alternatives to incarceration Book REview | Don’t Shoot the Dog! | The New Art of Teaching and Training | | Teresa Fuller | 5/11/2010 |

Don’t Shoot the Dog! Provides a wonderful explanation and description of proper methods and laws around shaping undesirable behavior as an alternative to punitive discipline, be whether it is a student, child or animal these methods will apply. I am studying juvenile incarceration and alternatives to detention, this subject has opened my eyes to many red flags in the juvenile justice system, one being incarceration of low level offenders. In this book review I will discuss the importance and significance of this book, its content, meaning, purpose, strengths and weaknesses. I will also show how this book has increased my level of understanding of my target population and regarding the use of reinforcements in society. |

The book I chose to review is titled “Don’t Shoot the Dog! The New Art of Teaching and Training”. What this book does is provides a unique and completely rational approach to retraining and reframing of thoughts and actions. In this book the author does a great job at describing and providing alternatives to unpleasing behavior. The population I am choosing to study is the juvenile population. I wonder how we can save our youth instead of introducing them to a life of crime and further destroying their future. Over the last ten to twenty years we have been locking our youth up left and right for lower and lower level offenses. I know Americans are scared however I feel that incarceration is not the answer. We are not rehabilitating, restoring or teaching these youth anything except to try harder not to get caught next time. Yet we place these youth in the same cells as youth who commit high level crimes and offenses and then these youth are taken under their wing. In the end we are further endangering their lives rather than preserving their youth and innocence. The intent of this book is to guide parents, teachers, coaches, trainers etc. in changing unwanted behavior in a positively reinforced way. Overall the author wants people to see reinforcement as an “..[I]ndividual experience which may lead to benefits for all” (Pryor, 1999). She also feels that living creatures have a right to food, shelter and a reinforcing environment. I agree, having a society that reinforces you and your behavior will cause you to feel welcome and like a part of that society. You feel needed and included which will make it easier to take ownership and accountability over your actions.
I chose this book because it shows effective and ineffective ways to change unwanted behavior in any subject. When working with young adults we need to reinforce the behavior that we desire to see. Our society utilizes negative reinforces as a way to discipline juvenile delinquents with the hope that they do not reoffend. We do not reinforce good behavior rather we negatively reinforce bad behavior. For those youth who are craving attention they will act out in order to receive that attention because their positive actions go unnoticed. Instead of decreasing delinquency we are actually adding to the problem. The author speaks about various ways to reinforce the type of behavior we seek in individuals in such a way that it has a lasting effect on the subject. The only weakness of this book would be that I would have liked it to be geared around the human species instead of the animal species however I still was able to grasp a hold of the concept. Overall the book was great, the authors’ point of view was very strong and she was very knowledgeable about the subject matter. I feel that the author has done a great job at illustrating how reinforces can positively benefit the youth as well as society. The author also does a great job at showing how punitive action does not usually change unwanted behavior except in the presence of the punisher. This book is significant to my topic because it expanded my knowledge on alternatives to punitive discipline. It shows that locking up juveniles is not going to change their behavior nor get the desired results, in order to retrain and reframe these juveniles’ thoughts and actions we need to reinforce their rights and not their wrongs. A good place to start when we think about disciplining our youth is to ask ourselves this question: What am I actually reinforcing? Is it negative or positive behavior and who is this benefitting in the long and short run? This book has given me the tools needed to work effectively with youth who have behavioral issues and in need of belief. Reinforcement believes that the individual is good and can have better behavior. Through this book and my new found knowledge has taught me that reinforcement starts with the individual and that it is the best way to change unwanted behavior while shaping and new behaviors.