Training Dogs (and Husbands, too!)

For a wonderfully campy, fun read, check out Amy Sutherland's just-released new book What Shamu Taught Me about Life, Love, and Marriage: Lessons for People from Animals and Their Trainers (special thanks to LuLu's Uncle for the referral!) The book is based on Amy's New York Times article What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage (if you have not yet read this, you MUST, it's just too amusing to pass up!)

In the original article (as well as in her recent NBC Today Show Interview) Amy talks about how she applied the positive training techniques professional trainers use on animals... on her husband. She uses the primary concepts we talk about all the time when working with dogs: focusing on desired behaviors, rewarding successes, ignoring negative behavior, redirecting, etc. In the book, she elaborates on all her goofy experiments and offers insightful facts & creative tips for working with species of all sorts.

Although some might initially find Amy's "husband training" slant rather creepy (namely...um... husbands), the premise is actually great. Whether you're interacting with puppies, dolphins, your co-workers, preschoolers (ahem), and yes, even husbands, patience & positivity seem to be the most effective (and loving!) universal motivators :)