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I love my subscribers because they participate when I ask questions and share their heartfelt stories and opinions. They are all winners and periodically I actually send a prize out.

Recently I asked for some tips and hints to see just what was important to them.

Immediately I received a flood of emails with a number of topics that were near and dear to their hearts.

Although it was difficult to choose the best, I am happy to announce the participant selected to win the first prize (insert drum roll here) :

Congratulations to Sheila Gibbs of Victoria, British Columbia.

Sheila took the time to write tips she thought were useful. What was outstanding about her submissions is that she also described in detail how they were valuable and how they applied to her pet household.

The prize?

Sheila will receive a copy of the newly released Reaching the Animal Mind: Clicker Training and What It Teaches Us About All Animals. If you have not purchased your copy–it was released this week and you can read my extensive book review about Reaching the Animal Mind here.

Reaching the Animal Mind: Clicker Training and What It Teaches Us About All Animals by Karen Pryor (ISBN 0743297768) is destined to be another animal training classic.

As with some of her past works (Don’t Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training, Lads Before the Wind, Karen Pryor on Behavior) this book takes complex training topics and chisels them down into easily understood concepts woven into a tapestry of story telling that is both engaging and compelling.

Although some people might expect this to be an “animal training book” it is not a “how to manual.”

This work is easily read and explains principles behind clicker training and behavior modification concepts and illustrates them through engaging stories.

Readers can also access videos of some of the animals and training sessions mentioned online by visiting the Reaching the Animal Mind website.

Rarely does a book entice me to read it all in one sitting but this one did–in fact I read it a few times.

I highly recommend it for not only dog training enthusiasts but also pet owners seeking who are seeking a different approach to communicating with their animals.

This book is something I would also encourage television dog training show addicts to read so that they can make the shift into modern dog training instead of following the long standing traditional methods.

Reaching Minds

This chapter begins by leading into a discussion about how animal training (as it traditionally has been done) is now obsolete since training technology has been refined.

It talks about how modern training methods enhance animal and human communication.

Karen Pryor’s experience with D’Artagnan (a wolf) made me smile because training wild animals is indeed different and the moment he figures out what she wants was a familiar experience I’ve shared with many an animal.

This chapter includes a succinct introduction to two schools of behavior science and the influential scientists, Konrad Lorenz and BF Skinner.

Also, if you are not familiar with Karen Pryor’s history, readers will get a good feel for her curiosity and willingness to explore from the very first pages.

It is true that you can train everything–and so I enjoyed Karen’s hermit crab training story because it illustrates the potential for enhancing the life of any animal.

She concludes this early introduction with an invitation that I think is quite fitting:

So here’s what I see. come and have a look. If you find it useful, good. I am pretty sure you will find it fun.

Shaping

Training dolphins and the nuances of dolphin training dominate this chapter.

One of the great things mentioned is how trainers have to consider the perspective of the animal when progress is slow.

So true–but many miss this important point.

She hits some other valuable points such as the fact that many novice trainers rely on food lures instead of shaping the behavior.

OR that some trainers fail to mark the decision of the animal to commit and only mark the action.

This is an important training nuance and I am happy to see it explained.

Training groups of animals, how raising criteria works, and cues/cuing are other topics discussed.

Communication

The “light bulb” moment in the ferret training story is a great one that illustrates how excited animal get when they realize that they have control over good things that happen.

If you have ever seen that from an animal you know it really is something, but if you haven’t, this story gives you an accurate picture and I am looking forward to seeing the video online!

But this chapter also gets into how to communicate with cues and how to shape behavior in your daily actions–such as at an animal shelter.

Some of the important concepts discussed here are the extinction curve, how to shape behavior, and the importance of assigning a cue.

Controlling misbehavior by putting it on cue and chaining behaviors are just a couple of the other topics in this section.

However, what I loved most was the story about the kids and their pony training.

Feelings

Karen Pryor continually hits topics of importance such as the fact that people miss (or misinterpret) what an animal is communicating or what the animal is conveying.

Here you’ll read some interesting observations but what I really liked is the section on Anecdotes vs Observations.

There is a lot of prejudice in the scientific community and I appreciate how Karen Pryor discusses the topic.

In addition, her “fish tale” gets the point across about how all animals can exhibit emotion.

Creativity

Even non-trainers will get great joy in reading about the creativity and games that dogs, fish, gorillas, and dolphins exhibit in the stories within this chapter.

It is my belief is that training gets animals to think in a different manner and that it sparks a variety of activities–each of the stories highlights those possibilities.

