Useful resources
Where did I learn from?
As a continuous learner, I do my best to learn new things every day. Books were absolutely crucial in my learning. If I feel I don’t have time to read, I listen to a podcast show, YouTube video or audiobook while going for a walk or doing some repetitive task at home. It’s by no means a completed list. I decided to add recommendations outside the field, which I feel helped broaden my perspective. I believe that having different resources and interests can help us create interesting connections and new findings in the main field of our interest. I recommend not staying in just one area but looking for different ideas, even in surprisingly different places.
Books
Don’t shoot the dog: The New Art of Teaching and Training by Karen Pryor - absolutely crucial to develop my understanding about teaching and training both human and non-human animals.
Dog sense: How the New Science of Dog Behavior Can Make You A Better Friend to Your Pet by John Bradshaw - great source for all dog owners to learn more about dog specific behaviours.
Cat sense: How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet by John Bradshaw - great source for cat owners to learn more about cat specific behaviours.
The science of consequences: How They Affect Genes, Change the Brain, and Impact Our World by Susan M. Schneider - broad applications of the science of consequences (known as behavior analysis) in human and all non-human animals based on scientific findings from many different fields. Although based on science, it’s an easy read.
Science and Human Behavior by BF Skinner - amazing to learn more about human behaviour and understand each other better. It’s very scientific and geeky so it won’t be for everyone. If you’re up for it, it can offer you a new look on the work of BF Skinner.
Excel-erated Learning: Explaining in plain English how dogs learn and how best to teach them by Pamela J. Reid - a great book on technical terms in the science of learning and how it relates to teaching dogs.
Bringing Out the Best in People: How to Apply the Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement by Aubrey C. Daniels - incredible source to learn how positive reinforcement can be applied with people and what incredible results it provides.
Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Al Switzler, Joseph Grenny, and Ron McMillan - great to learn communications skills with other people when “stakes are high and opinions vary”.
Pig wrestling: The Brilliantly Simple Way to Solve Any Problem... and Create the Change You Need by Mark Bawden and Pete Lindsay - very easy to read guide how to solve any problem. It will improve your problem solving skills!
Non-violent communication by Marshall Rosenberg PhD - more about communications skills from a different angle than Crucial Conversation but equally valuable.
A liberated mind: The essential guide to ACT by Steve Hayes - guide to help you better understand yourself and free yourself from unwanted thoughts and emotions that run through lives.
The 4-hour work week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferris - a guide on how to live in a new way, with different priorities and free more time for what it the most important to us.
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle - it’s a spiritual book, however I looked at it through behavioral lence and learned a great deal on how to be more present in the Now.
The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael Alan Singer - also spiritual guide to be more present with whatever is.
Podcasts
Animal Training Academy podcast - the most prominent minds in animal training and behaviour analysis share their stories and findings.
Why we do what we do podcast - consumable psychology.
Kwik Brain podcast - fast-paced podcast to improve our learning.
The Great Simplification Podcast by Nate Hagens - “the podcast explores how energy, the environment, economics, human behavior, and systems science underpin the human predicament”. This podcast explores the question of how we can avoid existential risks that threaten the planet.
YouTube channels
Daily BA by Ryan O’Donnell - everything about behavior analysis.
The Dog Real Talk by Agnieszka Janarek - conversations about training and behavior with renowned experts.