Excel-erated Learning: Explaining in plain English how dogs learn and how best to teach them

by Pamela J. Reid, Tascha Parkinson (Illustrator)

Excel-erated Explaining in Clear English How Dogs Learn and How Best To Teach Them reveals the secret for increasing the speed and efficiency of dog training. With the freedom of understanding “how your dog learns” comes the ability of making the process easy, efficient and enjoyable for your dog.

Genres: Dogs, Nonfiction, Animals, Reference, Science

180 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1996

Reviews

[Michelle Formato]

I read this book as part of the curriculum for a dog training apprenticeship program.

I have to start this review by pointing out that this book was written in the late 90s when positive reinforcement training was still in its infancy and therefore not as widely accepted. Because of this, I noticed many outdated concepts in this book compared to more modern training books. I think this book would benefit from having an updated, second edition that includes not only more progressive dog training methods, but also updated psychology understandings.

This book definitely had potential, it's focused on helping trainers learn more about how dogs learn. It is an interesting concept, but due to the outdated information and many dryer parts of the book, it fell flat in my opinion. I wouldn't recommend this to any average person, especially not as a first book about dog training, but I do see how it is worth the read for those who want to make a career in dog training.

[Jes Jones]

This book was a required reading as part of the canine behavior and training certification program that I am completing.

I found this book to be a sufficient introduction into canine learning theory and training. It offered concise, and straight forward, information on how dogs learn, different training techniques and how they can be applied to certain behavioral issues all while being presented in a clear, easy-to-understand language. Also, there are cute cartoon photos throughout.

It doesn't go unnoticed that the author has experience, and seems to continue, utilizing positive punishment and negative reinforcement in her training style which made the novel a little difficult to for me to read at times. Many a break were taken.

Overall, this novel would be a good resource for anyone considering dipping their toes into the canine behavior and training field. It provides quite a bit of information, concise and easy to understand, in it's small form but should be utilized as a launching pad to continue your learning, research and training well beyond it's pages.

[Karen]

Very good theory book. I find what it says about things like reinforcement schedules and training incompatible behaviours very useful for when I am thinking about how to train or modify a behaviour. This book gives you the knowledge to work out dog training solutions for yourself - although I think I will need to consciously sit down and revise the book before I am confident I can take it all into account in my thought processes!
What I didn't like about the book was Pamela Reid practical explanations. I've always attended predominantly positive training method classes, so to read descriptions of a retrieve being taught by ear pinching and the finish position being taught by pulling the dogs back end round with a collar around its stomach just seems bizarre to me. I simply would never use such methods myself...although I will admit it is somewhat interesting to know the theory behind them.

[Ant]

I loved this book. It's covers the topics very clearly and uses a really nice mix of personal stories and descriptions of experiments to illustrate the points. This really works for me as dog training is a practical craft. While it's interesting to know what has been discovered under controlled conditions, that doesn't guarantee its practicality in the messy real world. As someone who competes in obedience Reid obviously gets this and it shines through in her book.
Highly recommended to anyone who is already training dogs and is looking to deepen their learning.

[Tony]

Love this book. I like behaviour science and I train dogs so this book really suits me. Slots in nicely with the Burch and Bailey book and the the Lindsay volumes.
Reid deals with behaviour in a scientific way but without getting too complex. Every page made me think. I really doesn't take much to apply this science to practical training.
I'm not impressed with the illustrations though. Don't be put off by the hideous cover. This 1996 book really hits the mark!

[Asl4u]

One of the best books i've read on Dog Training. Its not a training book that tells you how to get your dog to do things or ehat you can make him/her do. Its a book that tells you why (or why dot) you dog will be more likely to perform a task and how to plan to train in a way that us likely to be more successful.
Excellent book that i will very likely re-read portions of when ever i start training some new behavior

[Anna]

Brilliant. Very simple language, a lot of things that I already knew but from a different perspective, made me think about my training methods and how to apply reinforcement etc. successfully. Definitely a good read for beginners and advanced trainers.

