Dog Training: Hand Signals

Using Hand Signals

Training your dog to complete certain tasks can be difficult without certain methods.  An important and key part of instructing your dog is consistency.  Without this key, your dog can get confused easily.  Hand signals can maintain this consistency.  A clear, concise, hand movement can be useful for dogs to perform in places that are quiet, among other benefits, (Sundance, 59).

You can make up your own signals for tricks but keep in mind that hand signals correspond with the trick you want them to complete.  "A downward hand motion is used to signal "down" and parallels your initial luring of the dog near the floor," (Sundance, 59).  The hand signal coincides with how you initially lead them to complete the trick.

Today, I worked on moving from leading my dog to complete the "spin circles" trick.  I attempted to move from leading her with a treat to complete a circle to simply using a hand signal.  I found that this process took some time, but tricks were easier and better executed when the hand signal was used. The picture below demonstrates the different movements thoroughly and carefully.

(Sundance, 59)

The left side of the image shows the woman leading her dog. The right side is the hand signal suggested.  First, I lead her to complete the trick.  This made it easy for her to complete the maneuver, but made her chase after the treat recklessly. I tried the trick this way 10 times, where the results are mostly that she succeeded. 
Second, I tried using just the hand signal.  This was difficult for her to understand because although the signal was based off of the movement, she struggled to make this connection at first.  Therefore, completing the trick this way took many more tries and was scarcely successful.  However, I think that this may be partly because of my dog's unfamiliarity with the trick.
Therefore, I draw the conclusion that the hand signals can be more convenient but take time and familiarity to use.  The signals can be used in place of verbal commands and sometimes work best.

As stated earlier, you can make up your own hand signals for the tricks you wish to teach your dog.  What kind of hand signals have you made up for your dog, or what signals do you wish to use?


Sundance, Kyra. The Dog Tricks and Training Workbook: a Step-by-Step Interactive Curriculum to 
               Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog. Quayside Pub. Group, 2009.