The Importance Of Rewards After The Tour
Post-tour rewards are an important detail that is sometimes overlooked. If a dog is properly rewarded for its behavior, it will repeat it to receive the same recognition.
If you want to know what rewards to offer your dog after physical activity or when it should be done, we recommend that you read this article carefully.
What rewards can be given after the tour?
As soon as we get back from the tour , the pet should receive a reward. This encouragement should be given if he has behaved well during the activity.
Furthermore, this is also suitable so that it allows to carry out hygiene as soon as we get home. In this way, we reduce the risk of spreading what was brought from the street around the house, especially in the current period of quarantine.
A question that may arise is what kind of reward can be given to the pet . Next, let’s talk about some possible options:
snacks
Generally, they are the most used reward to reward pets, especially when it comes to puppies that are in the apprenticeship period. For this reason, the market offers a wide variety of products.
You can choose natural or more processed options. Some natural snacks that can be found in your kitchen are slices of melon, banana or carrot, among others.
- There are also different types of treats, according to the dog’s age. After all, a puppy cannot eat the same thing as an adult or elderly dog.
This type of reward is very suitable when training the animal. Thus, he learns to perform an action or have a specific behavior more quickly.
However, it is not recommended to use this type of reward for dogs with weight problems. It is better to use other types of positive reinforcement, such as petting or verbal expressions, as it is not appropriate to promote a link between food and behavior when the animal already has feeding problems.
caress
Dogs generally love to receive affection from their owners. For this reason, they seek this pleasure through small gestures, such as gently pushing with their head or touching the owner’s body with their tail. You can take advantage of the animal’s attention to educate. Thus, petting can be a positive reinforcement that motivates dogs to obey.
verbal recognition
Verbal recognition is also a type of positive reinforcement. Therefore, it is recommended to reward the dog with food or caress along with words of encouragement or satisfaction. Dogs are able to recognize their owner’s tone and mood, so they interpret joy as a great encouragement.
Physical activities
Dogs have a lot of energy that they need to expend doing different activities . Therefore, physical activities such as walks or games are included as positive reinforcements.
Thus, it is possible to give a command to the animal to perform an action, such as sitting, for example. If the action is performed correctly, he will be rewarded with a joke or a walk.
A known fact is that every learning process requires dedication and repetition over a period of time. Therefore, the animal cannot be expected to learn everything in five minutes.
Why should I give rewards after the tour?
Dogs are animals that learn concepts through repetition. If a reward is received for responding to a command, such as “quiet”, he will assimilate this behavior. However, the types of rewards need to be changed little by little.
Initially, the reward is usually a treat, a prize. Over time, these rewards should be spaced out further and replaced with gestures or words, although they should still be used, from time to time.
Thus, the animal ends up obeying because the owner asked and, in this way, it will associate the appropriate behavior with an incentive, be it a caress or a “Very good!”.
For that reason, rewards are quick and easy to administer. This is a way to immediately reward an action.
What cannot be done?
You need to keep in mind several tips to follow when giving a reward or applying a punishment:
- If the animal does not comply with the order, the reward should not be given, but physical punishment should never be applied. Violent punishment can cause mental instability in the pet.
- Yelling does not make the animal react any faster. Although we may scream in times of tension or danger, the animal will not understand the command any better.
- It is necessary to speak in a calm, firm tone that commands respect.
- Most important of all is to get the animal’s attention as soon as it performs the action, both in the case of reward and punishment. Otherwise, it will not identify the behavior associated with that action.
- Being consistent and patient is another recommendation for pet owners to follow.
The world of dog training takes time and consistency, but with good rewards and affection, your pet will learn to follow the owner’s commands quickly.
