The Secret History of Kindness: Learning from How Dogs Learn

Pierson (The Place You Love Is Gone) was a new dog owner without a clue how to train her beloved border collie, Mercy, when she saw miraculous results obtained by a trainer. This piqued her curiosity about the best methods to teach dogs to become loving and obedient members of a family. In an intelligent and academic (yet witty) fashion, the author describes her interpretation of B.F. Skinner's psychology of behaviorism and the benefits of using his methods to gently and kindly train dogs instead of using force, referring to trainer Cesar Millan as an example of brutal tactics. The author cites skillful navy dolphin trainer Bob Bailey among others and shows that Skinner's methodology can have broad and extended influence on animal behavior, as demonstrated by zoo animals that have been trained to be medically examined or behave in a manner to permit staffers to safely clean their enclosures. This led to Pierson's study of Karen Pryor's "clicker" behavioral training, which is one of the most highly effective methods used by modern animal handlers.