May 01, 2025
I tried to use a whistle to call my dog and he's terrified of the sound! What should I do?
Full Question:
Hi Cindy,I was very excited to start whistle recall training with my dog. I ordered an ACME dog whistle. I brought out high-value hot dogs and had the hot dogs in hand. Blew the whistle, and the dog tucked his tail under and ran away. I've never seen him so scared. Nothing would help bring him close to me, not even the hotdogs. It took a good 30 minutes before he would even be in the same room. I think I'll be returning the whistle as I feel it's damaging the trust I've worked so hard to build. Do you think a whistle is a good idea for recall? I am not keen on shock collars, and I have been using the standard recall methods with limited to no success. What I mean by limited, he is willing to come when there is nothing better for him to do.
Cindy's Answer:
You first need to build value for your recall command and then add the whistle when the dog understands the context. I have no idea what the whistle you used sounds like but we use and recommend the whistle linked below.
I've trained numerous dogs of different breeds to recall via the whistle by first pairing it with food with the dog on a leash. You may need to only use a very slight bit of air into the whistle the first time. Make it very soft and quiet, don't blow into it like you're a ref at a basketball game :) You want the dog to be curious about the sound at first, not overwhelmed.
We have a good, recently released course on the recall that you may want to review first. For a sound-sensitive dog it may be that a whistle is too stressful and I definitely wouldn't recommend jumping back into using a whistle right away. I'd first get a rock solid recall on a leash and then a long line before I added that back to the training.
A reliable recall is the most important command for every dog so I'd back up to the beginning and build up his confidence and put the whistle introduction on long-term hold for now.
I've trained numerous dogs of different breeds to recall via the whistle by first pairing it with food with the dog on a leash. You may need to only use a very slight bit of air into the whistle the first time. Make it very soft and quiet, don't blow into it like you're a ref at a basketball game :) You want the dog to be curious about the sound at first, not overwhelmed.
We have a good, recently released course on the recall that you may want to review first. For a sound-sensitive dog it may be that a whistle is too stressful and I definitely wouldn't recommend jumping back into using a whistle right away. I'd first get a rock solid recall on a leash and then a long line before I added that back to the training.
A reliable recall is the most important command for every dog so I'd back up to the beginning and build up his confidence and put the whistle introduction on long-term hold for now.
User Response:
Thank you!
Cindy's Answer:
You're welcome!
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