Labrador Training: Hand Signals That You Can Teach Your Lab

Training your Labrador to respond to hand signals is important. It is another way to communicate with your dog and especially useful when you cannot give a verbal command.  In fact, most dogs learn hand signals a lot faster than commands due to their natural instinct to communicate through body language.

Some of the ways hand signals can be useful include:

• Communicating with your Labrador from a distance too far to use verbal commands.


• Guiding your Lab through sports competitions in which hand signals are allowed.


• Getting your Labrador’s attention when you’re busy conversing with other people or doing other things.


• Communicating with your dog if he’s deaf or hearing impaired.

Basic hand signals to teach your Lab

There are countless hand signals you can train your Labrador Retriever to respond to. As with all Labrador training, it’s important to start with the basics. These are the “sit, “down”,” stay” and “come” commands. Once your dog comfortably obeys these, you can then start adding other common commands like “stand”, “heel”, “take it”, “eye contact”, “go to”, “drop it” and “free”.

Sit

Starting training with the sit hand signal is a good idea; it’s usually the easiest for Lab puppies to learn. Most people place their hand flat with the palm facing upwards for the sit command. You’ll need to encourage your dog to sit by having him or her follow a treat starting from ground level until your hand is in the sit signal just above their head. Reward your puppy as soon as he sits and repeat the process.

Down

Using a hand gesture that goes downward for the down hand signal may seem like the obvious choice. However, it’s not recommended because your dog will not be able to see it from far away. For this reason, most people use a hand signal identical to the way you position your hand to give someone a high five.

Place a treat in front of your Lab with one hand, while lifting your other hand to the “high five” position. Reward your dog immediately when he or she lies down. It may take some repetition, but with a little encouragement it shouldn’t be too long until your dog has mastered the signal.

 

Stay

The stay signal is most commonly interpreted by placing your palm right in front of your Lab’s nose with the tip of your fingers facing the floor. You can practice this hand signal by telling your dog to sit, then signaling him or her to stay, followed by a reward. As your Lab puppy becomes familiar with the signal, increase the time he or she is to stay in the sitting position.

 

Come

For the come hand signal, it’s helpful if your Labrador already knows the verbal command. All you have to do is say “come” while bending your elbow and curling your hand towards the opposite side of your body front of you. Repeat this a couple of times, then practice without using the verbal command until your Labrador puppy is comfortable with the hand signal.

 The greatest fear dogs know is the fear that you will not come back when you go out the door without them. – Stanley Coren, dog psychologist

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