Whistle Training - number of pips

[LizH]

Pebble is really responsive to the three pips/blasts I use for recall

I want to start training other commands on the whistle but wondered what people used for stop
- just a single blast - long or short

..and what other whistle commands do you use e.g. 1 short one for stop and sit, 3 for recall, 2 for tunraround touch the ground bagsy not it??   

What whistle commands do you guys use - which ones are most effective and easy/hard to train

Thanks

Liz x

[Nicola]

It doesn't really matter what you use as long as you're consistent about it and use the same ones every time.

For my lot I use two short pips for recall and one short pip for changing direction when hunting. I try to keep the cues as short and 'to the point' as possible, I'm not keen on the idea of having to blow the whistle 10 times to get them to come back to me. 

For the stop whistle Tilly will stop and look at me to one long loud blast. Rodaidh responds to two stop whistle cues - a long louder blast means stop, sit down and look at me and a long, softer blast means stop, look at me but stay standing - I mostly use this one if I've sent him out to find a retrieve and he's near the area where it's lying so I can get him to stop and look at me and I can then direct him in more closely. I'm teaching Caoimhe the same as Rodaidh.

[mcphee]

I use three pips for get here immediately you little....

[supergirl]

two blasts for recall, and am working on one for stop

[milly]

I use two short pips for recall and 1 short pip means a change of direction as in a hunting pattern. A longer blow is the stop whistle, it means stop, sit and look at me but the loudness of this depends on how far he is from me.

[LizH]

Great thanks - I think I want to use one blast for stop

Now ....how do I train it!!!! 

[milly]

Great thanks - I think I want to use one blast for stop

Now ....how do I train it!!!! 

If you want to train the stop whistle you start by walking the dog to heel on lead, then stop and give the verbal and hand signal for sit. When you've mastered this move on to giving a verbal, hand then soft whistle signal, don't blast it because the dog is next to you so it only needs to be soft. It takes practice to talk with the whistle in your mouth but you'll get there and eventually you'll find what works for you, when I want to talk I tend to hold it in my front teeth.

Eventually you'll be able to do away with the hand and verbal signals and the dog will associate sitting to the whistle, you can move on from there to other situations. Every time you want the dog to sit you should be able to use the whistle once it's got the hang of what it means, practice in the house, keep the whistle around your neck.

If your dog sits for feeding and is conditioned to do that you could add the whistle in then, its just about the dog understanding the command and reinforcing it. The further away the dog is the louder the whistle but in fairness they have excellant hearing so save a blast for emergency stops, then they know you mean it

[LizH]

Thanks for this - sorry to take so long to respond 

I will definitely follow this advice - I have got Pebble to stop by my side using verbal cue and am going to introduce the whistle

Thanks again