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If this were to happen to your dog, it wouldn’t matter quite as much if you already communicate using hand gestures. Even if your dog has perfect hearing now, they often lose this as they age. If you’re in a noisy environment with lots of distractions, a clear hand signal is a better way to communicate than shouting your command and trying to be heard. The first, and most obvious, is in situations when your dog can’t hear you properly. There are a few reasons why hand signals are important. So, if your dog already understands verbal commands, why teach hand signals? Or, even if your dog is still in the initial training stages, why is it important for them to learn hand signals alongside voice cues? Why are they important and how can you start training your dog to understand specific hand gestures? Read on – we’re about to explain all of that and more! Why Are Hand Signals Important in Dog Training? However, hand signals definitely have their place in dog training too. Teaching your dog to respond to verbal commands means that you’ll be able to communicate with them even when your dog has their back to you, or happens to be out of sight. In time, you can use your voice less and less until you ultimately command your dog with just your movements alone.Whether you have a shelf full of dog training books or you regularly scour through your favorite dog training blogs for new tips and tricks, the majority of the training advice out there focuses on using verbal commands to communicate with a dog. Reward the dog each time he responds properly.
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Start by using a vocal command with a hand signal, followed by the same command with just the hand signal. You can transition those out later if you choose to. If you use training treats to train your dog, you should still maintain the treats even for silent commands. Once your dog has learned to associate specific movements with specific commands, you can slowly start working the verbal commands out of the equation. How to Train Your Dog to Respond to Hand Signals Alone With that in mind, you can create your own hand gestures for other tricks you want to teach your dog. To get him to sit, you move the food up so his head naturally rises like it would in a seated position. Note that the hand gestures are all designed to get your dog thinking about the motion you are trying to achieve. If he comes to you, reward him accordingly. Say “come” as the food moves past your dog’s face toward your shoulder. Come: With your dog standing in front of you, hold a treat in your hand and move it from your side to the opposite shoulder in a diagonal position.
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Repeat this process, expanding the distance each time until your dog no longer moves after you say stay. After a couple steps, reward your dog with a treat. Stay: With your dog in a sitting position, put your hand up flat as if to say “don’t come any closer.” Use your thumb and pointer finger to secure the treat when you do this.If not, try the gesture several times before lightly pressing on your dog’s shoulders or head to get him to lay down. Down (Lay): With your dog in a sitting position, bring the treat down to the ground and say “down.” Hopefully your dog will follow your hand and lay his body flat.Bring the treat to your dog’s nose and say “sit.” If your dog does not get the idea after a few upward hand movements, you may need to physically push his backside down to help him understand the concept. Sit: With your dog standing in front of you, pull a treat from your side upward, as if you were going to throw it over your dog’s shoulder.Here are some of the most common dog training commands and their corresponding hand signals: Basic Dog Training Commands and Hand Signals The more focused he is on your movements, the less focused he will be on other distractions (like people, other pets, and various stimuli in the area).
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This also teaches your dog to pay attention to your body, not just your words. If you’re in a quiet place where you cannot speak to your dog, you can use the hand gestures to get your dog to behave in a certain manner. Why should you incorporate hand signals into your dog training? Because doing so makes your training much more versatile. The Benefits of Dog Training with Hand Signals If this is something you want to try with your dog, get the dog treats ready and check out these hand signal dog training basics. Some dogs respond better to verbal cues than others, but most dogs can be trained to respond to hand gestures alone over time. Dog training with hand signals is a fun an effective way to get your dog to respond to basic commands, like sit, stay, or come.