The Secret History of Kindness

Learning from How Dogs Learn

By: Melissa Holbrook Pierson

Narrated by: Ann Osmond

An intimate, surprising look at man's best friend and what the leading philosophies of dog training teach us about ourselves. Years back, Melissa Holbrook Pierson brought home a border collie named Mercy, without a clue of how to get her to behave. Stunned after hiring a trainer whose immediate rapport with Mercy seemed magical, Pierson began delving into the techniques of positive reinforcement. She made her way to B. F. Skinner, the behavioral psychologist who started it all, the man who could train a pigeon to dance in minutes and whose research on how behavior is acquired has ramifications for military dolphin trainers, athletes, dancers, and, as he originally conceived, society at large.

To learn more, Pierson met with a host of fascinating animal behaviorists, going behind the scenes to witness the relationships between trainers and animals at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, and to the in-depth seminars at a Clicker Expo where all the dogs but hers seemed to be learning new tricks. The often startling story of what became of a path breaking scientist's work is interwoven with a more personal tale of how to understand the foreign species with whom we are privileged to live. Pierson draws surprising connections in her exploration of how kindness works to motivate all animals, including the human one.

©2015 Melissa Holbrook Pierson (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Lots of big ideas, maybe too many!

I think there’s a lot of good stuff in here and I am absolutely convinced by her primary point: that reward based training is far superior to using punishment. I also think that the general concepts are really exciting and important and probably underutilized. I did find some of her personal stories a little too long and sometimes even eyebrow m-raising, especially how she let her dog run off even public parks and places where they shouldn’t.

I also felt that sometimes she was so focused on behavior and reinforcement that she really lost sense of the individual. I’m not denying that these are incredibly powerful forces, perhaps the most powerful ones at the end of the day, but there are still feelings and thoughts and individual differences, some of which she actually acknowledged in the book itself, and these really can make a difference in training and the like. I felt that these were sort of briefly mentioned and then forgotten about.

It’s also a bit longer than it needs to be, and I think a good editor would’ve made this book even better. Still, a worthwhile read!

Important Read!

This book is absolutely filled with important studies and history on animal behavior and our relationship with it. A must read for animal trainers and behaviorists!

Mercy Made Me

This is the kind of book I wish all dog owners (well everyone really) should read. The world has a lot to learn about kindness, what better teachers than our dogs. Thank you for this touching, engaging, truthful book. I appreciated the science, humor and personal anecdotes shared to tell us about The Secret History of Kindness.

The book I've always wanted to write.

I've always wanted to write a book but didn't know what I'd want to say. Melissa Holbrook Pierson beat me to it.

Great Read If You’re As Narrow Minded as the Author

I really thought I would like this book because I am very interested in ALL aspects of dog behavior/training. The author began very strong in my opinion but a few chapters in started to show how close minded her learning had made her. She only sees black and white with training. Reward only vs. correction only. There are SO many ways to combine the two in a safe, humane way. I’ve seen many dogs, including my own, that get BEYOND excited when they see their remote collar come out because fun things happen when they wear it. If you base your judgements to align with hers, these dogs would cower in a corner. Training adversatives has come a LONG way. Especially with the use of corrective collars. Although she did say she condones the use of them in police/military dogs where “life’s are at stake” like that’s any different... eye roll.