The Culture Clash

A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding the Relationship Between Humans and Domestic Dogs

By: Jean Donaldson

Narrated by: Vanessa Daniels

Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Generations of dogs have been labeled training lemons for requiring actual motivation when all along they were perfectly normal. Numerous other completely and utterly normal dogs have been branded as canine misfits simply because they grew up to act like dogs. Barking, chewing, sniffing, licking, jumping up, and occasionally (just like people) having arguments are as normal and natural for dogs as wagging tails and burying bones. However, all dogs need to be taught how to modify their normal and natural behaviors to adjust to human culture. Sadly, all too often, when the dog's way of life conflicts with human rules and standards, many dogs are discarded and summarily put to death. That's quite the Culture Clash.

©2016 Jean Donaldson (P)2017 Tantor

Who is this for?

The Culture Clash brings to the forefront the non-anthropomorphic nature of dogs through science, and in an entertaining way. The first part of the book is its star. The metaphor for dogs by using humans owned by aliens was especially powerful and sticks while emphasizing the message. The second part of the book is where it begins to confuse. The audience for this book is unclear. It gives extremely basic advice and also extremely technical and advanced training procedures. It’s not clear if this book is targeted at new dog owner/trainers or at professionals. If it’s the first, it comes across very harsh and may put the reader off if the methods being attacked are being employed currently by the reader. If it’s the latter, it’s bogged down by things an experienced owner surely already understands, like how to house train or get a sit the very first time. I would recommend this book only to the inexperienced owner who really wants to do their research, and not to anyone using aversives currently. It discusses them at length, but the discussion against them is quite argumentative and won’t be appealing to these people. I imagine it could turn many away—this coming from an R+ trainer. The first half however, I would recommend to professionals and experienced dog owners as good food for thought. There are absolutely good points in the beginning. I would rather have read a whole book of those without the training walkthrough being the rest of the book. These could be separate publications.
The narration performance is quite stilted and sounds like an AI voice sometimes, but is clear.

Though not a perfect narrator,

not as bad as I feared and doesn't ruin the quality of the audiobook.

Stuffed with historic and practical information, this should be a must-read for any dog owner.

Loved this book!

Loved this book. I don't agree with using pain to train so this book was right up my alley. very well done and educational.

Amazing insight into our canine companions

This book is a must read/listen to for any dog lover. Jean beautifully breaks down the science of dog training in a very digestible way. This book is fit for owners and pet professionals alike. I do, and will continue to, reccomend it to everyone.

A must read

A must read for any person wanting to better understand animal behavior and the science of behavior. Well written and easy for anyone to understand.

Required for all dog owners

This should be required reading for all dog owners. Still relevant today concepts that improve the relationship you have with your dog. Love me some Jean Donaldson!

A must read for dog owners and dog trainers.

Extremely insightful information all dog owners should know. Very helpful for professional trainers too. Tips that can be used in teachng as well as day-to-day life.
Having watched several seminars with Jean Donaldson, I can easily say the narrator did a terrible job with voice inflection, proper emphasis, and tone.

love the book

Jean Donaldson is a master at dog behavior and training. I am not a novice and I feel like I have learned so much more from this book than expected. I will be rereading it for sure. the narrator is just terrible.

Important, real-world-relevant dog relationship building

While somewhat dated, Jean Donaldson’s Culture Clash remains essential and relevant for those wanting a proper relationship with their dog. Sound behavioural science that recognises and honours the differences and world-view between the human brain and the dog brain. While repetitive in parts, still well worth it from end to end.

Other have criticised the audiobook reading, which is stilted / mechanical. I found that this was remedied by listening at 1.1x or 1.2x speed - which also reduced some of the monotony of the book itself.

Best Dog behaviour dog book ever!

As a dog trainer I suggest this book to be read by all dog owners. Such clear and effective information is still extremely valuable, mainly in my country: Brazil. We do not need shoke collars or aversive training to teach our dogs, it’s all about the laws of learning.