Why would you want to be training your dog to the whistle and how do you do it?
If your like us and like to let your dogs run free in open spaces, fields and woodland then it pays to have them trained to both voice and whistle commands.
If nothing else it saves you going hoarse hollering for them when they’re a out of sight or a long way out!
A dog will hear a whistle call more easily than a voice at a distance especially if there is background noise or its windy. The high frequency of dog whistles can easily be heard by your dog as it travels well breaking through other noise. This is pretty much why shepherds and those with gun dogs use them.
Training Your Dog To The Whistle –
Ok your going to need a whistle. Obvious your thinking – maybe and maybe not!
We’ll get to what sort of whistle in a moment. One of the most important things to do is choose a whistle that will last and ones who’s frequency you can keep a record of.
Once your dog is trained to the whistle you don’t want to be changing it for a different one. Your dog will associate with the frequency of the whistle. If that changes because you’ve had to get a replacement which has a different frequency then don’t be surprised if your dog doesn’t respond to well!
One of the beauties of a proper dog whistle is it always produces the same sound!
Think about your voice – it can be affected by how loud your shouting, how stressed you feel, you’ve got a cold, etc. so what your dog hears from you can vary considerably! Not so with a dog whistle – it’s not affected by these things so for your dog it’s easy to recognise.
What Whistle To Get?
There are loads of dog whistles out there so plenty to choose from.
I would suggest that you go for a proper metal whistle.
They’re durable, should come with the frequency specified on them that you can keep a record of and they’re just designed for the job.
The only question you really need to answer is do you want one with a frequency that you can hear or one you can’t? Personally I prefer to be able to hear the whistle so that I know the dog should also be hearing it.
What Commands Will You Use And How Will They Sound?
Unless your training a working dog then you don’t need a big repertoire for your dog to learn.
You could go a simple as Sit and Come. You might fancy adding more such as Lie Down if, your dog responds well to the whistle.
The simpler the better when it comes to training your dog to the whistle as, your only really using it when voice commands aren’t going to work due to distance or background noise.
Once you’ve decided on the commands then decide what sound each will have.
For example for Sit most people will go for one shortish or even short sharp blast from the whistle and for Come it could be three longish blasts.
Just make sure each command is sufficiently different to the others so there is no confusion for your dog.
The How and When
You can train a dog to the whistle at any time just the same as you can train or retrain a dog to voice commands at any time.
The best way as mentioned before is through positive reinforcement i.e. treats for them.
Some people like to train both voice and whistle at the same time whilst others do it separately. It’s really down to what works best for you and your dog.
Start with recall and start it indoors. Get your dog familiar with the sound of the whistle first. Make them curious and reward them if they come to investigate.
Once they’ve got the hang of coming to you when you use both your voice and whistle recall commands then have a go outdoors.
Start with your dog reasonably close to you and gradually extend the range till your confident that when you whistle your dog will come.
I read an interesting article on whistle training sometime ago that had a good piece on training your dog to sit to the whistle. I haven’t been able to find the article again but the basics went along these lines.
Sit training is more difficult than recall. When doing the training you need to give the whistle command after the dog has sat.
Sounds a bit wrong but actually it works.
Have a tasty treat for your dog and hold it up high. If your dog is standing they will eventually sit down of their own accord.
As soon as they sit down give the whistle command then give them the treat.
Very quickly your dog will associate the whistle command, sitting and treats you will have a dog that sits to the whistle.
Hopefully you’ll now feel inspired to train your dog to the whistle. So have a go and enjoy the results.
