[paul young]

cues are only useful when the dog recognizes that it's a cue. "the hand" gets used for so many reasons that a lot of newcomers do mis-use it. my first dog got the hand cue for blinds and marks she forgot.i'll never be sure if it was necessary cause i always did it. my 2nd and 3rd dogs are doing fine without it,but that's because, as someone else has experienced,#2 started looking at my hand. turned out to be probably the best lining dog i'll ever own. that verbal "goood" locked her in nicely.have to be careful to do your part,though. if you give her the wrong line she is reluctant to make a big correction. she has lined so many that she's shall we say..confident. #3 is getting the same because it worked with #2. so far so good.
in the end ,all any of this is is communicating. you gotta find a way,and that's a two way street. our dogs talk to us all the time,if we both listen to the other,my,how we can shine!