Make sure your pet stays until you ask them to come. Train your dog with both your auditory command and hand signals, test by walking backwards with your palm facing outward at the level of your chest. This nonverbal command is great for safety if you are out in public places or by busy streets. Teaching your dog to stay or wait is one of the most important commands. Have a treat in your hand while training and your dog’s nose is sure to follow! 4. The action for this command is to hold your finger pointed up at your chest and do a sweeping diagonal motion down. FINGER POINT DOWN - Lie down.Īnother great signal to help settle your dog is lay down. When you first start training be sure to pair the verbal command “sit” with the hand signal. The gesture is simple, have your hand palm facing the sky at your chest and move your hand in an upward motion. This is often the first training your dog receives. The most widely used command for any dog. It helps to keep a small treat in your hand when first teaching-your dog’s eyes will be on the prize! 2. Whenever they look attentively at you, reward with a treat. To allow your pet to learn they first need to ‘look’ to be able to watch what command you want them to do.

If you want to completely shift from auditory commands to only nonverbal cues this is an extremely important first step.

If you make it a priority, your dog will pick up the hand signals quickly! 1. Training is best when you work with your pet daily. If your dog already is familiar with the standard commands: sit, stay etc., then making the transition to hand signals is fairly straight-forward. Once your dog is accurately responding to your commands, slowly fade out the reward. Reinforce behavior with rewards (treats and praise).The most effective way to teach your dog is to follow these 2 steps: Your pet needs to learn the association between the verbal command and hand signals. Pets can lose some degree of their hearing as they age, which is why these hand signals can really come in handy! We’ve narrowed it down to the top 5 commands you can teach your dog today. Many pet owners introduce this at a young age and it is a great training technique that becomes even more invaluable as your dog grows older. Most pets are able to respond better when an auditory command is paired with a hand signal. Teaching your dog hand signals is a great way to improve your communication with your pet.

Dog obedience commands hand signals