Don't Shoot the Dog!

The foundational text on positive reinforcement training, written by the behavioral scientist who pioneered clicker training. Karen Pryor explains the science of operant conditioning in language anyone can understand, and shows how these principles apply far beyond dogs, to cats, kids, coworkers, and even yourself.

Why Start Here

If Pat Miller’s book teaches you what to do, Pryor’s book teaches you why it works. First published in 1985 and revised multiple times since, “Don’t Shoot the Dog!” is the book that launched the positive training movement. Pryor draws on her background as a marine mammal trainer to explain how all animals (humans included) learn through reinforcement, and why punishment is both less effective and less humane than reward-based approaches.

The book is organized around practical problems. Pryor presents eight methods for changing unwanted behavior and ten laws of “shaping,” the technique of building complex behaviors one small step at a time. The examples range from training a dog to stop jumping on guests to getting a roommate to do the dishes. The writing is clear, witty, and surprisingly entertaining for a book rooted in behavioral science.

What to Expect

A compact 240-page book that reads more like a conversation than a textbook. This is not a step-by-step training manual. It is a book about understanding how learning works, and once you grasp these principles, every training challenge becomes easier to solve. Pair it with a practical guide like Pat Miller’s for the complete picture: theory plus application.