# Anyone else doing hand signals with their dog?



## Brightelf (Sep 5, 2001)

Sometimes I work with Grimm without any voice. We have: Sit, down, heel, come, stay, watch me. We even have a praise signal-- the "applause" sign for the deaf. 

After a seizure, I sometimes can't get words out, even when I know what I want to say. That's why I started with hand signals with my last dog Chell, and with Grimm since he was a puppy.

Does anyone else do this, too? Is your dog deaf? Or do you use hand signals to increase attentiveness? 

I have noticed that if I am silent for an entire afternoon, (having entire silent convos _with signals and eyes _as we kind of dance together through obedience stuff for a bit) only giving hand signals, that Grimm is more attentive in general. Maybe I oughtta just shut up.


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## Virginia (Oct 2, 2008)

We do hand signals too! Bodie seems to respond better to hand signals than voice commands, don't know why. Maybe it's because language is more of a human construct, whereas movement is easier for dogs to understand.

We started because our trainer does both hand signals and voice commands. So far he only knows sit, down, stay, come and closer. It comes in handy so much, I can be talking to someone or doing something else and give him a hand signal without skipping a beat. I didn't even think about how it could come in handy if deafness ever set in (knock on wood).


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## Liz S (May 14, 2009)

LOL
Yes I noticed that too. My puppy definitely reacts to hand gestures than the voice.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

I always trained my dogs with both hand signals and voice. It is useful to have both because there are situations when one is better than the other. Most dogs I've trained learn hand signals more quickly than the vocal cues.

I was VERY glad I had trained with hand signals when my dog Pooch suddenly went deaf after he came out of surgery for a tooth removal. He had some mild hearing loss before that due to getting older but when he came home from the surgery he was totally 100% deaf. When that happened the hand signals were extremely useful! He did regain some of his hearing after steroid treatment but he still was partially deaf so I still used the signals. I also realized I had not taught a hand signal for everything, for example I had not taught one for "leave it". I also found that I had to be creative to come up with ways to get his attention if he was far away or not looking at me. I taught him a new cue to come inside when he was out in the yard- flashing the porch light off and on. I also had to teach him a visual alternative to the clicker. I took a training class with him after he went deaf so that we could brush up on the signals and get used to not using my voice. Even though he could sometimes hear me or the clicker the instructor recommended I use only hand signals so we could practice them more.


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## rover51 (Apr 21, 2009)

That's a great idea! (The hand signals, not shutting up







) I think alot of dogs are trained to know some alternative signals for some reason or another. I think? I would like to hear more about it.

Wouldn't it be funny if they could signal back with their paws?


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## Brightelf (Sep 5, 2001)

Yes, that is so true!! they DO respond better to the motions of silent hand signals than to the voice!! I've noticed that!


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## Brightelf (Sep 5, 2001)

He signals back with his eyebrow wrinkles.


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## GSD4LIFE21 (Mar 8, 2007)

my girl catja knows the commands by hand signals as well as verbal commands. she actually listens better with the hand signals.


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## rover51 (Apr 21, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: BrightelfHe signals back with his eyebrow wrinkles.


LOL! cute!

So when we get our puppy, is it better to do hand signals right away as we train or will that confuse him?


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## gnusounduave (Apr 20, 2009)

I do both verbal and hand signals each night with my 4.5 month pup. For the heck of it last week we did an entire session without voice and she didn't skip a beat. Then the next night when it was all verbal she had to be told twice, on a few commands, before she executed them.

However the other weekend, while taking my pup for her morning walk, a lady came up to me asking about some waterfront property for sale on my road. Without skipping a beat i had my pup sit and stay without having to give her a look. Did it all with 2 quick signals. The lady and her husband were very impressed and made nice comments on how nice she looked and how well behaved she is. Made me feel good. =)


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## GSDTrain (Apr 21, 2008)

Ivy knows all her commands verbally as well as hand signals


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## Jacobysma (Jun 17, 2009)

I started using hand signals with my two older dogs when I noticed they simply didn't need me to use my voice. They also know when I snap they better stop what they're doing (it's usually licking).


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

we do sit, stay, down and come with hand signals. i can also have my dog come to me by holding up my first finger and doing that wiggle with the finger going back and forth.

we also have a few body signals. if i spread my legs while standing
my will walk between my legs. if i'm sitting on the sofa and lean forward my dog will jump on the sofa, walk behind me and lay down
beside me.


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## Caledon (Nov 10, 2008)

I do both, and I mix them up, hand signal and verbal, hand only, voice only.

It was interesting in obedience class in level 3 when the instuctor tested us. She wanted to know if the dogs still had a understanding of the spoken command. Many in the class had problems with their dogs NOT responding to voice but responding to hand signals.


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

I only use vocal commands, but I should train him to respond to both. The situations we are in usually almost always call for vocal cues, so I haven't put much thought into it. I also don't really know what kind of hand signals I'd want to use. When Chrono was a puppy he knew both from puppy classes at petsmart, but I didn't really like them. The signal for 'sit' was kind of a 'come here' with two fingers(which I liked), but I really hated the signal for 'down' which was a hitler salute. I found it inconvenient, intrusive, and completely defeated the purpose of hand signals being nice and discreet. Plus I felt really silly doing it.

