Click to Calm: Healing the Aggressive Dog

by Emma Parsons

Positive Answers for the Aggressive Dog. The dog that bites. The dog that attacks other dogs. The dog who may not survive his own aggressive behavior. What can be done to help these dogs? When Emma Parsons, canine behavior consultant, discovered that her own dog was aggressive, she developed innovative and effective strategies to calm, alter, and re-shape his reactive displays, and those of her clients' dogs.* Desensitize your dog to approaching strange dogs * Grab your dog's collar without getting bitten * Teach dogs to perform canine calming signals on cue * Use your own body language when under stress as a cue for your dog to remain calm

Genres: Dogs, Nonfiction, Animals, Education, Psychology

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2004

Reviews

[BRIAN J SWEET · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dogs are not pack animals

I was disappointed to see the vocabulary of 'top dog' and 'pack leader' still being used. Dogs are NOT pack animals. There is no alpha. Dominance and submission are fluid concepts, and during play the roles reverse back and forth forth. Let's stop using this language!!!

[Ema Phillips · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hugely disappointed with this book. As advanced as it was for the time period it was written, it's got a lot of outdated advice now. Whilst the techniques discussed will help a reactive dog, they're a very complicated way of going about it and are generally incredibly difficult for an average pet dog person to carry out. The ideas are interesting and differ to what is traditionally done with dogs who struggle with reactivity but as a professional dog trainer I think I would struggle to execute them and therefore would expect my clients to struggle. I wouldn't buy this book expecting it to fix your problems, save your money and work with a decent trainer in progress.

[Tariques]

En bok som måste varit banbrytande när den skrevs men som nu är ganska utdaterad. Jag fann att tips riktade mot hundföraren var de mest hjälpsamma (t.ex. att skriva en träningsdagbok och dela upp den i två delar, en för exakt vad som gjorde och vad som hände, en för att gå igenom känslorna kring det).
Skulle egentligen bara rekommendera till de som är intresserade av att se hur klickerträning och positiv förstärkning utvecklats med tiderna, kanske är hennes nyare bok "The new click to calm" lite mer i linje med dagens tänk.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent training method for dogs. This book was recommended by an animal trainer who we brought in to work with one of our dogs who had fear-aggression issues.

It helped to reinforce the bond between our dog and trainer-owner (us), increase his confidence and trust in us, and decreased his fear.

It also helped our other dog calm down and become more obedient.

The book starts off with basic exercises and contains exercises of increasing difficulty up to letting the dog invent their own exercise.

[Sarah ♥ dog crazy ♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think clicker/marker training is great and it's good that the author mentions several times that punishment is not the way to train a dog.

However, I don't like that she talks about being the (pack) leader and that the dog has to earn the right to everything, even eliminating. That's just too much.

[Donna Seewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in order to calm my fear aggressive dog. I did not want to use harsh corrections for fear of making him worse. It was an interesting read and yes I did use some of the ideas in the book on him. Each dog is different and I am sure if you have some issues with your pet you will find some of the techniques useful.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aunque el libro me pareció claro y con pasos muy precisos, definitivamente creo que no es para principiantes, creo que se requiere tener ya algo de experiencia previa con el uso de clicker y también manejo de varios perros para poder aprovecharlo verdaderamente. Lo más relevante para mí fueron los lineamiento que propone para la toma de decisiones.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I already use clicker training for my dog and wanted to learn how to stop him from barking at dogs. There was a chapter on dealing with an aggressive dog which I didn't think was too helpful for me. However, the book as a whole is informative for a newbie.

[Sarah Walker-Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a lot of training books and this is a quality training guide with both theory and practical 'how to's'.

This book isn't newly released yet I found some of the advise for training emotions quite revolutionary. And all of the techniques/advice is still good today.

Highly recommend.

[Sarah Norbut · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings. Lots of great advice and helpful training recipes, but a healthy dose of outdated, dominance sort of stuff too. Still worth a read but probably not going to be anyone’s go to in 2021. Take what you need, leave what you don’t.

[Erika Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Read

Has great step by step activities that people can try to help heal their aggressive dogs and start the 2 way trust process.

[Alex Writz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear solutions written in an easy to understand way for trainers and owners alike.

[Laura Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information. Very helpful.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good stuff. Picked up a few ideas from here, and a lot of the foundational work covered is very good.

[Caitlin Kupp · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was some outdated language in the book that was disappointing. However I did find a few exercises that I think may be a good fit for my dog.

[Johanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent training resource for aggressive dogs, Parsons made the switch from traditional punishment-based training after various "professional" trainers' attempts to "correct" her aggressive dog resulted in a worsening and deeper ingraining of the aggressive behavior.

Click To Calm discusses differences between positive and punishment based training methods, and the positive methods she used to help her dog overcome his aggression.

Primarily focused on the "Look-At-That" technique, where the handler clicks and rewards the dog for looking at his or her trigger from a safe distance, below threshold, this book is designed to reduce your dog's emotional response to triggers through systematic-desensitization and counter-conditioning.

This book is very thorough, and broken down into simple and easy to follow segments, making it extremely user-friendly. It relies on pre-planned "set-ups", where there must be a stationary decoy or trigger, so you will have to have a helper or willing partner to practice (I use strangers at the park- they usually have no intention of interacting with my dog and pretend not to mind that I'm following them around with an insane dog :)

I have used this technique with some success with my aggressive rescue dog, but find it is not practical in the "real world" i.e., walks etc. Highly recommend this book in conjunction with Behavior Adjustment Training by Grisha Stewart, and Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt.

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that I will find myself owing a great deal of my training knowledge from the expertise and well structured advice that Emma Parsons offers in relation to working with and healing aggressive dogs. Perhaps what I loved most about the book,Click to Calm, is the fact that ANYONE raising a dog can benefit from using these methods and techniques in developing a healthy relationship between dog and handler.Of course, if you have a dog that does not seem to have a problem with aggression, there are a few of these exercises that can be skipped. But, on the whole,implementing clicker training and following the clicker home management program that is outlined, will most assuredly benefit anyone that takes that route, regardless of whether or not their dog has aggression issues that need to be addressed. This book is a definite MUST for anyone pursuing or involved in a dog training career, and a definite help for anyone who has a dog that might be a culprit for displaying aggression issues.

[Morgan Burkhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new approach for training reactive dogs. I wouldn't recommend the average dog owner try to execute what is in the book, rather it's more of a textbook or reference for experienced trainers who have been working with clicker training and reactive dogs for many years. The timing it takes for the clicker training to actually work is not something that can be learned overnight, nor are the subtleties of canine body language. As a professional dog trainer though, I appreciate the ideas in the book as training is never a one size fits all situation. I disagree with the latter section on aggression cases, but that's neither here nor there.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it had some good behavior recipes to affect change and things that an average person could easily implement, however emma parsons was way too happy to use luring to start a behavior, and I am not comfortable with that. Better to teach and generalize targeting to the hand as well as a target stick as the first foundation behavior taught then to start each behavior with luring. That is not good clicker training. You never want to bribe a dog into performing a behavior.

[Christin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a powerful book about healing aggression and how it feels to be a dog trainer with a "bad" dog. I think Emma Parson's honestly is wonderful and the base of behavioral retraining and the power of the clicker well explained.

This book also has many activities, strategies and training techniques you can work on with you own dog whether aggressive, nervous or you just want to do more.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

I w1,000% recommend this book to anyone who has a dog, regardless of whether the dog is aggressive or shy or happy or calm. The training approach that is outlined in this book has not only transformed my fearfully aggressive yorkie, but it has shaped my happy dachshund into a much more well-behaved dog. I can't say enough about how fabulous this book is. 5 stars are not enough!

[Nicole Lavin Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never thought I'd be clicker training my dog, but this book is a user-friendly guide to helping reactive and fearful dogs. We are making progress with our reactive dog these days, and we owe some of that progress to this helpful publication.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is all you need to get started on a better relationship with your reactive or anxious dog. It is also worth reading for anyone who owns dogs of any temperament or is interested in dog training.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok but not quite what I needed with my dog. I took some tips & will apply but I'm coming to realize there may not be a "cure" at there. My rescue is loving & great with me and my granddaughters and that might be all I'll get from him. I just wish I could exercise him off leash

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book...very detailed instructions on how to calm an agressive dog.

[Jodee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emma, nicely done. As a trainer who works with fear-based agression this book is filled with ideas to help - and with different animal/human teams you need a toolbox of ideas. Thank you

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book for working with aggressive dogs. Or dogs who get anxious like mine.

[Brae Peel raphael · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved this, anyone with dog leash reactivity should read this.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid and simply presented, easy to use material, but not much science & technical detail.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great dog training book if you are familiar with clicker training.