# Obedience Hand Signals



## lisak_87

Is there a list (preferably with pictures) of standard hand signals for obedience? The club we're aiming to join is a UKC club, not sure if UKC and AKC have different hand signals...

I've obviously taught him the wrong ones, so we stopped using them and just worked on voice commands for the last couple of weeks. But I would like to start introducing the appropriate signals now.


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## Elana55

I do not know of one. I learned mine from my Obedience mentor. 

I will tell you something now that you need to know. Build a foundation of attention on your dog before you get into the complicated stuff. Get him to pay attention to you every place you go. That means in the most distracting places ever.. with dogs all around... he pays attention to you. His attentiveness will do more to gain you success in the ring (if you go there) than any other single thing you train. You cannot teach him anything, or get him to respond to you on any level, if you do not have his attention.

I am telling you this from experience and a current loss of money in entry fees for this very reason.


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## petpeeve

lisak_87 said:


> I've obviously taught him the wrong ones,


 there ARE wrong signals ???

As far as I know, there are no stipulations regarding what your signals *should* consist of.


Generally speaking .. the signals that actually work for you and your dog, are the right ones ... whatever they may happen to be.


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## lisak_87

Elana55 said:


> I do not know of one. I learned mine from my Obedience mentor.
> 
> I will tell you something now that you need to know. Build a foundation of attention on your dog before you get into the complicated stuff. Get him to pay attention to you every place you go. That means in the most distracting places ever.. with dogs all around... he pays attention to you. His attentiveness will do more to gain you success in the ring (if you go there) than any other single thing you train. You cannot teach him anything, or get him to respond to you on any level, if you do not have his attention.
> 
> I am telling you this from experience and a current loss of money in entry fees for this very reason.


Hard work for a puppy!
The good news is, he has more attention than most puppies. I can give him a down/stay and go into another room and wash my hands or whatever and come back and he's still down and staying.

He was doing extremely well in our indoor classes. And our current class is in a field! So that provides many distractions.
I'm not shooting too high here. He's 4 months old, so I expect some puppy lack of attention 



petpeeve said:


> there ARE wrong signals ???
> 
> As far as I know, there are no stipulations regarding what your signals *should* consist of.
> 
> 
> Generally speaking .. the signals that actually work for you and your dog, are the right ones ... whatever they may happen to be.


Well this is good to know!!! Cus he really really really knows the ones I've taught him  I just wasn't sure if there were standard signals or not.


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## petpeeve

There aren't 'standard' signals, per se ... although, you will likely see a very 'similar' set of signals (perhaps with slight variations) being used amongst most handlers.

Still, .. it's an individual / personal choice of what works best for you and your dog.


If you've initially lured a basic sit or down with one hand only (usually the right hand), it might be wise to gradually introduce the concept of EITHER hand being used for signals .. ie: right hand for down, left hand for sit. Using seperate hands to designate different behaviours will help to add clarity.


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## lil_fuzzy

But you don't HAVE to use hand signals do you? In our ANKC rules it says "and/or" for verbal and hand signals, which I take to mean you can omit the hand signal if you wish, which is what I intend to do (could be different over there of course). I don't train with hand signals at all, because I shape every behaviour, and the word is the cue, not a hand signal.


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## Indigo

There are some traditional hand signals, but if you used other signals it doesn't matter. It's personal preference. I just searched to see if there were some diagrams of hand signals and the ones that came up weren't the same as the ones I was taught in my competitive obedience classes. So there ya go. :wink:

And no you don't have to train hand signals, but they can be useful when working at a distance, or when you lose your voice (like I did this week!).


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## petpeeve

lil_fuzzy said:


> But you don't HAVE to use hand signals do you?


Yes, actually you do. AKC / CKC Utility "signal excercise" requires that the handler use signal cues only.

... not sure if ANKC has a signal excercise. Interesting. 
Going to look >>> .... 



edit: Ok, I went and looked, and yes ANKC Utility class has a similar signal excercise where only signals are permitted.

