Monday, November 15, 2010

Who Started This?

So, I'm sitting in my office and housemate is watching an agility DVD. Finishing up one started over the weekend, so it's been ringing in the house for a few days. Don't know who. Hearing things about contacts, though. Does it really matter? No so much. They all sound the same.

I have a question for the more experienced people...

Who the frickin' hell started this "boy-woy" and "girrrrlllll-lay" shit?

Drives me nuts! All I can think listening to it is...

OMG! STFU!!!

I think it drives me nuts because it’s so bandwagon-y. I think trainers should have their own unique thing. I don't mean language. How screwed up would that be everyone called the same thing by a different term? I mean their own thang, you know? Whoever started it should stick to it and other people should get their own calling cards. Hearing all these people praise the exact same way is just a little weird. It gives me the same reaction as when I hear someone at the park do the Cesar Millan psht thing to their dog.

I'm also very curious as to why they ALL talk that way? Really, all of them. Like every DVD. How did that happen?

"Gooooood Boy-woooooy"
"Goooood Girrrrllll-lay"

When did this become the universal way to praise your dog?

Isn't agility complicated enough? Do we really need to start adding syllables to shit?

Aren't these are the same people that can't take the time to completely say other stuff. No time for reverse flow pivot or lead out pivot or serpentine. We are in a rush. Agility all about speed. Must RFP and LOP and serp!

But we have like 12 minutes to get out
"gooooooooooooooooooooddddd giiiiiiiiiirrrrrllllly-laaaaayyyyy?"

Me no gets. I'm conflicted. Is this my problem? Will things change if I switch to the 12 minute praise? Maybe my old-timey "good job" or "atta girl" or "yes" not getting through?

Hmm. There is so much I don't know.

And, for your trouble: Partial Kate's





11 comments:

  1. Hmmmm, I can't figure out if I've noticed this or not. Any youtube samples of what you're talking about?

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  2. Maybe it's an east coast thing...as a newbie to agility a few years ago, the first time I heard it, I winced. Ouch. And it certainly wasn't the last time I heard it. Oh well, to each their own :)

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  3. And the end dogs won't even notice the words! Love is love for them. I would think they sense our feeling, wherever they are anger or happiness.

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  4. hornblower said..."Hmmmm, I can't figure out if I've noticed this or not. Any youtube samples of what you're talking about?"

    If you have ever watched an agility DVD you have heard it! :-) I'll have to dig around for examples!

    Anonymous said..."Maybe it's an east coast thing..."

    You mean started in the east? Maybe, but I can tell you that you can't get much farther west than where I am and I hear it all the time!

    Hybrid Dogs said..."Love is love for them. I would think they sense our feeling, wherever they are anger or happiness."

    Of course! This is not about the dogs, though. They don't care what you say if you have a handful of cookies. :-P It's about the weirdness surrounding how these things start. I mean, it's not a natural or an average way to pronounce those words, so someone started it. Others started to use it. I just can't help it. My personality flaws not only make me susceptible to noticing these things, they make me have to talk about them too. :-)

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  5. Naw I think it all started with SG!! Didnt hear it around alot before her seminars. So that means it started way up north.....

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  6. @Anonymous, Sure, blame the Canadians. :-P

    I have heard this, and a lot of other baby-like talk. From my trainers and on videos. It's just not for me. I sound wacky enough when I'm talking to my dog. To each their own?

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  7. I think every discipline has its affectations and way of doing things. Just which bit of silliness they pick up on is a bit of a surprise sometimes.

    What annoys me here in training is "sii-it!"

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  9. Yeah, at the end of the day words don't matter to the dogs. What they feel is our love.

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  10. I indulge my girl-dog love by telling her she's a "good girlie" all the time in agility. She's my only female, and she's so wee, and so proud of herself when she does something right. We squeal together :)

    The boys though, they don't get that - they get "good!" and sometimes "good doggie" if I'm feeling extra happy. I haven't really noticed a ubiquitous use of baby talk in agility types though. The Sadist encourages lots and lots of praise and I'm always getting shit for not partying with my dogs enough for a job well done ... to which I generally reply that I run border collies, ie real dogs, not pansy Aussies who need all kinds of praise and googy talk to make them work for me ;-) One day, he is so going to kick me out of his classes.

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