right, hold the right arm straight out and say “Over.” Here’s how you do it.left, hold the left arm straight out and say “Over.”.straight away (from you), hold your arm straight up over your head and give the command “Back.”.The goal: to direct the pup with hand and voice commands So, a short voice command with a hand signal is the surest way to communicate where you want your dog to go. Plus, while hunting you don’t want to scare off incoming ducks with a lot of yelling. In wind, waves, or at long distances, dogs can’t hear voice commands clearly, and excited dogs don’t respond to them as well as they do to hand signals. It reads your movements and takes direction from them, whether you’re aware of it or not, so you might as well develop this natural tendency into a vital skill.ĭogs can learn short voice commands, but they lock onto hand signals even better. Your dog naturally watches you for visual clues.

Upland dogs also need to handle in this way to be directed on retrieve, into birdy cover, or away from roads, thin ice, skunks, and porcupines. Obeying hand signals is essential for waterfowl retrievers seeking shot birds that they can’t see, before the birds drift off too far or escape wounded into thick cover. That was just one of many times I’ve been glad I taught my dog hand signals. The dog made a U-turn, heading straight away from certain and smelly disaster. I whistle-stopped the dog and raised an outstretched arm, pointing left, away from the skunk. They couldn’t see each other, but I could see them - the skunk and my bird dog - on a collision course on opposite sides of a little rise.

Dog commands hand signals