acme 210.5 whistle

[mooching]

1) if you and your partner have a whistle, does it still "sound" the same to the dog as I wonder if we would both blow it differently?

It may sound slightly different. Though what we decided on for Alfie was three short blasts, so even if it's done by someone else Alfie hears the three pips and comes running. He's sometimes not sure which one of us has done it, so ends up coming to each of us for a treat! (sometimes just my daughter and I have our whistles, sometimes my son does too!)

2) if someone else in the park has a acme whistle does your dog hear that?

We usually walk in the New Forest, not the park, and there are usually not many dogs around. However, when we had our first New Forest Cockers Meet Up, both Pip and I had our whistles, but Saffi only ever went to her and Alfie only came to me. HOWEVER, when I was walking Alfie once on some heathland, I blew the whistle for Alfie, and gained not just Alfie but a lovely border collie (whose owner didn't have a whistle!), and another time on some common land I gained a golden retriever whose owner also didn't have a whistle!

[Sarah1985]

2) if someone else in the park has a acme whistle does your dog hear that?

I was worried about this so Ive training my two to come to me irrespective of who blows. Its fairly easy to train

 You'll need someone from outside your family to lead you a hand (preferably someone whose unlikely to be walking your dog). Stand together and get your volunteer to blow the whistle in a similar fashion to how you do, your dog will prob run towards your volunteer but lure them to you with a treat. After a few goes they'll get the idea that its still their owner that dispenses treats and will run directly to you. Then you can start putting some distance between you and your volunteer. If your dog runs to your volunteer ask them to ignore your dog completely and you call them over to you. They'll soon get the idea that they need to be heading in your direction.

I figure that this way, if someone has the same whistle to me the worse thats going to happen is my dogs will run over to me. 

[Emma xx]

Alfie is now doing really well with his whistle training i braved it and took it out on their walk last week and called him back when he was really close and he came shooting back . I did this a couple of times, and then blew it again when i saw he was coming back my way, and he came straight back . I dont really want to risk calling him back when he is further away yet, but when is the right point to do it? I.e., when he's running away from me on a field or sniffing in the bushes? I still use his name at these times.

Meg is also becoming whistle trained even though it isnt really focused on her. She hears the whistle and comes running back, bless her i've had to start taking kibble out as well as sausage so she doesnt miss out as sausage wont do her figure much good!

Emma xx

[Petepreston]

I also wondered whether dogs could tell the difference between blowers of the whistle. From what I've seen, either it sounds the same or Posie knows the sound of both of us.

Where I walk her there are a few other people who are training on the whistle and their dogs don't seem interested in my whistle, although they aren't working Cockers so may be on a different frequency. I've seen her look towards somebody else who had a whistle but she hasn't left me. Quite the opposite; she looks to me as if there is a treat coming her way. 

On colour choice: I bought bright orange and bright yellow ones for ease of finding and even got different coloured lanyards so the two of us could more easilly tell them apart (I don't know why we can't remember which colour whistle is whose).

When I whistle her from distance and she returns I then give a very small toot on the whistle as I give her the treat. To my ears it sounds different, but only in volume. I think those whistles are specifically designed to be consistent no matter how hard you blow.

I've been trying to give a double toot when she sits after returning, in the hope that she will learn that as a seperate command. So far we only have a 50% success rate and she always sits when she returns anyway.

[Black Red + Yellow]

They are clever tinkers aren't they - I am sure they recognise differences, our friends use the same pitch whistle 210.5 also but none of my lot take any notice if they use it.......they seem to know it's not us.

Our lot only have 3 whistle commands....one for stop, two for change direction....3+ for recall.....keeps it nice and simple

[Joules]

If someone else blows a whistle, Coco comes running to me - so I always give her a treat anyway