If Chrono is running around I can just yell out 'SIT' and he'll plop his butt down right there, but I feel like if I used hand signals I'd probably have to get his attention first, although perhaps if I was using hand signals he'd be more attentive to me all the time with his eyes instead of just his ears.

I don't know, I should work on it, but, meh, I'm lazy.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

Because dogs are artful at body language, they often learn faster with only hand signals. When I was training, we would always start the first couple of weeks with only hand signals, and then add the words *only* when they understood the visual and performed on cue. By adding the verbal later, that prevents having to repeat verbal commands -- at that point, they are just learning the name so that they have something to associate it with.

The cool part, is that the visual part is the easiest to teach. However, to non-dog folks, it looks the most impressive, and they think you are such a good trainer because your dog doesn' need words, only visuals!


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

> Originally Posted By: LisaTBecause dogs are artful at body language, they often learn faster with only hand signals. When I was training, we would always start the first couple of weeks with only hand signals, and then add the words *only* when they understood the visual and performed on cue. By adding the verbal later, that prevents having to repeat verbal commands -- at that point, they are just learning the name so that they have something to associate it with.
> 
> The cool part, is that the visual part is the easiest to teach. However, to non-dog folks, it looks the most impressive, and they think you are such a good trainer because your dog doesn' need words, only visuals!


I totally agree! It's especially easy if you start by luring behaviors - the lure motion (without food in the hand) becomes the hand signal. I've always found that the verbal cue took a bit longer, well after they were responding consistently to hand signals. And when you do start adding the verbal command, say it FIRST and then follow up with the hand signal so the word (that they don't know yet) becomes a predictor of the motion to follow (that they DO know), helping to create an association between the two. Simply wait a few seconds longer in each training session before using the hand signal as a reminder of what the word means, and only if necessary. 

In our puppy classes we were tested on the last night with short sequences - sit/stand/sit and down/stand/down, all with the hand signal only and then with a verbal cue only. Halo performed flawlessly of course!


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Chama is now almost totally deaf. She already knew basic hand signals but I've also taught her a few more. She watches me carefully now, more carefully than she used to and the signals have come in very, very handy...so to speak.









Rafi knows basic hand signals too and I can signal a sit or down from a distance and he will follow through...except if there is a porcupine involved.


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## GSDinOly (Apr 19, 2009)

My puppy, being almost 4 months old responds much more to hand signals and body signals, or should I say body language I think this discovery is very cool and will learn more signals for her.


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## littledmc17 (Apr 9, 2008)

Brady too!
Sit, Stay and down


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## ILGHAUS (Nov 25, 2002)

After working with my current crew of Shepherds and Poodle I find that I use hand signals even with the littlest of the grandkids. Maybe that is why they listen to me quicker than to their parents.


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## Metalsmith (Mar 25, 2009)

I trained Khyber with both. Like Cassidy's Mom, I started training with luring motions and coupled those with the verbal cue. I work Khyber at distance with hand signals and while it looks more impressive, it's just second nature for him because that's how he originally learned. He knows hand signals for place, stand, stay, sit, down, spin, sneak, and roll over.

I especially use sneak when we're playing fetch. I throw the ball for him to go after and on the way back I give him the command for sneak. It's just the universal sign for c'mere that you do with your index finger. He immediately slows and drops into a crouching, stalking type position. As he gets closer, he slows even more, sometimes only slowy picking up one foot and putting it down one at a time.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

Where I train (actually most of the places around here), we train with hand signals. So in the intermediate and advanced classes, the head trainer forces us to work WITHOUT hand signals. She says that dogs are so visual, they pay attention to our signals more than what we're saying. (Try giving your dog conflicting verbal and hand signals. See which command he follows.







) 

So she makes us work so that our dogs learn to really LISTEN to us. With young distractible dogs, easier said than done. My dogs all have signals for all their commands, which they obey. But do they actually consistently listen to me?


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## Sherush (Jan 12, 2008)

I do both I have hand signals for just about everything. Jesse is very obedient but seems to respond to hand signals faster than voice.


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## rover51 (Apr 21, 2009)

Are there universal hand signals? I guess I need to research this as our clock to starting to tick. About 2 more weeks before we take home our fuzzball.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: 5150Are there universal hand signals? I guess I need to research this as our clock to starting to tick. About 2 more weeks before we take home our fuzzball.


As far as I know there are not universal signals for anything, hand or verbal. You just have to be consistent and use the type of signal allowed. For example, in AKC rally you can give a verbal AND hand signal and that's fine. And you can give a different signal for the same skill and that's fine. But for SchH you can give one vocal command, and they must stay consistent.


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## rover51 (Apr 21, 2009)

Thanks Lies! I doubt if we'll be doing SchH, but good to know. I will pick our breeder's brain tomorrow when we visit the puppies. Their daddy is also visiting so we finally get to meet him! He's a SAR dog.


