Reaching the Animal Mind

About a week ago I read Reaching the Animal Mind by Karen Pryor.
I'd definitely recommend it to pretty much anyone who likes animals. Even pet owners who aren't ensconced in clicker training can find it enjoyable. It's fun and easy to read.

Some of the stories in the beginning are the same ones that are in Lads Before the Wind, and I might have skipped that section if I'd known.

There's a really good chapter on TAGteaching. And now I finally understand it! The basic idea is that in sports (gymnastics, golf, etc.) movements are broken down into small parts like "keep your knees together" and the learner gets clicked for getting it right.

I also found the part about rats and why clicker training works so well really interesting. I won't try to summarize it hear because KP does a much better job.

Karen Pryor is great at providing lots of heartwarming stories that make reading it fun.

I think my biggest practical take away is the part where she talks about putting behavior on cues. At Clicker Expo, Kathy Sdao, taught that you get the animal doing what you want over and over to earn clicks. Then you put the cue in front when you think the animal will do the behavior for a few repetetitions. And then you wait with no cue and the animal will usually do the behavior several times and then pause in confusion. Then you give the cue again. Karen Pryor suggests that you follow the same steps but instead of just withholding the cue you distract the animal for a moment by saying its name or stepping aside. Then you say the cue and wait for the animal to do the behavior or the start of the behavior.