CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Behaviour & Training => Topic started by: Pudding on November 18, 2010, 11:53:50 AM
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I have just got a acme 210.5 whistle for Bob
and have just started the training with him so far so good
Do you use one.... if so how do you get on with it.....
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Having lost two metal whistles which unscrewed, and finding my clicker whistle a bit bulky, I bought myself a nice purple Acme 210.5 (with lanyard) on the recommendation of several people here, and I love it! I confess to having bought myself a green one as well, so that I can choose which colour goes best with what I am wearing!
I'm buying my daughter her own one for Christmas (probably a blue one) - it will make a nice tree present!
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I will soon start it with Scarlett too! When she chases birds in the woods she is so bad at recall, although she is great under differenet circumstances...
Did you read the 7 whistle steps on the training section?
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I use this whistle, only started using it a few months ago and Brodie picked it up very quickly. I lost my first one on a walk so now have a bright orange one :005:
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I've used this whistle since Odie was 9 weeks old (on recommendation of Top Barks ;)). It's bright orange with a matching orange and green lanyard!
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I have always used the Acme 210.5 and find it great :D
I have 2, both on lanyards - one black and one orange ;)
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Have used it with Misha and Roly since they were tiny pups, and Lexi and Ellie have also been responding well to it. :D
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got about 10 of them in the house somewhere.....one of mine is on a lanyard with my door key and now a little torch....it's all mine!
We used them with Bessie too and they are particularly recommended for hard of hearing dogs also....it was often the only thing she could hear towards the end when out walking....she would wander away and then not hear us calling her bless :luv:
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I use this one as well and its brilliant. i brought 3 in different colours two weeks ago and have already lost one ph34r Annoyingly I know I shoved it in a pocked but between the million and one pockets in my coat and my ski trousers 101 pockets, plus all the under layers I cant find it >:(
Ive got a lanyard on my current one so hopefully this wont go astray. :005:
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I use and Acme whistle but 211.5 - I have 3, black, pink, and raspberry :D I do love an excuse to spend money on doggy stuff :005:
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Hope you don,t mind me asking where did you get the pink whistle from . An idea for a Christmas pressie from family.
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I use and Acme whistle but 211.5 - I have 3, black, pink, and raspberry :D I do love an excuse to spend money on doggy stuff :005:
I read somewhere that the 211.5 is more favoured for Retrievers, and the 210.5 for Spaniels - I was wondering what the difference is?
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I use and Acme whistle but 211.5 - I have 3, black, pink, and raspberry :D I do love an excuse to spend money on doggy stuff :005:
I read somewhere that the 211.5 is more favoured for Retrievers, and the 210.5 for Spaniels - I was wondering what the difference is?
The tones are slightly different but tbh it doesn't really matter which you use as long as you're consistent with it.
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Hope you don,t mind me asking where did you get the pink whistle from . An idea for a Christmas pressie from family.
You can get them on e-bay lots of colours have a look they must have a pink on
Bob has a Green one with a green leather lanyard
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You can get them on e-bay lots of colours have a look they must have a pink one
The only pink one on EBay atm is in the USA.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Acme-Whistle-210-1-2-peeless-w-lanyard-Pink-Cancer-/290423768146?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item439e9b0452#ht_500wt_922 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Acme-Whistle-210-1-2-peeless-w-lanyard-Pink-Cancer-/290423768146?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item439e9b0452#ht_500wt_922)
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Hope you don,t mind me asking where did you get the pink whistle from . An idea for a Christmas pressie from family.
I got the pink one from here
http://www.blackgundog.com/productDetails.asp?item=acme-dog-training-whistle-210-5-special-edition
:D
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Hope you don,t mind me asking where did you get the pink whistle from . An idea for a Christmas pressie from family.
I got the pink one from here
http://www.blackgundog.com/productDetails.asp?item=acme-dog-training-whistle-210-5-special-edition
:D
Many thanks for the link Erica Dylan & Jessie.
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Hope you don,t mind me asking where did you get the pink whistle from . An idea for a Christmas pressie from family.
I got the pink one from here
http://www.blackgundog.com/productDetails.asp?item=acme-dog-training-whistle-210-5-special-edition
:D
Many thanks for the link Erica Dylan & Jessie.
Your welcome :D
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I use one mainly for recall, and have done since my dogs were pups. They both have fantastic recall 99% of the time - deer and anyone with food are a bit tricky! I practice daily, when we are out on walks I recall them for no particular reason and always treat. Love my whistle! ;)
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I don't like to shout to my dogs for recall so I use my whistle.
