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
, 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.