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## jax (Feb 10, 2009)

does anyone know a link to show how to use hand signals...ie..sit etc..


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

> Originally Posted By: jaxdoes anyone know a link to show how to use hand signals...ie..sit etc..


As I mentioned in my earlier post, I start teaching a puppy basic obedience positions using a food lure - sit is palm up over the puppies head so their butt drops to the floor as they follow it with their eyes, down is palm down to the floor, etc, and then once they're consistently following the food lure into position, I get the food out of that hand and treat from the other hand. The lure motion becomes the hand signal, and can be gradually faded to something more subtle, if you like. My initial palm down to the ground to signal eventually becomes a single finger pointed at the ground.

Here's a cute video of the puppy classes I took with Dena, Keefer, and Halo - Sirius Puppy, founded by Dr. Ian Dunbar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igiz1vkB1...rom=PL&index=34

This is the trainer we had for Halo's Puppy 1 and Puppy 2 classes, although this was taped prior to our classes so don't look for a cute sable puppy! In it you can see how the puppies were taught with a food lure first, the lure motion becomes the hand signal and a reward follows from the other hand, and then a voice command is added later, using the hand signal a few seconds later to show what the command means. The puppies were between 10 and 18 weeks old at the start of class. 

As Liesje mentioned, there are no universal cues, you can really use whatever makes sense to you.


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## gmcenroe (Oct 23, 2007)

My wife taught Juli hand signals for sit, down, come and stay. I think these are good because it forces your dog to pay attention to visually for the next command and builds focus. I use voice commands for all of her training, but I have tested her response to hand signals to see if they work for me as well. They do. 

Glenn


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## BlakeandLiza (Aug 13, 2009)

What hand signs have you assigned to heel, come and watch me?

I use hand signs with my group and they seem to respond better than verbal cues.

I really like that with multiple dogs, I can give one sign and have them all do it at the same time...without even saying a word. It comes in handy when we get company and they are all so excited!


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

Watch me is a finger to the bridge of the nose, between my eyes.

Come is either both hands raised in the air, or if they are close, I'll hold my hand up and wiggle my fingers toward me.

I don't have a good hand signal for heel (don't do it that often). I do have one for them sitting at my left side, but I can't describe it.


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## Zisso (Mar 20, 2009)

This is something that I am very intrested in teaching to my dogs. I do have a few questions about it tho.
First of all, how would I go about getting a very Hyper GSD (Nadi is always so high strung) to slow down enough to watch for hand signals? The seconad I talk to her she is wild! it could be right after a long game of fetch & a two hour walk, and as soon as we get home she is just wild is I talk to her. 

Next, where would I find a list/diagrams/explanations of the appropriate hand signals?

I am getting frustrated because I try sooo very hard to end everything on a positive note every time, but all the notes leading up to the end of each session seem to be making me grumpy cause neither one will cooperate!


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## Raziel (Sep 29, 2009)

Ive been doing it with Kilo since he was a puppy.
Pointing in the air= sitting
Pointing down to the ground=laying down
Putting a finger to my mouth=speak
Finger in a circle=roll over
Motioning towards me= come
etc etc
And clapping is "leave it"
You can do whatver signs you want.
Make sure your dog is fairly tired when starting to teach her.
GOOD LUCK!!!


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## TxRider (Apr 15, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: BrightelfSometimes I work with Grimm without any voice. We have: Sit, down, heel, come, stay, watch me. We even have a praise signal-- the "applause" sign for the deaf.
> 
> After a seizure, I sometimes can't get words out, even when I know what I want to say. That's why I started with hand signals with my last dog Chell, and with Grimm since he was a puppy.
> 
> ...


Most commands I teach have a hand signal, and my dogs usually pick it up first before the verbal command.

I used to just do it and not realize it, leading to some confusion, now I try to be much more aware and decide a distinct hand signal for commands, basic ones at least.


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## doggybyts89 (Mar 22, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: TxRider
> Most commands I teach have a hand signal, and my dogs usually pick it up first before the verbal command.


Same here. Pretty much every verbal command my dogs know is accompanied with a hand signal. It is something I do automatically.


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## TxRider (Apr 15, 2009)

I was just thinking rereading this thread, is there some list of standard hand signals for training dogs?


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## Debbieg (Jun 7, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: TxRiderI was just thinking rereading this thread, is there some list of standard hand signals for training dogs?


I would like to know this too. I do use hand signals with Benny without even thing about it i am Italian and we talk with our hands!







I am wondering if there are certain standard hand signals for dogs.


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## TxRider (Apr 15, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: Debbieg
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: TxRiderI was just thinking rereading this thread, is there some list of standard hand signals for training dogs?
> ...


Yup it seems I cannot teach them anything without inadvertently using some signal. It's to the point I have to put my hands behind my back sometimes to tell if they have learned the verbal cue or are just obeying my hand movements.

If I had a list I could at least use something standardized, I'm afraid I give conflicting signals without thinking or knowing and confusing them.


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