I have two, one near the back door and one on a lanyard which I put my house key on when I go out.
I love my whistles and so do my girls as it means pilchard cake to them. :005: :005:
My whistles are Acme 211.5 in purple cos I just lurve purple. :luv: :luv:
I got mine from here. There is a range of colours but really only the one for me. :005: :005:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/210-5-ACME-GUNDOG-DOG-WHISTLE-210-1-2-LEATHER-LANYARD-/350397663649?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Dogs&var=&hash=item905b4d748c
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Can I ask what is the difference between the whistles with different numbers?
Is it the sound it makes? How do we choose the "correct" whistle?
thanks :D
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I'm pretty sure the majority on here will use the 210.5 Acme whistle. I never go out with Bonnie without it. They aren't expensive and amazingly are actually made in the UK. Acme have a very good website and you can order them direct.
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Can I ask what is the difference between the whistles with different numbers?
Is it the sound it makes? How do we choose the "correct" whistle?
thanks :D
I use and Acme whistle but 211.5 - I have 3, black, pink, and raspberry :D I do love an excuse to spend money on doggy stuff :005:
I read somewhere that the 211.5 is more favoured for Retrievers, and the 210.5 for Spaniels - I was wondering what the difference is?
The tones are slightly different but tbh it doesn't really matter which you use as long as you're consistent with it.
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Thanks Nicola!
I will also order a 210.5 from e bay!
Maybe the first one coming to Greece! :lol:
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Can I ask what is the difference between the whistles with different numbers?
Is it the sound it makes? How do we choose the "correct" whistle?
thanks :D
There is just a slightly different tone between a 210.5 and a 211.5 whistle.
It doesn't really matter which whistle you get as long as you use the same one every time. ;)
ETA Nicola was much quicker in her response than I was. :005:
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Can I ask what is the difference between the whistles with different numbers?
Is it the sound it makes? How do we choose the "correct" whistle?
thanks :D
There is just a slightly different tone between a 210.5 and a 211.5 whistle.
It doesn't really matter which whistle you get as long as you use the same one every time. ;)
ETA Nicola was much quicker in her response than I was. :005:
thanks! This is important!
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Thanks Nicola!
I will also order a 210.5 from e bay!
Maybe the first one coming to Greece! :lol:
Scarlett, I'd suggest you order two. It probably won't be that much more postage, and it means you have a spare one in case you lose/can't find the other one.
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What treats should we use.... it has to be high value...
i do make liver bread/tuna.. but i use this for Agility.......
what can we use
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What treats should we use.... it has to be high value...
i do make liver bread/tuna.. but i use this for Agility.......
what can we use
I give my two pilchard cake. They ONLY ever get this on a whistle recall. They are conditioned to 'hear whistle, get back to mum quickly, pilchard cake' :005: :005:
I don't know if pilchard cake is that much different to tuna cake though :huh: Perhaps you could reserve liver cake for agility and use a fish based cake for recall. ;)
BTW What colour whistle did you order?
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What treats should we use.... it has to be high value...
i do make liver bread/tuna.. but i use this for Agility.......
what can we use
I give my two pilchard cake. They ONLY ever get this on a whistle recall. They are conditioned to 'hear whistle, get back to mum quickly, pilchard cake' :005: :005:
I don't know if pilchard cake is that much different to tuna cake though :huh: Perhaps you could reserve liver cake for agility and use a fish based cake for recall. ;)
BTW What colour whistle did you order?
are right may be thats the wat to go... thanks... i got the lime green with the leather lanyard
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Thanks Nicola!
I will also order a 210.5 from e bay!
Maybe the first one coming to Greece! :lol:
Scarlett, I'd suggest you order two. It probably won't be that much more postage, and it means you have a spare one in case you lose/can't find the other one.
that's what I am gonna do! Thanks :D
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This is slightly off topic but I've been using just a Pets at Home whistle with Alfie for recall which has been sucessful unless he finds the best smell on the block! I also use a whistle at school, as a primary teacher, mainly for P.E., but after a library visit and subsequent late playtime I used the whistle to gather the troops. As soon as I blew it, I thought 'what on earth's wrong with this whistle', then realised it wasn't of course Alfie's whistle, but my school one with a pea in it - the sound seemed so strange after my doggy one :005:
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THANK YOU. I have bought countless "silent" whistles and the ends unscrew themselves and drop off >:D
Have bought a norange one
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We use the 210.5 for Alfie, im still training him at home with it though and havent been brave enough to use it on a walk yet incase i break the process :ph34r :005: xx
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I'm so glad I stumbled back into COL. I was looking at dog stuff on Amazon and got it into my head to buy a whistle to try to get Posie into a consistent recall.