My favorite in this section is Karen Pryor’s discussion of Hardwired vs. Softwired.

She eloquently says, “It is a function not of intelligence, but of genes and evolution.”

There are more stories about animals who exhibit unique processes but what I liked seeing was the brief explanation between working predator and prey animals.

I’ve found the two to be vastly different from each other and Karen Pryor does a good job in discussing a little of this while illustrating that each has special dispositions in training.

Attachments

Unfortunately many people dismiss animal memory and friendships.

Here Karen Pryor gets into discussing those attachments, friendships, and social dynamics between animals.

When you read it I am sure you will recognize (or remember) similar stories from those animals you have known.

Fascinating stories studying schools of wild spotted dolphins dominate the content within this chapter.

Fear

Misinterpretation or missing what an animal expresses are discussed within these pages.

Reducing fear, successive approximation, and how giving an animal a cue for a behavior so it can push through resistance are just a few other important topics.

But the poisoned cue is the concept I thought would be very valuable to those working with shelter animals or animals trained by more traditional methodology.

Conversations

This is a great chapter that shares how the training dialog is exchanged between the human and the animal.

One of the reasons I enjoy training so much is that it enhances the communication between species.

Training novice animal is different from training veteran animals and Karen Pryor shares many stories (including those about an elephant, guinea pig, and cat) but the story about Josphine the dolphin is the one that made me laugh.

I’ve worked with some veteran animals that behaved in a similar manner–and anyone else who has done so will relate to the story as well.

Questions

If you had any questions on your mind about clicker training–you might find it here.

In a previous post I mentioned the Voice vs Clicker study and a discussion about it is included in this section along with some of the most common questions and confusing assumptions.

Discussions about praise, suppressing behavior, correcting mistakes and more will keep you glued to the pages.

The gems?

“Being “positive” is not the same as being permissive.”

and

“…while all punishment is aversive, not all aversive are punishment.“

Answers

When I read about the laughing rats in this chapter it brought back fond memories of the rats I had to train for “rat review” in college.

They were playful, fun loving and mischievous little guys and laughed a lot while they tried to get me to take a break from studying.

Anyway, I always love when I learn something new and if you do too–this is a chapter you will get a lot out of–from the science side of things.

The Amygdala Involvement and why the clicker is so powerful was that something new for me.

Now if you have ever encountered an animal that is afraid of the clicker or wanted to know about the nuances of cues, the different reinforcers, and more science behind training–this is where it is.

People

Coaching with a click is called Tagging and I have to say that I get a lot of laughs when I’ve clicked a human client–but some people get really worked up over it.

So, you’ll learn about how TAG (TAG is an acronym for Teaching with Acoustical Guidance.) helps people get comfortable with the process and learn how it is working to help athletes and autistic children.

Intention

Real life examples of cooperative behavior fill these pages.

Interesting stories about Peace Corps hostages, Brazilian dolphins and fishermen, Guide Dog training changes will keep your interest.

They all illustrate change that was brought about through positive reinforcement and will get you pondering.

Back Matter

Find Out More, Glossary, and Do it Yourself are great resources for those who want to find reference works and get deeper into the meanings of some of the terms included in Reaching the Animal Mind.

Exercises are included in the back for those curious enough to want to try a few things out with instruction.

Will clicker trainers and TAG teachers change the world one click at a time?

Time will tell.

In the meantime I recommend you order a copy of Reaching the Animal Mind: Clicker Training and What It Teaches Us About All Animals by Karen Pryor (ISBN 0743297768). It should be in stores by mid-June 2009.

Within the last week and a half two celebrity giants, Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart, have both experienced devastating pet loss.

Pet loss celebrity style doesn’t mean the pet loss is any less devastating or traumatic—it just means that it is public instead of private.

Oprah’s Pet Loss
Oprah Winfrey is no stranger to pet loss but I imagine that she didn’t expect to lose her newly adopted puppy shortly after she received Ivan and Sadie from the PAWS Shelter in Chicago, Illinois.

Viewers around the globe were thrilled with the adoption announcement.

However, the joy and lack of sleep from the demands of raising a new puppy became a living nightmare when puppy Ivan succumbed to a deadly strain of canine parvovirus over the weekend.

Nobody expects to lose a puppy to illness shortly after they arrive home–but it happens.

Pet loss can happen unexpectedly at any time.

The lesson in this loss?

It doesn’t matter who you are, or where your new furry family member comes from, disaster can strike.

