Signals

[corvus]

Just for kicks I was teaching Erik to spin in a circle on signal this afternoon. I started luring him around with my hand, and then started using a smaller movement just drawing a small circle in the air without moving my arm. Erik was not entirely sure about this one, but started spontaneously spinning when I cocked my hip sideways towards him while taking a step. I stuck with it seeing as he seemed to think that was the signal, but it reminded me of last week's training endeavours teaching him to walk backwards. I was going to use the same hand signal as I use for Kivi to go backwards, but somewhere along the line Erik started offering it for a shuffle of my feet instead, and so I started using that and he was all over it in about five minutes.

I'm wondering if this has happened to anyone else. Do your dogs learn the signals you intend to teach them, or do you sometimes seem to come to an understanding together to use a different signal? Do you or your dog favour hand signals or signals using other body parts? I was trying to teach Kivi to move according to where I put my body weight a while ago. It was working really well until I tried going a bit too fast and he got confused. I suspect Erik is training me and adding his own cues when he sees fit.

[PAX]

With my Koolie I noticed when we were in heel position, as soon as as I would go to make my drop signal she was already on the ground. Made me realise and appreciate how responsive dogs are to movement and body cues, so I guess she trained me to get rid of those awful extended signals.

[Vehs]

D responds to hands, head, leg and feet signals not sure what else there is!

He's a clever cookie... sometimes

[Jigsaw]

I know the feeling PAX, someone described my koolie girl (the mad Paxy) as hairtrigger. I find I have to be very careful about how I use my hands and since I get myself confused it's no wonder she has trouble sometimes!! Paxy will cue for play by my feet and body movement, with no voice cues, she knows we're going to do the "play dance"! Doggy dancing people I believe use foot cues for some movements. An inadvertent cue we often accidently put into place is when using food or even ball/tug rewards is sign tracking, the dog watches your hand to see if it is going to get a reward because we often mark and move the hand with the reward at the same time.

[TerraNik]

Ahsoka is really responsive to my body language... She is really quick to pick up on signals that lead to the signal! Her drop while heeling is soooooo fast - she responds more to my upper body coming forward slightly before I give my down signal!

Sounds like Erik is having a ball with his training! I can't wait to see him in action!

[Seita]

You guys should see my girl train! In an obedience ring when the judge says forward I need to concentrate sooo hard to not move until my feet are ready cos even the slightest body movement and she's on her feet.

I'm trying to teach her send away to a box and then directed jumping for UD and when she's in the box the slightest body movement towards either of the jumps and she's already on the way - I haven't even moved my hands yet at this stage!!

[corvus]

I was showing OH Erik's new trick and it was kind of more like showing him my new trick. Erik knows what his signal to spin is, but I gotta do it right! OH tried and couldn't get the right hip movement.

OH has taught Kivi to die when he says "BANG". Being Kivi, it takes him about half a minute of moaning and talking and throwing his head around before he finally lies down and dies. It's all very dramatic. Kivi responds to OH's signals better than mine, usually, because he does fairly abrupt, clear signals, whereas I tend to do smaller, slower signals.

[huski]

You guys should see my girl train! In an obedience ring when the judge says forward I need to concentrate sooo hard to not move until my feet are ready cos even the slightest body movement and she's on her feet.

Daisy does this! She's so observant. Especially when we're heeling and I put her in a down, if I lean my body forward about to step off she launches off the ground we're working on it

[di_dee1]

Hubby and Father in Law (farmers) use voice, whistles and hand signals with their working dogs.

[luvsdogs]

Tilba responds better to hand signals than voice commands.

[helen]

Part of Bella's 'speak' cue is to stare at her muzzle, not intended to be taught

[Vehs]

sometimes a stern look does wonders!

"If I look at this toy long enough he will go and pick it up..."

[helen]

LOL amazing what you can do with your eyes

[TangerineDream]

Tango does an inside left about turn - I taught him fairly early by dropping my shoulder 1 step before I turn...now I only have to drop my shoulder 1 cm and he instantly backs up one step and turns....a bit like dressage really.... I can get him to go and sit somewhere or go through a door using head and eye movements only.

[brigie bear]

All of mine respond pretty well to hand signals... Ruby especially. If I flick my hand at something she'll tap it with her nose, point to the floor she'll sit, point and click at the same time she'll drop, wave at her she'll wave at me, open palm facing the roof she'll put her paw right out, arm out she'll jump over it etc and anything with a post it she'll hit her face on

Lilie and Frankie also both respond to pointing at the floor to sit and pointing and clicking to drop and palm out for their paw... and lilie will do 2 paws if i do 2 hands... Frankie is the least responsive to training etc, if I ask him to sit he has to think about it for a while having a silent battle with me ("I dont wannnnaaa) before he'll do it and the other 2 are like lightning lol.

I think because I only use hand sigs and cos my pups are so small that I usually sit when training they don accidentally think something is something else... but i'm not ruling it out lol!