Dog Training - Hand Signals for Training Dogs

Dogs are considered very valuable by their owners. Over the years dogs have gone from been just a pet to been a member of the family. Of all the pets out there, the dog is the most popular among the pets. One of the reasons for this is that dogs are trainable, by just knowing some hand signals for dog training you can give your pet the proper training. Dogs are very smart, well maybe with a few exceptions, but if you teach your dog some verbal and hand signals commands they can easily grasp your message. Dogs are very good at reading body language; if you have any doubt on that, just think about how your dog reacts when you are upset. Because of their ability to read body language they can very easily learn hand signals in addition to the verbal commands.

Many dog owners wonder what the official hand signals for dog obedience training are. In reality, there is no such thing. No official dog obedience hand signals have been approved. There are common hand signals that dog trainers use, but these signals can vary from trainer to trainer and from people to people. When you decide to use hand signals to teach your dog to sit, start by putting your arm at your side and then move your hand toward your chest and face your palm upward.

Next thing to do is to train your dog to understand the stay command. To do this place your arms straight facing the dog with your palm lengthened forward. You'll be able to then say the command to stay and gradually extend your arm and your keep your hand perpendicular with the palm right adjacent to your pet's nozzle without any form of contact.

Another matter is when your dog tries to snuffle your hand, deter him at once, but in a gentle way. Do not hit your dog on the face. Also, whenever you wish your dog to lay down with its belly on the floor, do it with your hand open flat, the palm facing down and equal to the floor, with your arm arched at the elbow in a descending far-reaching gesture.

There is a great benefit to using hand signals for training dogs, especially if added to the already familiar verbal commands. The dog will be familiar with the hand gestures and will expect them from you when you are training them. When you use dog hand signals in addition to verbal commands the dog's comprehension will increase and it will make the training of your dog a lot easier, and therefore faster. Once the pet get used to the hand signals and associates it with the right action he will follow the commands more consistently and therefore learn faster.

When using hand signals for dog obedience training the owner needs to be aware of the fact that using positive reinforcement in addition to the dog hand signals is the best way to train the pet. Not all dogs are motivated by the same things; some dogs get more motivated by toys, others by food, and others by praise and love. If you learn your pet's motivating factor prior to starting to use dog hand signals, you will be a step ahead of the group.

If your pet made significant improvement with the hand signals for dog obedience training then your pet is very practically prepared for the an advance and complex tasks. If you feel that you need to learn more about this subject, you might want to do a search on the net under dog training books + hand signals.

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