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| Getting Started: Clicker Training for Cats (Karen Pryor Clicker Books) | 
| Author: Karen Pryor
Publisher: Sunshine Books (MA)
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $8.25
You Save: $6.70 (45%)
New (20) from $8.25
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 119048
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 85
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.2
ISBN: 1890948144
Dewey Decimal Number: 636
EAN: 9781890948146
ASIN: 1890948144
Publication Date: July 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Train a cat? Yes, you can! Clicker training, the new way of communicating with animals,is quick and easy for you - and it's fun for your cat. Clicker training can improve your cat's health, activity and attitude toward life. It can make your cat happier and more affectionate. In the easy-to-read beginner's guide, Karen Pryor, the world's leading clicker training expert, tells you how to teach your cat: * to come when called
* to play without biting or scratching
* to stay off the table
* to get along with dogs
* to walk outside on a leash
* to do cute tricks and games! All with a click and a treat!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Not the best clicker-training book October 5, 2008
After reading the reviews of this book and the similar Cat Training in 10 Minutes, I decided to purchase both so that I could compare them and possibly benefit from two different sources. I can definitively say, after reading both, that Cat Training in 10 Minutes blows Karen Pryor's book out of the water. (See my comparative review of Cat Training in 10 Minutes for more info.)
1. Clicker Theory: 4/5 stars. The theory used in this book is operant conditioning. Using a clicker followed by a reward, you can reinforce desired behavior in your cat. Verbal commands (come, sit) are incorporated in this book; yet hand signals are *not* incorporated, which is too bad because they're quite effective.
2. Accessibility: 1/5 stars. Clicker Training for Cats reads like a book of wordy stories about the author's own cats. I was constantly wishing that Ms. Pryor would just get to the point and tell me the training steps! Instructions are verbose and not highlighted nor numbered; they are merely incorporated into the narrative text, so it's difficult to find them. There are no illustrations that show you what to do.
3. Chapter Arrangement: 3/5 stars. This book is arranged into four chapters and an appendix. Chapter 1 covers the theory behind and basics of clicker training. Chapter 2 covers "useful" commands, such as coming when you call, walking on a leash, etc. Surprisingly, there is no instruction for teaching your cat to sit, sit up/beg, shake, or lie down -- all of which are covered in Cat Training in 10 Minutes. Chapter 3 covers "non-useful" commands, like playing the piano and high-speed moves. Chapter 4 discusses undesirable behavior (see #4 below for more info).
Apparently, Ms. Pryor left out Chapter 5: Resources. She references it in the second sentence of Chapter 3, but this "ghost chapter" is nowhere to be found in the book. Whoops.
4. Correcting Undesirable Behavior: 2/5 stars. In her chapter on this subject, the author mostly gives anecdotes/psychological insight without specific correctional instructions, which I found aggravating. For instance, she describes how one couple realized that their cat was scratching the couch because it wanted to go outside -- yet she lists no tactics for getting the cat to stop scratching! On the upside, Ms. Pryor does describe a wide variety of problem behaviors: finicky eating, getting along with dogs/other cats, yowling, shedding, ankle-biting, and aggression. But again, she mainly gives anecdotes instead of correctional instructions.
5. Helpful/Extra Features: 0/5 stars. Ms. Pryor's book has a woefully short Appendix section that lists 15 Tips for Clicking With Cats. That's it. No alphabetical or subject index. Those 15 tips are also conveniently published on her website, so there's really no added value in them being in the book.
You wouldn't be doing yourself a disservice if you purchased this book, but my honest advice to anyone looking for information on this subject is to purchase Cat Training in 10 Minutes, as it is far superior. Good luck, and here's to your cat learning some great new tricks!
Buy this book, but also buy Pryor's "Don't Shoot the Dog!" May 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read this 75-page book in about an hour and a half. It's a good read, but at the end, I didn't feel prepared to train my kittens. In fact, I tried to do a training session with one kitten, and she didn't even do any reinforcable actions!
Long story short, you need to buy Pryor's book Don't Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training to get an idea of the theory behind clicker training. The book is actually not about dog training - it's about behavioral training theory, and it's really insightful. Chapter four covers eight ways to deal with unwanted behaviors. Cat jumping on the kitchen table? Method 1: get rid of the cat. Method 2: punish the cat by squirting it with water... Method 6: put the behavior one cue. That is, train the cat to jump up on the kitchen table, and never give the command!... Method 8: change the motivation. Give the cat her own place in the kitchen to hang out that's even *better* than the kitchen table, like a cat stand.
And even with both of these books, I still recommend going to YouTube and watching videos of people clicker training their cats. Good luck!
Avoid this book! August 31, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book is almost useless! I wish the author took her own advice and actually "got started" with the training instruction. This book is filled with antedotes and the author blowing her own horn. The only reason this book did not receive one star is because it can be used to give the reader a few ideas of what clicker training can do. That's it. That's all this book is good for. I do not advise purchasing this book.
Buy Cat Training in 10 Minutes instead. You won't regret it!
 best and easiest to use July 27, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
taught cat in a matter of days to come to clicker very easy to follow and use
 Good Book January 10, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a good book if you want the basics on your cats' mind and how it may work sometimes. The possible reasons your cat does what it does. You may find out some things that you never knew before.Happy Reading!
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