Clicker Training for Cats (Karen Pryor Clicker Books)

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 benefit from two different sources. However, after reading both manuals and having been clicker training my cat for several months now, I can definitively say that this book -- Clicker Training for Cats by Karen Pryor -- just doesn't measure up in content, quality, accessibility, and organization to Cat Training in 10 Minutes.1. Comprehensiveness of 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; strangely, hand signals are *not* incorporated, which is too bad because they're quite effective.2. Accessibility: 1/5 stars. I was surprised to find that this book is not written like a training manual; rather, it's a collection of wordy stories about the author's own cats. Now, I love cats and enjoy stories about their antics, but 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 buried deep within the thick jungle of her banal narrative, so it's difficult to find them. (If you buy this book and plan to come back to it as a reference, use your highlighter the first time you go through it because you'll be hard-pressed to find the instructions again.) There are no illustrations that show you what to do or how your cat will likely respond.3. Organization: 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 several "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. Chapter 3 covers several "non-useful" commands, like playing the piano and high-speed moves. Chapter 4 discusses undesirable behavior. Lastly, 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. Overall, the organization of this book isn't terrible, but it isn't great, either.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 frustrating. 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 no added value in them being in the book.Bottom line: This isn't a horrible book, and you wouldn't be doing yourself a disservice if you purchased it. However, my honest advice to anyone looking for information on this subject is to purchase  Cat Training in 10 Minutes , as it is far superior in all aspects. If you're skeptical, then check out both books, as I did, and you'll see just how much better Cat Training in 10 Minutes is. Good luck, and here's to your cat learning some great new tricks!

I think this book has gotten a bit of an unfair bad rap because of some of the reviews. I almost didn't buy it because of them.True, the book spends the first half dozen pages or so trying to do a "hard sell" on the concept of clicker training. That is boring and completely unnecessary because we're already reading the book (duh), so it is just wasted space. But the meat of the book is good.Within the first 20 pages of the book, she very carefully and precisely teaches you a step-by-step approach to teaching a cat the "targeting" behavior through clicker training, which is the first thing most trainers teach. She goes really slowly step-by-step for everything from when to do it, how to do it, what treats to use to reward your cat, how often to do it etc.Then, since training additional things is only a variation of that training, she summarizes what is necessary to teach additional things. This is a common tactic for training books. Give the theory, give one very complete step-by-step example, and rely on the readers ability to generalize that to other situations. So I really don't understand the criticism that she only tells anecdotes about her cats, and how the book is useless etc. I think for such people, most books would be useless, since this is a very common approach to learning. Anyone with a high school level reading level ought to be able to comprehend this book and attempt to put the lessons into practice.To be fair, I can't evaluate how successful these methods are yet since I have just read the book and haven't put them into practice, but after reading the book I feel like I understand the concept and the necessary steps to perform, and have confidence that I can attempt to train my cats in these behaviors. It seems pretty straight forward and I look forward to spending many hours in this most worthy pursuit.

I bought this book to help me understand how to train my very active Bengal. He needed to learn some manners, and we both needed a "common language" so we could communicate with each other. This book was specifically recommended to me by a cat behavior specialist in Seattle.The book is an easy read, as it is not overly long or complicated. The techniques are simple to understand and are explained in clear terms.The clicker training techniques were originally used to train marine mammals, like dolphins! I have seen the amazing things trained dolphins can do when trained, so I thought surely my cats can benefit from this technique as well.The book suggests that you begin with a very simple little trick, which actually comes naturally to your cat. Once your cat figures out that by performing the trick he has trained YOU to give him a treat, the rest is a piece of cake! My cat enjoyed the training and it provided some nice bonding time for us. It was exciting to be able to clearly communicate with my cat and know he understood exactly what I was saying.My Bengal can now (on command)"sit," "get down," "jump up," and walks on a leash. The training only took a few minutes a day, and in less than a week the communication between me and my cat had improved significantly.I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to understand their cat, change or improve their cats' behavior, or anyone who wants a fun way to create a bond with their pet.

Liked instruction via real life experience.

I am a first time cat owner. Never have had cats and never have been around cats. After 2 months adopting a 3-month old kitten, I read this book. The book explains the foundation of your relationship with your cat. After reading the book, I changed some of my daily routines with my cat (like feeding her twice a day instead of laying food in front of her at all times). I also started the clicker training with the help of the book and some videos on youtube and after only a few trials, my little kitten can now do high five and play dead. Following the advice in the book I was able to keep my kitten off the dinner table, stop ruining the plants, sit quietly while I clip her nails, and even trained her to drink from tab water (which made her be friendly with water so I can give her a bath of some sort).

This book is fantastic! My indoor cat is not a fan of most toys, and she was pretty bored before we started clicker training. The book showed us how to model and reward behaviours, and now she is eager to show off her new skills. She can give high fives, jump up and down on command, bat a ball back & forth to us, and the list keeps on growing. If your pet is bored, try clicker training!

This book was supposed to come with a clicker but it did not. Now I have to go and buy one, when my impression was that the book would come with a clicker. NOT IMPRESSED.

The book introduces clicker training for cat with interesting anecdotes to show the reader the possibilities with clicker training cats and perhaps convince skeptics. But if you’re looking for more practical exercises and something more along the lines of a reference book, then this is not the right book to get. How to clicker train your cat by Stephanie Mantilla is a better choice.