![dog training hand signals dog training hand signals](https://images.saymedia-content.com/.image/t_share/MTc0OTcwMDE2NzcxNzQ1MjIw/mastering-dog-training-hand-signals.jpg)
![dog training hand signals dog training hand signals](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b8/36/33/b8363322c3928062227d9dea5ffc7e87.png)
Gradually increase the distance pup must go to retrieve the unseen bird. Be sure to use the hand signal with the verbal command "back." It is important that pup is successful each time he is sent for a bird he did not see fall. Hide a dead pigeon behind a small piece of cover about 10-15 yards away from the spot you send pup from when you first attempt this. Within two or three months you should be able to sit pup in front of you and send him "back" for a pigeon or bird he did not see fall return to using short distances. Repeat this drill two or three times a training session, and increase the distance gradually over time, being sure pup stays on track. If you do not have a regular training area with worn paths, walk only about 10 yards before sending pup back for the pigeon. Accept the bird and praise pup with a pat on the head and an atta-boy. Already a reliable retriever, pup will pick the pigeon up and return to you immediately. Point behind pup with one hand, at the same time commanding "Back!" Pup should take off like a rocket and be guided by the path to the pigeon. Pause and make sure pup remains sitting, then detach his leash if necessary. Walk pup about 20 yards back toward the staging area and have him sit facing you with his back towards the dropped pigeon. Pup sees the pigeon and wants to retrieve it, but do not allow him to - yet. Take either a dead pigeon or a retrieving dummy and drop it on the path you have just walked while working pup. If pup is young and this is his first time, or if he is not heeling reliably when you head back to the training area, snap a leash on him. Have pup hup (sit) and send your two "guns" back to the truck so pup is not distracted by their presence. The easiest way to train pup to take a straight line to an unseen fall is to begin at the end of a bird flushing and retrieving drill that puts you a fair distance down the training field and you're ready to walk him back to the staging area. Your "path" enables pup to learn this drill easily by giving him an easy path to follow. If this is your regular training field, paths have generally been beaten into the cover, marking where the handler and his two guns/assistants walk. Alternatively, dead birds can be tossed to retrieve. (Or, birds can be pre-planted.) Flushed birds are shot and pup retrieves the birds to you. The normal drill is to walk down the field with pup quartering ahead of you, and birds are tossed into cover so that pup does not see them.
![dog training hand signals dog training hand signals](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3d/26/10/3d2610770c2e0ad6386d17ebd76c8fe1.jpg)
![dog training hand signals dog training hand signals](https://www.dogvills.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/hand-signals-5-important-things-to-know-600x900.jpg)
The standard flushing dog training scenario has you and two guns/assistants about 15 yards to each side of you in a training field with pigeons in your vests to plant or toss for pup. Additionally, pup is rewarded every time he takes your directions (hand signals) by having a bird or dummy to retrieve. Using hand signals for dogs isĀ all about repetition, but it's relatively easy to teach pup to take directions to fallen birds. Pup must be retrieving enthusiastically and reliably, and sitting on the whistle, to learn the hand signals that will direct him. Hunting birds with a gun dog is a partnership, and while pup normally does the bulk of the real work, he occasionally needs help, and it starts with training him properly. Additionally, in the upcoming dove season there are a myriad of cases where pup does not see a bird shot. Ruffed grouse hunting, for example, provides multiple unseen flushes, making marking impossible for pup.