Food is the passion of any dog, probably due to its extraordinary sense of smell, even capable of detecting the ingredients contained in any dog snack.
That is why we must know when to give Snacks to a dog, taking advantage of the fact that it performs some of our orders well and thus stimulating positive reinforcement, so important in areas of education and training.
Index of contents
- 1 What is a Snack and why is it important?
- 2 How to Snack a Puppy
- 3 Should I give Snaks to my adult dog?
- 4 When not to Snack a dog
- 5 What are the best dog snacks?
What is a Snack and why is it important?
Snacks are small pieces of food that are given to dogs as a reward, a reward they get when they do something right, such as obeying the order to “come here” or “sit down”.
It is very important to give rewards to our dogs when they obey because this is how we implement what is known as positive reinforcement. The dog associates carrying out the order well to receiving an award and therefore learns much faster.
There are many types of Snaks, with different flavors so that we can choose the one that our dog likes the most and even with different sizes, so that all breeds, whether mini or giant, can enjoy them.
There are those who use portions of the feed as prizes, but the dogs end up getting used to the taste for being the same as that of the meals and the positive effect is not as intense.
That is why we recommend purchasing Snacks with different flavors than our dog’s feed.
How to Snack a Puppy
Sure you fall into the temptation to give your puppy a snack every two by three simply because you like to see him happy, but unfortunately this is not a good practice.
The best thing we can do, both for ourselves and for our puppy, is to be selective when giving him a prize. The priority when educating a puppy is to teach him basic things how to relieve himself outside the home or to come to our call.
So let’s use the Snakcs as a reward and positive reinforcement for our puppy, so that when our puppy pees or poops outside the house we will congratulate him and give him a snack.
Teaching him to come to the call is very simple if by saying his name we show him how we get a prize for him, when he sees that we are going to give him a Snack he will come running towards us. Something very positive to remember that when we call you, you must come (although I think it is simply to eat your prize).
Should I give Snaks to my adult dog?
Many people believe that when dogs are already adults it is not necessary to give them prizes, because they already know how to obey our orders. However, over time obedience decreases, precisely because they receive no reward.
Rewarding an adult dog when he does something right, how to come to our command, sit down or just stop tugging on the leash when we tell him to, is vitally important.
They need to be admired for a job well done, and nothing better for that than a reward as food. Your attention to us will increase and we will get an even more obedient dog.
When not to Snack a dog
One of the most common mistakes is to reward a dog when he does not deserve it, and beware, all dogs deserve a prize but as long as they do some work. We should never give our dog a snack simply because we like him and we love him.
It is enough to order something simple like “sit down” to obey and thus be able to give your reward. We should only give our dog a prize when he does one of our orders well.
This is done so that the dog associates the prize for good behavior, obedience. Otherwise, you would think that we simply give you food from time to time with no sense whatsoever, something that will confuse you and make you always ask for prizes.
Another situation in which we should not give snacks to a dog is when it is nervous, active, too excited. We should not reward his excess nervousness because we could lead him to think that being nervous is positive.
If our dog is too excited, it is best to ask him to sit down and wait for him to relax, once he has relaxed we can give him his well-deserved reward.
What are the best dog snacks?
The big question of the million, we all want to give our dog the best prizes but… Which are the best?
There really is no answer to this question, because every dog is different and so my dog may love it, your dog may not like it. We must try between different Snaks (fish flavor, meat flavor, etc …) until we find the one that our puppy likes the most.
It is not necessary that we buy a thousand bags of prizes, we can simply vary each time one runs out and we have to buy another. We will immediately notice if our dog likes it or not, because they love to eat.