Oprah’s pet loss, like many of the challenges she has faced, will probably be used to motivate people to make sure pets receive the proper pet vaccinations at the right time to mitigate the risks that a new pet might face.

I would also hope that better intake and quarantine procedures become the standard in more shelters and rescue groups around the nation to help prevent future tragedies.

Sadie is currently hospitalized and undergoing treatments with plasma from immunized healthy dogs as a precaution until she can receive her next shot in the series.

Canine Parvovirus is spread dog-to-dog, through feces or from exposure somewhere in the environment. Contaminated kennel surfaces, food and water bowls, collars and leashes, and the hands, clothing, and shoes of people can transmit the disease as well.

Symptoms include lethargy, loss of appetite, explosive and often bloody diarrhea, and dehydration.

Parvo is a horrible disease that kills many animals despite aggressive treatment. If you suspect your animal has contracted Parvo, don’t delay get treatment right away.

Did you know?

Canine Parvovirus Type 2c is a new strain of Parvo sweeping across the nation and posing a threat to unvaccinated dogs of all ages.

From the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA):
Canine Parvovirus Type 2c (CPV-2c) was first detected in Italy in 2000 and has also been reported in Western Europe, Asia, and South America.

Outbreaks of canine parvovirus associated with CPV-2c in the United States were confirmed in 2006 and 2007.

Canine Parvovirus Type 2b (CPV-2b) is the most common variant of the canine parvovirus in the United States, but CPV-2c is fast becoming the second most common variant.

Although there is no vaccine to specifically prevent CPV-2c infection, studies have shown that all of the currently available vaccines produced by the five major vaccine manufacturers (Fort Dodge Animal Health, Intervet, Merial, Pfizer and Schering-Plough), when administered appropriately, provide excellent immunity to all variants of the canine parvovirus.

Martha Stewart’s Pet Loss
Martha Stewart is also no stranger to pet loss and shared the loss of her beloved Paw Paw in April of 2008.

So, it was with great joy that she reported the arrival of Genghis Khan in December of 2008 but her life with him was cut short a week and a half ago when Genghis Khan died in a bizarre incident.

A routine propane tank filling operation resulted in a blast that turned into a raging fire at Karen Tracy’s Pazzazz Kennel in Pennsylvania where he was being kenneled.

The latest reports are that 17 dogs died as a result of the explosion and the surviving dogs suffered first, second and third degree burns.

What can this incident do to catalyze good?

Hopefully prompt every animal facility to have a disaster plan  for such situations.

Warning this video and the story photos are graphic in nature.

Read the Pazzazz Kennel Fire story here or here.

The community came together on this issue but the recovery period for the business and all those involved will be a long one.

However, this news did not stop the new pet initiative announcement this week about how Stewart’s dogs, Francesca & Sharkey, sponsored by Purina, will move beyond hosting The Daily Wag–a blog written from the dog perspective into television programming, radio, and more.

How Long Does Pet Loss Recovery Take?
Surviving pet loss is a different journey for everyone.

In some instances people move on quickly while others grieve for longer periods of time.

Whatever the case, it is a personal journey that required the understanding, compassion, and support of those closest to the pet owner.

Regis Philbin, a popular morning show host, lost his pet cat Ashley in 2004 and mentioned how he was still having a hard time with the loss as recently as last year.

Some people move on quickly while others take years.

Pet loss is a difficult path and there are many stages of grief that people experience.

Grieving the loss of a pet is an extremely personal journey and although the celebrities have a very public persona, their private lives and loss should remain such.

In my book, What Animals Can Teach Us About Spirituality: Inspiring Lessons from Wild and Tame Creatures, I share my personal journey and the very personal story leading up to the euthanasia of my dog, Clyde.

Included in that chapter are the answers concerning the viewpoints on the souls of animals and where those viewpoints came from…important questions especially during the recovery from pet less.

It took me five years to cease active grieving after that loss–and then my parrot passed on while I was away on a trip.

So, my next book, Blessing of the Animals: A Guide to Prayers & Ceremonies Celebrating Pets & Other Creatures, was dedicated to her memory and I made sure to include a wide variety of ceremonies and celebrations for all stages of life with an animal.

Both books were cathartic for me.

If you have a friend that has lost a pet—or are someone who has lost a pet here are some Pet Loss Resources.

Recovery takes time and it will be interesting to see how each media personality continues to deal with their loss.

Photo copyright & credits: Oprah with Sadie courtesy of Harpo/Oprah.com; Genghis Khan courtesy of Omnimedia/MarthaStewart.com; Regis Philbin with Ashley courtesy of AnimalFair.com.