We tried the clicker but when she's any distance away in a noisy area such as the beach - crashing waves and wind - expecially when she's upwind she hardly hears us shouting, let alone a clicker.
I saw the Acme ones on Amazon and wondered about the 210.5 and 211.5 variations. As I understand it, this is the frequency that it works at, making it a different tone. I've read in several places, including a gundog website, that the 210.5 is especially good for Spaniels and the 211.5 is good for Retrievers. That seems to be supported in here too.
Amazon have them for about £8, but not much choice of colour. ebay have for £5 in various colours.
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We tried the clicker but when she's any distance away in a noisy area such as the beach - crashing waves and wind - expecially when she's upwind she hardly hears us shouting, let alone a clicker.
Good move to get a whistle - did you realise though that the clicker is not intended for recall, but to reinforce actions that the dog has already done?
IMO it's a good idea to get a lanyard with the whistle - makes it harder to lose.
Re whistle training, I'd highly recommend Top Barks' thread on whistle training - http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=69512.0 (http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=69512.0)
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I didn't actually know that about the clicker. I honestly thought it was just a weakness of that method. Just as well I come to COL.
There are two brightly coloured whistles on their way and two equally bright lanyards are on their way from another suppplier.
A little bit annoyingly, I've found my own whistle (as in, using my fingers and mouth) over the last couple of days and this morning Posie ran a couple of hundred metres away, and up steps, to see a walker while we were at the beach but she came belting back to me on my second whistle (the first was very wheezy and quiet). It was so loud that it actually rang in my own ears. The people I was standing near to seemed to think it was a little "loud" :005: but their dogs looked at me too.
I've read the Top Barks article too.
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I use a whistle from The Company of Animals, the Clix Multi-purpose one. I bought it here in a pet-shop this summer after reading about whistle training on COL. I'm happy with it, it works really well, so now Elmo responds to both whistle and voice command. He picked it up quick. I treat with Milk or Vitamin Drops (special doggy treats).
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Posie update: I got the 210.5 whistle the other day and she responded positively on first blow. I think it was out of curiosity but possibly because I've been whistling for a few weeks now. I forgot to take it out on walks today and yesterday but she wiill come from any room in the house and even in from the garden on no more than one short peep on it. She even returns faster on my own mouth whistle which isn't very good but seems to resemble it closely enough for her to be interested.
Oddly, this morning a lorry or bus drove passed us while we were on the beach and out of sight and it was making a very high pitched whistling noise as it passed, and Posie kept looking up towards the road. Something has definitely clicked with her.
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Posie update: I got the 210.5 whistle the other day and she responded positively on first blow. I think it was out of curiosity but possibly because I've been whistling for a few weeks now. I forgot to take it out on walks today and yesterday but she wiill come from any room in the house and even in from the garden on no more than one short peep on it. She even returns faster on my own mouth whistle which isn't very good but seems to resemble it closely enough for her to be interested.
Oddly, this morning a lorry or bus drove passed us while we were on the beach and out of sight and it was making a very high pitched whistling noise as it passed, and Posie kept looking up towards the road. Something has definitely clicked with her.
Or rather, something has "whistled" with her! ;)
Petepreston, just checking - are you always rewarding Posie with a treat, and a high-value one at that (preferably one you only use for recall) when she comes to the whistle? It's really important to do so, to really positively reinforce her response deep down in her subconscious, so that when a distraction comes, she will still be more likely to come back. The reward also makes it less likely that she will get accustomed to/bored with it, and keep responding.
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She's getting the high value treat that she only gets when we're doing something a bit special or I'm reinforcing her good recall when we're out. Not the most special thing she gets - that would be chicken etc from my wife's plate >:D , but she also gets them when we play the Sniffer Dog game when I hide them around the house and she goes mental sniffing them out, hence the name. I know I should be more structured with this training but it's still a bit hard in my personal situation.
Every single time I've used the whistle she's come flying back to me from wherever she is and whatever she's doing, so it seems to have sunk in very quickly, and even when I do my own pathetic mouth whistle she responds the same way - if she can hear me.
I blew the whistle by accident when I didn't have a treat on me, but the next time I whistled she still came back. I don't seem to have broken the association. Yet.
Yesterday she was on the scent of a pheasant out at my brother's farm, a place she has never been before, and she still came bounding back to me t get her treat then continued her flushing behaviour.
The only negative so far is that whereas before she would come back to my "come here" command and sit at my feet, with the whistle she comes running back and puts her paws on my thigh and stands there looking a little overexcited. It's always my bad leg that she leans against because it's always my left hand that has the treat. This is because my right hand is always holding my crutch. Life's tough, eh?
