Before I begin, the ‘good boy’ name is only an example for ease of writing in this article and ‘good girl’ or any other words of praise may be used in place of ‘good boy’ throughout this article.
The god boy command is not so much a command as a general consistent learning or rewarding exercise, the aim of this exercise is to get your dog to associate ‘good boy’ with times when he has done something well and is rewarded, this will make your dog happy and glad that they have done good for you.
A lot of dog breeds actually enjoy performing tasks for their owner and it’s what they are used to and aim to achieve, these dogs are generally dog with a working background and breed past, such as sheepdogs and collies, this makes the good boy command a lot more rewarding for them and a good reason to perform well.
This exercise can be taught as soon as you get your puppy or dog and can be a natural reaction to good behavior by many already, also making the command easier to remember and be consistent with.
The good boy command is easy and is taught along with rewards you give your dog, if your dog behaves well you should praise them to get them to do the same command again, this is common sense in dog training and the ‘good boy’ command only ads to this so you are able to give your dog a different, emotional type of praise on the rare occasions when you haven’t got treats on your person or to hand (although not recommended but it does happen).
So when your dog behaves well and has deserved a treat or other form of reward, recite ‘good boy’ to them in an excited and impressed voice and give your dog cuddles and love. This over time will be seen as another form of reward that means just as much to your dog as treats do.
The good boy command gives more emotion to your rewards and gives your dog a new form of praise to aim for thus enhancing the relationship between you and your dog, making this a very important command or reward.