Two little words
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What are the best two words you can say to your dogs? “Come Eat” ? “Bed
time” ? “Car Ride” ??? LOL Sure your Boxer will love all those but the best
thing you can say is “Good dog”!!!!
As an obedience instructor, this is one of the biggest challenges I face at
training - getting people to praise their dogs. I find myself saying “Good
Dog” automatically to other people’s dogs because they don’t say it
themselves.
And it doesn’t apply just to formal training. I don’t know how many times a
day I say “Good Boy” to my boy. When he looks in my direction, I tell him
he’s a good dog. When he starts to eat his dinner, when he goes to the toilet,
when he comes, when he spits out the bug he wasn’t supposed to eat, when he
fetches a toy . . . . There are very few occasions that I don’t tell him
he’s a good boy.
Reward any and all good behaviour – even if it seems insignificant – with a
good word or a pat or scratch or a click of the tongue. Anything that indicates
to your dog that you are pleased and they did a good thing. And use your voice
and especially the tone of your voice to convey your message. I also many times
a day tell my boxer he’s a bad dawg (usually when he’s picked up the bug in
the first place) but I don’t mean it and I use the same tone as when I tell
him he’s good so he knows I don’t mean it. He probably doesn’t even
distinguish between the words, he just picks up the tone. He understands that
it’s the I’m-not-in-trouble voice and he’s happy. He does however know
when he’s in trouble because the tone changes. But again as soon as he stops
the bad behaviour and listens to me, I go back to “Good Dog”!
Two little words … say them often to your dog, it will make both of you feel
good.
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