With the title of"man's best friend", the idea of communicating with our canine companions has always fascinated dog owners and animal behaviourists alike.
Both dogs and cats are entirely capable of parsing out cues from our gestures and associating them with specific behaviours we expect of them. In fact, the only difference between verbal and non-verbal training when it comes to our furry companions is the stimulus they are responding to – whether it is a voice command or a gesture.
Aside from simple visual cues, it is not impossible for dogs to learn complex and structured sign language commands with persistent training. Some owners may prefer to use their own made-up signs when training their dog, many others prefer to use established visual languages such as ASL.