[Ashley]

I love how she explained everything, seriously in plain English, and gave examples (both canine and human related) to explain concepts. It made it easier to understand and apply. I definitely will be going back and using this as a reference.

[Cindy Torrey]

Pam Reid, who specialized her doctorate degree in animal learning, behavior and cognition, is a certified applied animal behaviorist and runs a private practice for "problem" pets. She also competes in agility, obedience and flyball. In other words, she knows her shit!!!

[Amanda]

Has a lot of great information for basic learning theory, but I felt it all could have been explained a lot better. I often found parts of the book confusing and it took way to long to digest.

[Steve]

Extremely useful. Well written explanations of the theory and practice of learning.

[Elizabeth Frum]

Easily one of the best pure learning theory books I've read.

[Denise Armstrong]

Some additional clarity needed in some of the chapters to make it easier. Given the choice between this and a Paul Chance book, I'd go with Paul Chance.

[Bethsleeps]

Interesting book but would defo skip the positive punishment pages in future.

[Brooke]

Fabulous if you have zero background in learning theories, etc. You can skip this one if you do.

[Nadia]

Lots of interesting and useful science but WAY too willing to embarace the use of extreme aversives for this +R force-free trainer to give any more stars.

[Melinda]

This is the book recommended by the DTIA program for accompanying their dog training internship. It contains a lot of great information about training dogs, none of which I felt was off base. Pamela does not eschew the use of positive punishment or negative reinforcement, but she does warn against the pitfalls of these approaches. Maybe not as strongly as I would have liked. She does know what she's talking about, her information is science-based, and the text was not hard to read.

On the topic of nitpicks, while not a complete bore, the book is not especially entertaining, nor did it contain much if anything that I had not already seen elsewhere. No big revelations here for someone who has been studying behavior, training and dog-specific science.

Worth reading if you want a concise, accurate and fairly complete overview of dog training science.

[Reader]

This is a must read for anyone interested in learning more about learning theory. Excellent! A great read. Keep your highlighter pen at the ready & plan to read & re-read it. The author provides an amazing amount of information in a small space.

I am adding on to my review to state I love this book so much that I've ordered it for my Kindle & just gifted it to a friend who shares my love of the science of learning. This really is a must read book. I have read it cover-to-cover several times. Simply outstanding.

[Betty Macdonald Saudemont]

⁣⁣⁣⁣
In 𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘭-𝘌𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, Pamela Reid walks us through the theory and practice of learning in a dog's world. Reid deals with the topic in more depth than the average dog owner's knowledge and in a scientific way but without getting too complex. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is thinking of training their dog.

[Zoey]

So many great tip and tricks on how to best train your dog. I learned a lot, however there is a fair amount of terminology used that is explained in one chapter then the short version pops up over and over again. I would take notes, it’s helped me understand how I want to train my next dog.

[nicole ꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷]

a really good starter book for those just stepping into dog training. the theories are good, and it’s explained in a way that’s easy to understand - i’ve since deviated a bit from certain aspects of this book over the years with experience, but it’s a solid foundational piece!

[Stephanie]

Great book! Helps to really simplify learning theories which can sometimes be so dense.

[Alex Writz]

A perfect summary of the terminology and learning theory that applies to dog training.

[Lucas Brands]

Good book about Learning Theory. You need to find the right reinforcement schedule (for yourself) to get through it though.

[Monisa Nandi]

Make no mistake, although short, this reads as a textbook. It is dense and requires hands-on experience. If you can digest everything in this book, you're on your way to becoming a dog trainer.

[Ashley]

A lot of the methods are very outdated. However, it is a great resource for terminology

[Cara Newman]

This is a great book for learning, but for some reason it was so hard to pay attention to. I think I would’ve preferred a better variety of examples - not talking about mice or show dogs

[Sue]

A down to earth, well written book! This is one book that I will definitely refer to people.

[Eva]

Want to diessect scientific thoery? This is it my friend. For the dog trainer!

[Paula Smith]

Excellent book describing clearly terminology with great examples.