Using hands to make choices
Using your hands to make choices is a great way to give your learners more choice around things that they don’t have buttons for or when you’re away from your soundboard. You might not want to have buttons for every type of chew or each type of play, but with hand choices you can talk about any object or concept that you have labeled with a word that your learner understands verbally.
You don’t have to be a button user to use this method to help you learn more about what your dog or cat wants, they just need to understand the words you’re using clearly so they know what the choices relate to.
Before you start
You don’t need to go through steps we’ve set out one by one, you can put all or just some of these methods into practice simultaneously.
Working on these methods can be an exercise that you practice daily, you can just begin to incorporate them into your day to day interactions with your learner, or both. It’s the sort of thing that will take them some time to pick up so be patient and don’t expect them to understand it right away.
If your learner already understands how to make choices between two items in your hands, you can link the process of making the choice with your hand rather than the object right away, though you might need to keep the object close to your hand for a while. Alternately, your learner might be very comfortable with making a choice even though the idea is new to them (typically by tapping your hand with their paw, or ‘booping’ a hand with their nose or head). If they are happy to experiment with hand choices you can try the approach we explain without any objects straight away.
Some learners will understand the concept of indicating no on your hand but occasionally choose to use body language to say no instead. They might run away, turn away from the teacher, or start another activity. If that happens then treat that behaviour as a "no" but reinforce the choice by wiggling that hand and saying something like “ok, no play” (or whatever they are saying “no” to). We should always listen to all forms of communication from our learners, and if they choose to tell us that they don't want to do something by walking away then that's absolutely fine. Like any communication, if we force our learner they’re much more likely to become frustrated or not want to engage with us.
Teaching your learner to make choices
Hands for yes or no choices
Decide which hand will be your ‘yes hand’ and be consistent.
Begin with something motivating to your learner but they will be calm enough to listen to you if they see it. That might be a treat, chew or toy, but maybe not their favorites at first if they’re excitable.
Put the object in your ‘yes hand’
Ask your learner in simple language if they want the object, followed by the options yes or no. As you say the word “yes” hold out or wiggle your ‘yes hand’, as you say the word “no” hold out or wiggle your ‘no hand’.
“Fido want treat hmm?” “yes or no”
If your learner looks at or gestures to one of those hands, take that as a confirmation of their choice and respond verbally. You can say something like “yes you want treat” or “no want treat, ok”
Give your learner the treat if they said yes, if not, put the treat away.
The rules are very clear here - your learner makes a choice and that choice is heard. Show your learner the process has reliable consequences by listening to their answer and respecting their choice - never override it.
If you can see your learner *did* want the treat, DO NOT give them the treat if they indicated “no”. They’ll learn much more effectively if they see that the choice they make is listened to, and that you act consistently (just like with buttons!!). If you think your learner wanted to say yes to something, make sure to offer the choice again quickly so that they get the chance to make a different choice
If you are already using two hands for two choices, then we recommend you decide on a different way of holding your hands for “yes or no” choices, so it’s clear to your learner that each time they see your two hands with their palms out and fingers up/in a fist/palms down, that you’re asking them to make a yes or no choice.
Making a choice between two objects
Prepare by getting your two options – two different toys, chews, or treats for example.
Put an option in each hand.
Ask your learner which one they want, showing them each hand in turn.
Ask your learner which they want - use simple language and the words you’d use (or are planning to add) on your soundboard, such as “what Kitty want?”
Hold your hands in front of your learner, not touching and far enough apart that they will have to turn a little to look at your hand. If your hands are next to each other it will be more difficult for you to see which option your learner is indicating, and they might struggle to be accurate at first, especially if they’re using their paw.
Make sure your hands are at a height where your learner can comfortably reach to paw or nose boop your hand or the toy.
Your learner might boop one hand with their nose or paw straight away, and if that happens then confirm their choice “Spot want ball” and then play with that toy, discarding the other toy. Some learners take a while to understand what we’re asking or realise we’re happy for them to make a choice, so give them lots of time to process, and it’s fine to take a glance or gesture toward a hand as your learner making a choice when you’re teaching how this works.
