Mastering The Art of Client Motivation In Dog Training

Simplifying things can boost client success, but motivation is crucial. Even if you make tasks easy for clients, they won't act unless motivated. If a client consistently struggles, it may indicate a lack of motivation, even with basic tasks.

Motivation, in this context, refers to rewards. Just like with dogs, rewards play a powerful role in human behavior. To effectively motivate clients, we will explore various reward categories and strategies to ensure their continued engagement.

Social Rewards And/Or Praise (External);

Our brains are wired to seek rewards that make us feel accepted, attractive, important, and included. So when you acknowledge and praise your successful clients, it's like praising a well-behaved dog - we need to verbally reinforce their behavior through words that convey expertise or by demonstrating our own expertise to invoke praise or admiration from others.

This is the essence of group classes. If you're not already offering them, it's time to start, even if it means using a public space like a park. Your group classes will rely heavily on the concept of Social Reinforcement. When you effectively apply social reinforcement to established clients, new clients, and even other regular clients will take notice. The more people see others like themselves or more experienced individuals being rewarded for their behavior, the more likely they are to modify their own behavior.

Physical Rewards (External):

Throughout our history, our survival and prosperity were dependent on acquiring physical necessities like food and supplies. While our circumstances have evolved, the drive to acquire remains ingrained in our nature. Previously, we dedicated our time, energy, and effort to procuring sustenance. Today, we seek material possessions, services, and other activities to occupy our time. In essence, the desire to acquire continues to resonate strongly within us.

At The Martial ARFS, we follow a belt system similar to traditional martial arts schools. However, our belts represent progress, not just completion of levels. The feeling of earning a new belt is incredibly motivating for our owners. In addition to receiving a belt, owners also receive an official certificate to commemorate their achievement. They can proudly display it or share it online.

But our rewards don't stop there. We also offer virtual badges for specific behaviors and skills, such as sitting, staying, or mastering obstacles like weave poles or teeters. These badges, along with the belts and certificates, act as jackpot rewards for our clients. And if you're wondering about tracking progress, don't worry. We have a system in place to reward our clients with free classes and discounts based on their performance. It's a reward system that not only fuels motivation but also helps our clients save money by removing obstacles that hinder success.

Variable Rewards: How Much & When?:

In order to keep things motivating when dog training, we need to introduce variability. And this is true for our interactions with people as well. So how do we go about varying the rewards? The simplest way is through Social Praise. Just a quick "good job" or a student spotlight feature can make a world of difference. The key is to avoid predictable rewards. For instance, certificates of completion may seem like a good idea for courses, but they end up being too consistent, especially for longer courses spanning 6 or 8 weeks. Remember, our goal is to maximize fun. Doing the same thing at the same time, every time can quickly become dull.

That's where the Martial ARFS belts and badge system I mentioned earlier comes into play. This system offers the best variable rewards. We have designed our belt system based on a minimum number of classes that our clients are not even aware of. Once they meet that minimum and their dog displays the necessary skills, they are rewarded – BOOM! On the other hand, badges for specific skills have no minimum requirement. Whether it takes a day or a month, as soon as the dog can perform the technique, the reward is theirs. It's time to move away from rigid 6 or 8 week classes with promotions. By eliminating that structure, we can focus on what truly works best for improving behavior – variable rewards.

Rewards Of The Self (Internal) Sense Of Competency:

People are naturally driven to overcome obstacles, seeking the satisfaction that comes with triumph. The pursuit of completing a task can lead to various behaviors, even if we don't openly enjoy them. Among our desires is the need to feel competent. In particular, people despise feeling unable to control their dogs, which can leave them feeling powerless, foolish, self-conscious, and embarrassed. Interestingly, providing a sense of competency is far more impactful than merely training the dog well.

In one of our captivating student spotlight featurettes, our client shares her experience of finding happiness in learning how to handle her poorly-behaved dog. The sense of competency she gained overshadowed any concern about the dog's actual behavior. We accomplished two important goals for her: not only did we improve the dog's behavior, but we also enhanced her competence in dealing with the dog's misbehavior. We alleviated the mental and physical strain she previously experienced when facing her dog at its worst.

Competitions: All Rewards In One:

Competitions bring excitement and variety to classes, even for those who don't enjoy competing. They offer social rewards, as clients receive recognition from trainers and peers for their achievements. In addition, a winning will serves as motivation for clients to improve their own skills so they can achieve the same recognition.

As part of your competitions you can offer physical rewards such as toys, treats, and certificates are given to winners throughout the year. Competitions also demonstrate their sense of competency, showing that they have mastered the necessary skills.

Competitions can be as simple as a sit to stand challenge, where clients compete to see how many repetitions they can perform in a minute. Sharing scores and celebrating winners encourages engagement and practice outside of class.

By focusing on rewarding owners for their efforts, dog training programs not only achieve greater success but also financial success.