The way I did it was I bought an ACME 211.5 (google for it) whistle but any acme whistle will do as they are all set to the same pitch for the number chosen so if you lose one you can buy another and still have the same pitch.
I put it round my neck all day and for recall I would call them in usual way that I do 'Majic Come Here' and when she was trotting back to me I would do 3 short sharp pips on the whistle (recall command) and then treat and praise
I also called them for there food with it then 3 pips, after a couple of days I dropped the calling and just used the whistle, if that didn't have the desired affect I just went back a stage.
Be aware you have the whistle on though, the times I went out to places with it still round my neck
I am going to start on sit command soon (1 blast one whistle)
ive started this with Ella. yes get yourself a good whistle, i have a couple of Acme Model 211˝. decide on how many toots you are going to use for each command. i use a toot toot for recall for example, and then perform your normal command like "here" followed by the whistle command.
The following is a brief excerpt from Gundog Training Made Easy by Eric Begbie,
Whistle - Command the dog to sit and stay. Walk on 25 - 30 yards. Stop,
turn to face the pup, give the verbal command "here" and follow immediately
with a series of three short toots on the whistle. The puppy might show some
stickiness at this. If he does, repeat the verbal command and give lots of
praise when he reaches you. Repeat several times until the dog shows no
stickiness on hearing the whistle. After five or six runs through this routine,
repeat the exercise without the verbal command. Continue until the whistle
alone brings the pup to you every time that it is used.
Ella now recalls well to either verbal or whistle recall. Next I’ll be working on “wait”
Great advice so I won't add to it but I will say good on you for wanting to whistle train. Toby's been learning with a whistle since he was three months and it is fab! He still responds well to vocal commands, but the whistle gets a must faster response, especially when we're in a large open area where my voice doesn't carry so well.
He works on 1 pip for sit, 2 pips for down and 3 pips for come and one long blast for stop/stay right where you are! (This one is a godsend if he bolts off to another dog...lol) - don't know how correct my useage is - I just chose what I wanted him to do for each whistle and went for it.
I'll just add that the stop whistle and come whistle are equally important and so I tend to start on the stop whistle first. The idea being that a recall is all well and good, and great if it happens but what you want to do is halt the forward motion first then get them in, and the stop whistle is that 'excuse me I'm about to say something' whistle... it is called the stop whistle, the sit whistle or whatever but really its a 'stop what you are doing I'm about to tell you something'.
The stop whistle is taught on lead, walking to heel, then say sit and blow a single firm quick blast. Walk on, say sit and blow (you CAN do this almost at the same time, its not as hard as it sounds to do both). Progress to calling the dog, and blowing a sit whistle and raising your hand half way back to you. Move forward if the dog keeps coming and enforce the stop. Keep the distamnces short and make sure you have done LOTS of the sit on the whistle business first over several sessions until you don't need to say sit, just blow a whistle.
The reason lots use whistles even when not working gundogs is because they can enforce something a long distance away when the voice may not be heard (although thats debateable - grin - they have better hearing than they make out!) So if your dog is running up to another, just a recall whistle can help BUT likely as not the STOP whistle will actually be more effective and you can then hold them there and walk and get them with a raised hand wait signal, OR you can then, when you are sure you have their attention, pip them in.
Di
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The boys!
Read: Wylanbriar Dog Blog on the website: Updated! 1st February 12´!
Hi, wait till the verbal commands are sound definately. I tend to not start whistle training until the dog will sit, come, stay for a minute or two, go down (cough... i thought about how to phrase that differently and failed miserably) and sit to a raised hand signal....
Then I start the sit whistle thing using the word to back it up... so 'verbal' 'whistle' and if no result strong verbal again putting them into the sit physcially gently - but of course they have to KNOW the vocal command to back up what you are teaching them with the whistle if they do not respond to the whistle.....
You still use vocal commands all the time even when a dog comes and stops to the whistle so they need strongly inbedding first.
Di
____________
The boys!
Read: Wylanbriar Dog Blog on the website: Updated! 1st February 12´!
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