trainer or just fascinated by animal behavior. Buy this book and be nice to your dog.