BTW ... WOW !!! ... Bark on Command, Food Refusal etc ... just WOW !!! :rockon: 

When I have more time and energy I think I will review ALL of the ANKC rules, just for my own information and interest.

http://www.ankc.org.au/media/scripts/doc_download.aspx?did=855

http://www.ankc.org.au/Rules.aspx


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## Pawzk9

lisak_87 said:


> Is there a list (preferably with pictures) of standard hand signals for obedience? The club we're aiming to join is a UKC club, not sure if UKC and AKC have different hand signals...
> 
> I've obviously taught him the wrong ones, so we stopped using them and just worked on voice commands for the last couple of weeks. But I would like to start introducing the appropriate signals now.


There are no "standard" hand signals that you have to do. It needs to be something that is clear to your dog, and it needs to be a continuous movement of one arm/hand (except of course, for that amazingly lady with the Doberman who doesn't have arms and signals with her leg. For instance, you can't put your arm up and hold it there, and you can't start the signal in one direction and then change to another, or signal with both arms. There are several that are commonly used, but not required.



lil_fuzzy said:


> But you don't HAVE to use hand signals do you? In our ANKC rules it says "and/or" for verbal and hand signals, which I take to mean you can omit the hand signal if you wish, which is what I intend to do (could be different over there of course). I don't train with hand signals at all, because I shape every behaviour, and the word is the cue, not a hand signal.


Except in Utility.



lil_fuzzy said:


> But you don't HAVE to use hand signals do you? In our ANKC rules it says "and/or" for verbal and hand signals, which I take to mean you can omit the hand signal if you wish, which is what I intend to do (could be different over there of course). I don't train with hand signals at all, because I shape every behaviour, and the word is the cue, not a hand signal.


You can definitely shape a physical cue as well.


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## lil_fuzzy

petpeeve said:


> Yes, actually you do. AKC / CKC Utility "signal excercise" requires that the handler use signal cues only.
> 
> ... not sure if ANKC has a signal excercise. Interesting.
> Going to look >>> ....
> 
> 
> 
> edit: Ok, I went and looked, and yes ANKC Utility class has a similar signal excercise where only signals are permitted.
> 
> BTW ... WOW !!! ... Bark on Command, Food Refusal etc ... just WOW !!! :rockon:
> 
> When I have more time and energy I think I will review ALL of the ANKC rules, just for my own information and interest.
> 
> http://www.ankc.org.au/media/scripts/doc_download.aspx?did=855
> 
> http://www.ankc.org.au/Rules.aspx


Yeah, don't particularly like the sound of the food refusal....  Didn't know about the signal exercise, so I guess we are doing hand signals after all...



Pawzk9 said:


> You can definitely shape a physical cue as well.


I know, I just have an aversion against using hand signals, because I have tried to lure behaviours in the past, and luring means the dog becomes dependent on the hand signal and will only do the behaviour when you do the hand signal. It becomes impossible to add a verbal cue, because forever more you have to also use the hand signal you used when luring it.

But I guess if I add a verbal cue first I can add the hand signal later.


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## luv2byte

We don't compete w our dogs but did teach/learn hand signals in level 3 obedience classes. We created out own, I wanted ones I could use without being obvious like when in a store line or talking to someone..give hand signal down to a sit or down they go.


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## lisak_87

UKC actually allows you to use BOTH verbal AND hand signals from what I've read.

Brady knows all of our hand signals with either hand/arm.

I'm thinking of adjusting a couple for distance. I'm not sure if he'd recognize our "sit" hand signal from a distance. 



Pawzk9 said:


> There are no "standard" hand signals that you have to do. It needs to be something that is clear to your dog, and it needs to be a continuous movement of one arm/hand (except of course, for that amazingly lady with the Doberman who doesn't have arms and signals with her leg. For instance, you can't put your arm up and hold it there, and you can't start the signal in one direction and then change to another, or signal with both arms. There are several that are commonly used, but not required.


Not sure I get what you mean by having to be a continuous movement of one arm/hand. Meaning if my sit is a hand straight in the air, it has to go up then down immediately? And if I signal with one arm, I cannot signal with the other at all? All signals have to flow from one to the next with no breaks?

As you can see, I'm quite new to this lol. We haven't taken any formal obedience-type classes quite yet b/c our club requires puppy classes first. SO I'm sure we'll learn  I just don't want to be reinforcing things that he'll need to unlearn


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## petpeeve

lisak_87 said:


> UKC actually allows you to use BOTH verbal AND hand signals from what I've read.