Keep repeating this game with different choices, and if your learner isn’t indicating in the way you want them to, approach it in the same way you did when you were encouraging early button presses, with patience and rewarding progress. Some learners will take time to pick this up so be really patient and keep recognising small looks or gestures as your learner having made a choice for as long as you need to do that, and be really excited when they make a bigger gesture or do a nose boop or paw your hand.
You might have an expectation for how your learner will interact with you, but if they show a preference by touching your hand in a particular way then go with that choice.
It’s really important here that you show this process has meaning, so don’t be tempted to offer the option they didn’t choose, even if you think that was the option they actually wanted. Your learner needs to understand that, for example, if they tap the hand with the ball, they have selected the ball. Of course you can repeat the exercise after a small break, or just play with or give your learner the other object after a short break.
Making choices with empty hands
Decide if you’re going to use your hands in two fists, open palms up, or something else (we’ll use fists in this example). If your learner is already familiar with making yes/no choices then choose a different hand setup (say an open palm instead of a fist for yes/no) and ‘label’ each hand with a different option by wiggling or offering it as you show your learner.
Put two objects on a surface directly below your hands, and indicate with the corresponding fist to each toy (or treat, chew etc). Say “want ball” and hover your fist over the ball, “or want frisbee” and hover your other fist over the frisbee.
Reward with whichever choice they indicate, going back to responding to gestures if needed.
If your learner has good self control you will be able to move your hands further from the objects quickly, if not this will take a little time as you don’t want them to simply take them!
Your learner may understand the process well enough to not need objects underneath your hands. They might pick up the system just from your modelling (ie responding with whatever option they choose) - if your learner is confused, backup and practice with objects nearer to your hands.
Once your learner is familiar with using your hands to show you what they want, and not trying to select the objects themselves, you can begin offering choices with empty hands and no object nearby – “do you want play ball (hold out first fist) or frisbee (hold out second fist)”
Finally, try expanding to non-objects - you can ask about any two distinct things, from whether your learner is happy or sad, if they want outside or cuddles, if they want to play with mum or dad, or want food now or later.
It’s really important that you keep responding as if their first gesture or touch was deliberate, and not give them both or guess what they “really meant.” Making assumptions this way will teach them that this is just your confusing way of telling them what’s about to happen, or that you’ll guess at what they want so which hand they touch (or that they indicate one at all) doesn’t matter very much.
Only offer real choices
It is extremely important to only offer your learner a choice if they really do have one. If for instance you’re planning to go on a walk that you expect your learner to be excited about but they indicate no, they don’t want to go, that means you’re not going on a walk right now. You can wait a while and ask again, but you absolutely should not override that choice and make them go on a walk anyway. If your learner is generally excited about car rides and there’s a non-optional trip coming up, say a vet appointment, don’t give them a choice assuming they’ll say yes, because they might say no and you’ll have created a situation where you have to undermine all the work you’ve been doing. If it’s a situation where your learner doesn’t get a real choice, don’t present it as one.
Ignoring their choices can damage their trust in the system (again, why put effort into choosing if the choice doesn’t matter?), and it can damage their trust in you and have negative ramifications on your relationship. So it really is critical that you don’t make assumptions about what your learner wants and that every time you ask them to choose, it’s genuinely a question.
Takeaway points
Teach making choices by offering two options and giving your learner that option when they touch or gesture towards the corresponding hand.
This method can be used with objects in each hand, ‘labelling’ each hand with a different option, or making your hands represent “yes” and “no”.
Be consistent in how you present your hands.
You might need to be patient, and rewarding small gestures such as a small glance at a hand is a great way to start.
Making choices genuine and reliable is so important it has its own takeaway points!
When your learner makes a choice, always listen to the answer and:
Don’t give them what you think they want instead of what they’ve chosen.
Never provide them with both options.
If you think they wanted another choice, repeat the process later or give your learner that object or activity without offering a choice if it’s something you need to do.
Don’t offer a choice that’s not real.
If your learner walks away or uses body language to indicate a no, go with it.