Still not bad for a pampered pup, so I'll keep going with the closest I can to the article routine, and watch out for any slips or reductions in response.
Oh, I did try the whistle last night while she was eating her own dinner and although she stopped and looked at me, the lure of her own bowl was too much. Fair enough I suppose.
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It's really important for Posie to associate the whistle with the high-value treat every time. Could I just ask what you're using for this? The thing is, she's rapidly approaching her teens, and that's the time when even the most responsive dog can suddenly "not hear" you any more, so it's vital for the association to be really deep down in her subsconscious for when adolescence hits.
Every single time I've used the whistle she's come flying back to me from wherever she is and whatever she's doing, so it seems to have sunk in very quickly
It's great that she's picked up the idea quickly, but it really means little until she starts returning to the whistle when there are major distractions around, like other dogs, people, children, horses, deer, moving vehicles etc. That's when you really need it to count as well, because it could mean the difference between life and death (or at least injury) or a lost dog.
The only negative so far is that whereas before she would come back to my "come here" command and sit at my feet, with the whistle she comes running back and puts her paws on my thigh and stands there looking a little overexcited. It's always my bad leg that she leans against because it's always my left hand that has the treat.
You may be doing this already, but I'd suggest you give her a firm "Down" before you give her her treat, or even a "Sit".
Oh, I did try the whistle last night while she was eating her own dinner and although she stopped and looked at me, the lure of her own bowl was too much. Fair enough I suppose.
Well yes!
Thing is though it does say in Top Barks' article that at the start it's best to use the whistle when you've called them and they're already on their way back to you. I would definitely recommend this approach as you're still quite near the beginning of her whistle training.
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Hope you don,t mind me asking where did you get the pink whistle from . An idea for a Christmas pressie from family.
I got the pink one from here
http://www.blackgundog.com/productDetails.asp?item=acme-dog-training-whistle-210-5-special-edition
:D
Just ordered my pink 210.5! Also for a good purpose! Thanks!
Scarlett is very good at recall with the exception of birds hunting :005:
We will immediately begin whistle lessons as per COL's instructions! :shades:
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Posie's training continues at a great pace. She will now come back to us from all but the most exciting scents and will even do an about face when racing off to play with another dog - 80% of the time. We give her the same treat a few times when we first get into the park or wherever we're walking, then give her a good run about, a few more recalls with treat and then no treat every couple of blows. She will race back to us and sit instantly. She will even sit & wait while children or othe rdogs walk by.
We haven't got her to sit at a distance yet (to save the inevitable child-greeting that she does) but she's geting much better at merely weaving around their legs.
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Petepreston,
Glad things are going well!
We give her the same treat a few times when we first get into the park or wherever we're walking, then give her a good run about, a few more recalls with treat and then no treat every couple of blows.
I'd suggest giving her a high-value treat every time, and also a lower-value treat every time she just "checks in" with you of her own volition - it might just increase that 80% to closer to 100%!
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Even when we've just started the walk and she's getting a treat every time she still occasionally decides against it if there is a scent that has brought down the red mist.
Those are the only times she doesn't respond so I'm not too worried. It's probably much higher than 80% to be honest.
Last night we had her responding in turns (we both have a whistle) over a distance of abut 200m without any diversions along the way despite the many scents and the number of dogs in all directions.
When she doesn't get a treat she gets a huge fuss made of her instead, and I have a special noise I only make for her when I'm really heaping on the praise. It works even when she's slipped out of the room with a slipper, a shoe, the TV remote control or a sweetie wrapper that she's pinched and knows she shouldn't have. It's actually quite funny to watch her uncontrollable desire for the attention override the mischievous nature to keep the "naughty" toy.
Wherever we go we are always complimented on how quickly she responds and well behaved and obedient she is. We think she's not coming along very quickly but then we meet people with well behaved dogs who can't believe what she can do at 7 months old. We're really somewhere between advanced and adequate. Given the time we've been able to dedicate to her training, she's doing very well and learns little tricks very quickly. We have a very good bond so once I'm more mobile we should be able to forge ahead with few problems.
Of course, she's heading towards the potential phase of forgetting everything...
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Petepreston,
Glad things are going well!
We give her the same treat a few times when we first get into the park or wherever we're walking, then give her a good run about, a few more recalls with treat and then no treat every couple of blows.
I'd suggest giving her a high-value treat every time, and also a lower-value treat every time she just "checks in" with you of her own volition - it might just increase that 80% to closer to 100%!
