My 8 year old nephew asked me why I call dogs 'good boys' instead of their names

I was grooming this golden retriever named Oscar last Tuesday and my nephew was watching. He said 'Aunt Holly, why do you keep saying good boy when his name is Oscar' and honestly it hit me weird. Now I'm trying to actually use their names more but it's so automatic to just say good boy or good girl. Has anyone else realized how much default language we use with pets without thinking about it?

3 comments

3 Comments

hall.joel19d agoTop Commenter

Well dang, nobody's brought up how our brains just kinda shortcut things when we're busy doing stuff. You're probably focused on not messing up the groom and making sure the dog's comfortable, so "good boy" just rolls out on autopilot. It's like when I'm trying to count inventory and start calling every box "this one" instead of reading the label.

joel_jones19d ago

Devil's advocate here - calling them "good boy" and "good girl" is actually way more useful than using their real names. Dogs pick up on tone and rhythm, and those default phrases create a consistent emotional signal they can count on. If you start cycling through Oscar, Buddy, Max, whatever, the dog might not even register it's being addressed. Plus think about it, you say "good boy" and the whole room lights up, the tail wags, it's like a universal dog button that works on any mutt. Using their name every time actually dilutes the power of that word, now they're hearing their name for commands, scolding, praise, everything - it just becomes background noise.

parkerbrown19d ago

Watching my buddy's dog go nuts when he says "good boy" to any dog he meets made me reconsider this whole thing. @joel_jones you got a point about the name thing getting watered down. I used to think using their name every time was the way to go, but now I see how saying it for everything just turns it into noise to them. The "good boy" shortcut keeps the reward separate from commands and scolding, makes it hit different.