Have you seen Whiplash? Remember what J.K. Simmons’ character says about the phrase “Good Job”?
I’ll let J.K. tell you, using some colorful adult language, so I can stick with my goal of using all positive language.
I rather enjoyed Whiplash and this scene sums up its theme. Maybe that is how a great artist becomes One of The Greats.
On the other hand, I believe that to raise a Great Dog, the two most beneficial words are “Good job.”
Leo jumped onto this raised dock in a parking lot with just a little encouragement, and you bet I cheered him on.
“Good boy!” I gave him cheese. Mia hopped right up beside him and was happy to be rewarded with her rubber ball.
Would throwing a cymbal at Leo’s head help him jump onto the next metaphorical dock he encounters? Or will he remember how good it felt to make his people so proud they smiled and cheered and gave him cheese?
For the A to Z Challenge, I’m using all positive language in my posts. Find out how I discovered the benefits of positive reinforcement training in my book, Bark and Lunge!
After checking out some of the other A to Z Challenge bloggers, how about visiting some Wordless Wednesday blog hoppers and telling them “Good Job”?
Powered by Linky Tools
Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…
Kari Neumeyer 
What a great A to Z word. Thanks for sharing.
I wonder how many times the average dog owner says “Good Boy!” or “Good Girl!” to their dog in it’s lifetime. I probably say that ten times a day! Perfect for your letter “G” post.
G is for Good Boy, too! I have my guys conditioned to know those words as a reward marker. I’ve paired them with food/treats so many times, that if I need to reward them when food is absent, those words do the trick!
I stretch out “boy” so it’s like “good boooyeeee!”
I tell Mr. N he’s a good boy probably several dozen times a day lol. And he is a very good boy, about 99 percent of the time!
Kinda wanting a dog now!
I say Good Boy or Good Girl to my cats 😉 They’re also why I don’t have a dog right now (there’s a story there).
Didn’t finish the video, like your idea of Good Job much better!
Gina, I’m #1302 today, blogging at Book Dragon’s Lair
Nothing makes me happier than hearing people say that my dogs make them want dogs! Way better than having them think my dogs are out of control and who would want such creatures!
“G” is for “good one” blog post that is. Love this challenge…
That’s what I always say to Rita – Good job! Especially when she does something brave!
Yes! I thought Leo was very brave to jump on this dock.
I totally agree!
Good Job or Good Girl/boy is always aok for a dog. Your dogs are beautiful!! Venturing around the A to Z
Thank you for visiting and commenting!
Great post! People thrive when we don’t treat them like dogs. We need more than the desire to please. We need to want to be something.
Drusilla Barron
http://lovedasif.com
http://glamofgod.com
I always used to say good boy to my childhood dog and he seemed to realize that he was doing something good.
It is a lot harder to encourage my frogs, but I still do try. They just don’t listen at all!
TheFrogLady
Ha ha. I had an iguana that was fairly sentient, but I never tried training him with positive reinforcement.
My frogs don’t train well at all! I keep trying to train them to stay in their cage and yet they are always curious on what is outside.
I feel like iguanas would listen sometimes!
I try and praise our dogs for every good thing they do – I give them lots of love and hugs and sometimes treats. I adore them. They repeat good behavior when you tell them that you like it 🙂