What is a dog whistle?

news7g07/22/2022

3 5 minutes read

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Dog whistles are great for all types of training but are especially helpful for mental recall and different canine activities and sports. Dog whistles are used to make it easier to communicate with your dog from long distances, as the sound carries and can penetrate thick coatings, crowd noise, and bad weather. . All of these features are important not only for retrieval but also for sports such as agility, herding and hunting and for gun and working dogs.

While dog whistles are not as commonly used as other signals or cues, they can be even more effective depending on your training needs. Choosing the right whistle and knowing how to use it – and how not to lose it – makes all the difference.

What is a dog whistle?

Dog whistles differ from clicks or verbal cues in that whistles are the ones that convey detailed information. Depending on what you want your dog to do, you can use a variety of sounds, blows, and bangs. One long bang can ask the dog to go left or right, where two short bangs can mean stop. Whistles are also different from clickers and markers because whistles are attention-grabbing things. They signal the dog to do something while clicking and verbal marking devices mark the behavior after it is done.

There are two main types of dog whistles: silent and audible. Since dogs’ ears are biologically much different (and much taller) than human ears, they have much more acute hearing. Choosing the right frequency for your dog is important, as some dogs may be more sensitive to higher frequencies. It has to work for you, but it has to work for your dog, too.

In addition, one of the superpowers of dogs is that they can move their ears independently of each other. As a result, dogs can be more accurate with specific sounds and from different directions and greater distances, which makes whistling ideal for sports, work and long-distance memory.

What is a dog whistle used for?

Darcie Jennings, Founder and Head Coach at CommuniCanine Training, is a firm believer in the power of the whistle for a great recall. Darcie says the first client whose dog she trained went from not responding to verbal cues to responding almost 100% of the time when the whistle sounded. She has introduced whistle recall lessons to her clients both in individual lessons and recall classes ever since.

Darcie emphasizes that dogs will respond faster and more consistently when using the whistle as a recall cue than using just verbal cues. It’s literally the difference between night and day, she said. She and her clients mainly use audible whistling and are especially fond of Acme 210.5because it is the most comfortable on the ear and the easiest to blow.

How to use a dog whistle to signal a recall

Darcie Here are some quick and easy tips on how to use a dog whistle for a solid callback.

Stand right next to your dog, blow the whistle and immediately feed your dog a variety of high-value treats, or pull out his favorite tug-of-war toy and play a good game of tug of war.
Pause for a moment (the pause will depend on how attentive your dog is when you stop interacting with them): do not talk to your dog, do not feed or play with it; you are just boring.
Then blow the whistle to the dog and feed or play again.
Repeat 10 to 20 times.
Once your dog clearly responds excitedly to the whistle (it can take more than 10 to 20 repetitions for some dogs), start increasing the distance between you and your dog, a few feet at a time so that when you blow the whistle, it turns around. for you to get treatment.

For us humans, remembering to bring a whistle can be a challenge or you could lose it. So here are Darcie’s pro tips to make sure you always have a useful tip:

Keep it on your car keys
Attach to your dog’s leash with a key ring or carabiner
Use lanyards
Attach the zipper of your hoodie/jacket
Use the built-in key on your backpack

When not to use a dog whistle?

At the end of the day, dog whistles aren’t for every dog. Some dogs may react with fear, so keep an eye on your dog’s reactions during experimentation with different types. For more sensitive dogs, it can sometimes take a little more time to desensitize them to where they’re happy to hear sounds, says Darcie. Try softer strokes, shorter strokes, or a different whistle altogether. The dog still doesn’t have it? Then maybe a whistle isn’t right for your dog.

And a dog’s whistle is not an effective or appropriate tool for stopping behaviors like excessive barking. Instead, you want to find out The underlying cause of overpronunciation and instead address those emotional needs. Besides, if you end up using the whistle as a punishment (e.g. barking), you may end up poisoning the whistle and your dog won’t want to respond to it.

How to use a dog whistle for a working or sports dog

Allyson Tohme, Crib UK The club instructor in Experimental Work (Advanced) says whistling is unparalleled when you need to communicate with a dog out of sight because sound travels much farther than a human voice. And the whistling sound is consistent, unlike the human voice that can change depending on health or mood.

The versatility makes the whistle particularly useful for sports because the handler can be quite a distance away from the dog and still communicate clearly and effectively. And if multiple handlers are using whistling, you can help your dog distinguish which cues to respond to by using different tones, sounds, and even frequencies.

Allyson says her favorite is shepherd’s lip whistle because it is much more flexible than all the others that have a single pitch and you can only change the number and/or length of the “pips”. You can actually play tunes on the lip whistle, so you have a lot more potential cues than other types of whistles.

And while she doesn’t like one brand more than another, she says Acme mass-produces whistles and is inexpensive if you need to replace a lost or damaged one.

In his experience with different breeds of dogs in different settings, Allyson did not find any certain breed of dog responding to a dog’s whistle better than others.

Allyson’s quick and easy tips on using a dog whistle are:

Train verbal cues first, then whistle, and then hand signals.
When the dog is responding to a verbal cue, precede the verbal cue with an unspecified signal (whistle).
Wait a second then use verbal cues.
It usually takes up to six sessions before the dog anticipates the whistle will be followed by verbal cues so the following whistle can be muted.
Increase the distance gradually so that all three signs can be used interchangeably depending on what is more appropriate for the context and of course, if the dog is looking at you or not (which is essential to get out of here). appropriate manual)!

If you really want to talk to your dog, try a whistle. You can develop your own language and then take it out on the road with agility, herding, or even when you need your best memorization. Their versatility, versatility, and cost-effectiveness make dog whistles a must-try for any pet parent or handler.