I don't think I do... but I do use hand gestures for her to understand. It isn't always verbal commands.

i do it all the time, i donno why it would be bad.
I want my dog to be able to read my body language (haha sounds like a bf) without me having to say anything. if i look at him and hold up my finger, he usually knows that means sit because i always do it when i say sit.

I shake my finger at him when he's bad, but when I tell him to sit etc. I don't point.

I try not to point because my dog uses hand signals, and the pointing finger is really similar to our "rollover" command, so if I point at him he gets confused.

I have to because my cat is deaf. I was just doing it yesterday when I wanted her to follow me outside. I have to point to her, then to the door, and she understands and comes. Or if she's on the counter I have to point at her and then to the floor, and she'll jump down.
It "might" not be good if you are disciplining them I guess? You really didn't explain why it's not good to point and I'm curious now.

oh wait, you did say you didn't understand either. haha sorry

when he's especially bad I'll point at him so he gets the point (I see what you did there!) or if he pulls something out of the garbage (usually used tissues and stuff for some reason, he doesn't chew them up, just pulls them out then leaves them on the floor)

I point at Fuji (and his toys so that he'd go get it; or the door so he'll go there) all the time. I'm not sure why your friend's step dad freaked at the gesture. I guess, he just loves the dog so much that it's very much like a person? And, pointing at people is rude?

I use a lot of silent hand signals, but I guess occasionally I point, but it is usually when they are already in trouble to begin with!

I dont get this at all malano knows that when i point to the floor thats down. when i point to a toy thats go get it. point at him dont know but i dont think he reads it as bad he usally comes up and gives me a kiss :^)

When she does something bad I usually point at her. Other than that I point at the floor when I want her to lay down.

I point my finger to (no pun intended) get my point across. When she's behaving badly.

We point and use a few other basic hand signals (a hand up, for example). Our dog is hard of hearing, so he doesn't always respond to verbal commands. If you raise your voice too much, however, he gets a little freaked out (since he was abused by his former owners).

I do it when i want her to sit and when she ignores me!
But that's it!

I sometimes do at my pets but only when they have been naughty. For example my little foxterrier broke into the bedroom where I had left my closet door open and he thought it would be a good idea to try and take all my shoes out of the room into the hallway and chew on them as he has done ever since he was a pup. So at those moments I point my finger at him, but do understand that they can really respond to those kind of actions.

When I was a kid, I heard that pets' depth perception is off so a pointed finger looks like a knife or sharp object so I've never pointed since.

Pointing means "be quiet". It's rare I have to use it.

I don't point unless I'm punishing my dog. If I'm asking her to do things or tricks, I use hand gestures. For example, all of my fingers gathered together at the tips and then turned upwards means 'sit', and they work very well.

If I want to have my dog go somewhere, I point where I want him to go. (off the couch, on the sofa, etc)

I'm pretty sure I don't. Except for when I'm walking out the door. He likes to run after me so I have to make sure he stays where he's at. Tiny dogs are hard to find in this big world.

ya know i have never ever noticed before. Shoot now I am going to have to start

No, never.

Umm well it probably looks like pointing, but I often let my cat sniff my finger because he seems to like it.