I agree - I don't give Coco a treat every time she comes back to me but I do give her one every time she recalls to the whistle - consequently her recall is much more reliable with the whistle :005:
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Even when we've just started the walk and she's getting a treat every time she still occasionally decides against it if there is a scent that has brought down the red mist.
Could I ask what you're using for treats?
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I have two 210.5's - orange and lime green. So far Mason has had 100% recall with the whistle :D For treats I used chopped up hotdog sausages or seafood sticks.
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I have two 210.5's - orange and lime green. So far Mason has had 100% recall with the whistle :D For treats I used chopped up hotdog sausages or seafood sticks.
Just received mine in pink from black gundog!!!
Delayed due to heavy snow...I hope it's soon over...
I will begin training lessons today!! :D
I will also hotdog sausages too!
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Henry has recently been working his little socks off for some rind off the Christmas bacon. I find the best thing with him is to change treats on a fairly regular basis or he gets bored and they lose their attraction.
I've got a pink whistle as well! All the best trainers do, you know ;) :lol2: :005:
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Sorry I disappeared without answering. At the time we were using chewy meaty treats that we halved into small nibbles. Posie was doing really well other than when she was totally overcome by scents, but then we realised that she was getting the same treats for other good behaviour.
We've switched to Baker's Swirls (cheese & bacon flavour) which she goes nuts for. I wouldn't ordinarilly give Baker's (or their affiliates) any of my money but Posie loves these treats and because they are only given when whistle training she's not getting too many as part of her overall intake. She is definitely not getting fat no matter what we give her - weighed today at 11.75kg of lean muscle.
Even though she was returning on the whistle so very well, the bacon treats have upped her response time to "immediate recall" and she is rarely distracted anough to ignore the whistle completely. The worst she does is stop what she's sniffing, look at me, sniff again then come back. She also gets a short toot on the whistle as she is given the treat - something we had forgotten to do before.
My wife has accused me of showing off when there are other dogs and owners around because I deliberately wait until Posie is in amongst the other dogs or they are misbehaving and then I give a sharp toot and she comes running back to me and sits at my side. Proud? Too right. Show off? Possibly.
I hope everybody else is getting on well with their whistles.
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The amount of colour co-ordination on this forum never ceases to amaze me. :D Personally I must not give a HOOT ( :005:) because our 210.5 is black and a bit chewed at the business end and was given to me about 3 dogs ago. It goes missing periodically (most notably on a narrow boat in Wales last summer when Alfie was whistle-less for 3 whole days) but it always seems to turn up. I really must get another.
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Pete as long as the recall works, please show off!!! :shades:
I would do exactly the same!
Who is not proud for a clever dog?
:005:
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The amount of colour co-ordination on this forum never ceases to amaze me. :D Personally I must not give a HOOT ( :005:) because our 210.5 is black and a bit chewed at the business end and was given to me about 3 dogs ago. It goes missing periodically (most notably on a narrow boat in Wales last summer when Alfie was whistle-less for 3 whole days) but it always seems to turn up. I really must get another.
That's why I went for Fluorescent orange and yellow :D (was hoping not to lose them ;))
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The amount of colour co-ordination on this forum never ceases to amaze me. :D Personally I must not give a HOOT ( :005:) because our 210.5 is black and a bit chewed at the business end and was given to me about 3 dogs ago.
Ah, but then you see black does go with most things, so you're not exactly clashing! ;)
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I have a black one and an orange one too... I get whistle-loss anxiety :005:
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I have read this thread with interest as hubby and I were chatting about whistle today.
My questions to you are:-
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?
2) if someone else in the park has a acme whistle does your dog hear that?
S
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I'm sure someone posted that someone elses dog came to them when they whistled as they knew there were treats on offer :005:
Not sure about whether the dogs can tell the difference about who is blowing it thou :huh:
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Henry did wander towards a couple of people using whistles to begin with, as I think he thought all whistles meant food for him ph34r Now he tends to look in the direction, but he has learned that I am the only person likely to produce a tripe stick :005:
Everyone blows a whistle slightly differently, or so I have been told :blink:
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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! :005:
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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. :005:
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Alfie is now doing really well with his whistle training :D 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 :blink:. 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 :blink:. 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 :005: even though it isnt really focused on her. She hears the whistle and comes running back, bless her :luv: i've had to start taking kibble out as well as sausage so she doesnt miss out :shades: as sausage wont do her figure much good!
Emma xx
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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. :005:
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.
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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 ;)
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If someone else blows a whistle, Coco comes running to me - so I always give her a treat anyway ;)