You are partially correct, with the exception being the "Signal and Heeling" excercise, which permits signals only. 

http://www.ukcdogs.com/res/pdf/2011ObedienceRulebook.pdf

p. 71 >> "_1) Non-qualifying scores.
a) Handler gives an audible command or signal
during portions of this exercise._"

Not trying to split hairs, just sayin' ... in order to keep info accurate 






> Not sure I get what you mean by having to be a continuous movement of one arm/hand. Meaning if my sit is a hand straight in the air, it has to go up then down immediately?


Yes, that is correct. IOW, there can be no perceptible HOLDING of the cue. 
ie: at the 'top' of the signal motion.





> And if I signal with one arm, I cannot signal with the other at all?


 (not sure if I completely understand your Q) 
Not for the same portion of the excercise, but you can alternate hands (or not) from one portion to the next. ie: stand w/ right; wait w/ left; down w/ right; sit w/ left; come w/ right; finish w/ left 





> All signals have to flow from one to the next with no breaks?


 There is a very slight, momentary break in between portions as the judge will need to examine that particular portion to ensure it has been completed correctly, and for scoring. I suggest that aspiring Utilty competitors proof their dogs accordingly, as sometimes the judge will take a moment or two to ensure that a 'thorough' sit etc has actually been performed. Proofing for these pauses will help to prevent anticipation of the next portion.





> As you can see, I'm quite new to this lol. We haven't taken any formal obedience-type classes quite yet b/c our club requires puppy classes first. SO I'm sure we'll learn  I just don't want to be reinforcing things that he'll need to unlearn


 No problem. THAT'S one of the best ways to learn.. by asking questions.


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## lisak_87

petpeeve said:


> (not sure if I completely understand your Q)
> Not for the same portion of the excercise, but you can alternate hands (or not) from one portion to the next. ie: stand w/ right; wait w/ left; down w/ right; sit w/ left; come w/ right; finish w/ left.


That answers it  

Thanks for all the info! It sure is a LOT to take in. I can't yet even IMAGINE Brady ever being that good LOL


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## petpeeve

luv2byte said:


> I wanted ones I could use without being obvious


Interesting point.

My Utility signals are very subtle by comparison to some other handler's signals.
for example ... 
'Down' is a simple stop sign palm, chest high, w/ right hand.
'Sit' is a simple stop sign palm, chest high, w/ left hand.
I'll usually wear a dark, mono-coloured shirt which provides an unmistakeable contrast to my hands, which are presented in front of my chest rather than off to the sides (to prevent possible conflicts/blurring with the venue background)

I was taught early on that dogs are EXTREMELY perceptive and observant, and can see the subtle distinctions with ease. A good example would be circus-type dog acts, or trick dogs, whereby, if you happen to watch the handler, you will be hard pressed to notice ANY cues whatsoever.

Personally, I really haven't experienced the need for those emphatic, blatant 'whirlybird around-the-clock' type motions that I see a number of handlers employ.

... but once again, .. "whatever works" to succeed and get a qualifying score, I suppose.


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## RaeganW

lisak_87 said:


> Not sure I get what you mean by having to be a continuous movement of one arm/hand. Meaning if my sit is a hand straight in the air, it has to go up then down immediately? And if I signal with one arm, I cannot signal with the other at all? All signals have to flow from one to the next with no breaks?
> 
> As you can see, I'm quite new to this lol. We haven't taken any formal obedience-type classes quite yet b/c our club requires puppy classes first. SO I'm sure we'll learn  I just don't want to be reinforcing things that he'll need to unlearn


One of the best ways to learn is to spend a day or two at an obedience trial. UKC and AKC both have event searches. There you'll see many people use standardized signals, but not everyone. Watch the B classes (in AKC, don't know about UKC), that class usually has more experienced handlers (not necessarily dogs) and you'll see more good habits to pick up on and less bad ones. 

Most people are pretty approachable if you have a question. Just don't try to talk to them while they're warming up their dog or waiting to go in. In between the run and group sits/downs is a good time to approach people. You can also talk to stewards/spectators, usually they're pretty knowledgeable themselves. Try to see if they're busy first though. Usually people are eager to encourage new people to participate.


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