HAND SIGNALS

I read an article that claimed that if you point at an object a dog will look at the object rather than your pointed finger.

Clearly, my dogs have not read this article, because they insist on staring raptly at my finger: "What? What? What? Where?" I have to practically touch the object, drawing their stares [slowly] from my finger to the object.
50% of the dogs watch my finger anyway, as if I had a hotdog glued to it.

Here are some other hand signals that might come in handy if only I could teach them to the dogs.

Now. This one they know. I have to admit that. This is the "I have no more treats in my hands. See? They are EMPTY. Nothing here but fingers."
 This is the one time when their attention wanders from my hands immediately. By the time they have glanced briefly at my hands they are sniffing the floor, my shoes, anywhere I might have stashed food since, we all understand, I never feed them and they are starving.

This is "Hold it, wait there!"
The dogs know exactly what it means. It means (to them) OBOY THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING,LET'S GO!!

This is DOWN. Meaning lay down. It is a movement signal starting up and traveling downward. The dogs watch and then wander off doing whatever they were doing before, snuffling along the ground in case I was pointing at spilled food.

This is "come".It begins out and sweeps toward the body . I have one dog who responds but the rest (short legs) all stare at my hand as if convinced I am having some kind of seizure. The one who responds would also respond if I did not make any hand gesture but simply walked through the room and looked at him.

This is a really important hand signal. It means STOPSTAY. DO NOT MOVE.
Since 3 of 4 dogs are not moving anyway but are sound asleep, this is meant for the 4th dog who stops, edges forward, stops, edges forward.....

The final Hand signal is used after training the former hand signals and consists of a closed fist with one finger extended and will not be shown since the photographer thought I was extending the finger in his direction in response to his photography skills and left the room muttering the same words I am usually muttering after a training session with the dogs....