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.

Training dog with hand signals