Hand & body signals, gestures, verbal & non verbal commands
Like most dogs the Hovawart responds to physical cues in preference to verbal ones, Pavlov discovered the concept and value of non-verbal commands or signals years ago. Hovawarts understand and learn gestures very quickly, more easily than spoken words, and communicate with each other mainly through body language and gestures.
A verbal signal might be getting your hovawart's attention when you are going to start a training session. I do this by saying "are you paying attention?" every time we are about to commence a training exercise. It is not a command, just a voice signal that gains my hovawart's attention and tells him we are going to start training. Whilst a body signal or gesture might be raising your arm to indicate “sit” to your hovie.
To avoid confusion non verbal body signals or gestures must be clear, visible from a distance, and easily distinguishable from one another. There are no “official” hand or body signals to use in dog training, so here are some that I routinely use. I practice using only hand or body signals or only verbal commands and a combination of both.
- Sit – I use my right arm held straight up with one finger pointing to the sky simultaneously giving the command “sit”
- Front sit or present position – I use both arms outstretched just below waist height with the back of my hands facing the dog and draw them in and up to just above my waist, with a word of command.
- Stand – With my right arm just lower than my waist and palm open towards his nose I then move my hand and arm away from his face simultaneously giving the command “stand”.
- Stay - I use the policeman’s hand sign, holding my arm outstretched towards the dog with the palm facing him and simultaneously command him to “stay”.
- Heel – I use this command only when I want my Hovawart to walk beside me in the heel position. With my left hand at my side I simply flick my wrist up and point simultaneously giving the command “heel”.
- Foot – I reserve this command to have him sit only at my left hand side. I use both hands and tap my left thigh together with the command “foot”.
- Down – meaning lie down - My right arm held straight out in front, palm facing down and then I motion toward the ground with my hand open and flat.
- Send-away – ( Go to where I tell you) My right arm and hand are held against my chest, and then flung forwards in pointing gesture, in the direction I want him to go together with a word of command.
- Come – Both arms are outstretched horizontally,( a universal welcome or greeting sign) palms facing forwards, then I move my arms towards my body ending with palms facing or touching my stomach.
- Fetch – Is just a waving pointing motion of my left hand from the dogs head towards the object to be retrieved together with the word of command.
- I also use a “freeze” signal, a command which means remain still, stop what you are doing, and wait for the next command.
The most difficult part of training hand signals is keeping your Hovawart's attention, so it is best to teach your dog hand or body signals at the same time you are teaching an obedience exercise. When using hand signals or body language always be consistent. Using non verbal signals demands that your Hovawart focuses his attention on you. He will be more likely to pay attention to you during training if he knows he has to see your command, there are lots of ways to attract the attention of a Hovawart.
Teach the Send-away
There are many ways to teach a Hovawart the send away. Start with your Hovawart sitting next to you and run with him a few meters to the place where you want him to go. Mark the spot beforehand with some sort of obvious physical marker like an an old upturned bucket, whatever comes to hand. Later you can simply lay a line on the ground as the marker. Don't use any verbal commands at all yet, just point at the spot and run with your dog towards it. When you get there, encourage him (if needs be with a tasty treat) to lay down. Repeat this a few times, and then finish, do some more later or another day. When he has got the idea to run with you to a place and lay down without any commands its time to progress to the next step.
Tell him to "Stay," and then walk a short distance away and place a treat on the ground (beside the marker). Return to your dog, and sign "send away" together with a word of command. With any luck he should run to get the treat and lay down. Practice this a few times. When he understands what is required move on. Now is the time to practice this with a line on the ground, and continue with a few more sessions. As soon as he is performing well, move on.
Now put the treats in two or three small containers (old clean film containers are handy). Have your hovie sit and stay. Place the containers filled with treats in different locations, a triangular pattern for example, with you and your dog in the center. Direct your hovie to one of the containers. When he goes to it, quickly give him a treat from the container and lots of praise. If he goes to the wrong one, just shake your head, quietly say “no” and take him back to where you started and try again. Once he understands that he must go where you indicate, incrementally increase the distance and then later hide the containers. You want him to go where you say, whether there is food visible or not. I like this particular method because it is easy to adapt the idea to other aspects of training.
