What you’ll find

No matter how cushy their lives, dogs live on our terms. They compromise their freedom and instinctual pleasure, as well as their innate strategies for coping with stress and anxiety, in exchange for the love, comfort, and care they get from us. But it is possible to let dogs be dogs without wreaking havoc on our lives, as biologist Marc Bekoff and bioethicist Jessica Pierce show in this fascinating book. They begin by illuminating the true nature of dogs and helping us “walk in their paws.” They reveal what smell, taste, touch, sight, and hearing mean to dogs and then guide readers through everyday ways of enhancing dogs’ freedom in safe, mutually happy ways. The rewards, they show, are great for dog and human alike.

In the world of dogs, there is now more awareness than ever of the need to provide enrichment, especially in shelters. But what exactly is enrichment? The concept is pretty straightforward: learn what your dog’s needs are, and then structure an environment and routine that allows the dog to engage in behaviors they find enriching. To truly enrich your dog’s life, you should offer them opportunities to engage in natural or instinctual behaviors. Aside from the limitations we have to place on a dog in today’s modern, busy world, the biggest constraint to enriching your dog’s life is your imagination!

What the experts say about Canine Enrichment:

Don’t let the word “enrichment” in the title fool you into thinking that the scope of this book is too narrow or not something you will find valuable. It focuses comprehensively on meeting your dog’s needs and is written in a holistic, science-based, practical, straightforward, and easy-to-understand way. I love this book!
Ken Ramirez, author of Animal Training: Successful Animal Management Through Positive Reinforcement

Canine Enrichment is a deep dive into what dogs really need and how we can provide it. It’s a great book for dog lovers who want to go beyond the standard superficialities of “dogs need exercise.” Just the chapter on agency is worth the price of the book!
Patricia McConnell, Ph.D., CAAB Emeritus, and author of The Other End of the Leash and The Education of Will

The scope of this book is ambitious and the authors deliver, navigating the subject of enrichment with depth and relevance. Caregivers will gain critically important perspectives and practical information to improve the lives of their animals.
Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Utah State University, and founder of Behavior Works, LLC

Allie Bender, CDBC, CPDT-KA, SBA, and Emily Strong, CDBC, CPBT-KA, SBA, are certified behavior consultants who work with all companion animal species. They co-founded and operate Pet Harmony, LLC, and First Train Home.

Seven Steps to Stress-Free Husbandry. Having trouble trimming your dog's nails or bathing him? Is your dog stressed in the vet's office? Wondering how to make the process of grooming and veterinary care more comfortable both for you and your dog? Then this is the book for you! Cooperative Care will cover seven main areas to help prepare your dog for all the necessary physical procedures that will keep him healthy and happy. The methods in this book are based on positive reinforcement and allowing our pets the opportunity to choose to opt in and participate in our conditioning sessions. When we take the time to carefully observe our dog's behavior, read their stress signals, and respect their communication with us, it's just amazing how quickly we can replace suspicion with trust. Our goal is to empower our dogs and help them gain confidence in the husbandry process. Spending time preparing your dog for typical husbandry procedures is one of the best gifts you can give him!

An Applied Animal Behaviorist and dog trainer with more than twenty years' experience, Dr. Patricia McConnell reveals a revolutionary new perspective on our relationship with dogs--sharing insights on how "man's best friend" might interpret our behavior, as well as essential advice on how to interact with our four-legged friends in ways that bring out the best in them. 

After all, humans and dogs are two entirely different species, each shaped by its individual evolutionary heritage. Quite simply, humans are primates and dogs are canids (as are wolves, coyotes, and foxes). Since we each speak a different native tongue, a lot gets lost in the translation. This marvelous guide demonstrates how even the slightest changes in our voices and in the ways we stand can help dogs understand what we want. Inside you will discover: 

- How you can get your dog to come when called by acting less like a primate and more like a dog
- Why the advice to "get dominance" over your dog can cause problems
- Why "rough and tumble primate play" can lead to trouble--and how to play with your dog in ways that are fun and keep him out of mischief
- How dogs and humans share personality types--and why most dogs want to live with benevolent leaders rather than "alpha wanna-bes " 

Fascinating, insightful, and compelling, The Other End of the Leash is a book that strives to help you connect with your dog in a completely new way--so as to enrich that most rewarding of relationships.

Karen Pryor's clear and entertaining explanation of behavioral training methods made Don't Shoot the Dog a bestselling classic with revolutionary insights into animal--and human--behavior.In her groundbreaking approach to improving behavior, behavioral biologist Karen Pryor says, "Whatever the task, whether keeping a four-year-old quiet in public, housebreaking a puppy, coaching a team, or memorizing a poem, it will go fast, and better, and be more fun, if you know how to use reinforcement." Now Pryor clearly explains the underlying principles of behavioral training and reveals how this art can be applied to virtually any common situation. And best of all, she tells how to do it without yelling threats, force, punishment, guilt trips--or shooting the dog. From the eight methods for putting an end to all kinds of undesirable behavior to the ten laws of "shaping" behavior, Pryor helps you combat your own addictions and deal with such difficult problems as a moody spouse, an impossible teen, or an aged parent. Plus, there's also incredibly helpful information on house training the dog, improving your tennis game, keeping the cat off the table, and much more "In the course of becoming a renowned dolphin trainer, Karen Pryor learned that positive reinforcement...is even more potent that prior scientific work had suggested...Don't Shoot the Dog looks like the very best on the subject--a full-scale mind-changer" (The Coevolution Quarterly). Learn why pet owners rave, "This book changed our lives " and how these pioneering techniques can work for you, too. This description may be from another edition of this product.

Over the past two decades, countless dog trainers across the world have embraced the liberal use of positive reinforcement. Often accompanying this trend, however, is an underlying emphasis, inherited from more coercive models of dog training, that each human in the family must be the dog's leader. But adopting the role of leader using what is known as the "Nothing in Life is Free" training protocol can result in stifling rules that constrain a person's ability to share affection and attention with their dogs. This focus on human leadership puts puts the burden on dogs to "earn" their rewards rather than placing the primary responsibility on the humans to be generous, precise, creative "feeders" (i.e., reinforcers).

In this new book, renowned dog trainer Kathy Sdao reveals how her journey through life and her decades of experience training marine mammals and dogs led her to reject a number of sacred cows including the leadership model of dog training. She describes in narrative fashion how she has come to focus her own training philosophy which emphasizes developing partnerships in which humans and dogs exchange reinforcements and continually cede the upper hand to one another.

What animal behavior experts are saying about Plenty in Life is Free:
This extraordinary book fills the gap between contemporary training technology and ethics. With indelible wit and wisdom, Sdao exposes the naked emperor of excessive control and replaces him with the keys to healthful behavior and lasting relationships. This book will improve more than a dog's life it will be required reading for the students in all my behavior classes.
Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D., Dept. of Psychology, Utah State University, www.behaviorworks.org

Kathy Sdao is as wise, witty, warm, and adventurous on paper as she is on the lecture platform. This is a wonderful book about an issue deep and dear to all of us: how to learn to be thoughtful, kind, and generous to our dogs, to each other, and to ourselves, in a world that pressures us to be harsh, resistant, and controlling instead.