I was browsing through the Leerburg catalog and saw the dog whistle. I would love to be able to call my dogs with a whistle. I do use the e-collars in the fields, and I was wondering if I could train the whistle first in the back yard by using the e-collars, i.e, call and then nick/whistle at the same time (and no, I won't be tap dancing too while I'm doing it <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ). Does anyone recall with a whistle and how did you train for it?

Hi Jan,

I recall w/a whistle. It's not Leerburg's, I just use my fingers - I learned in high school and can whistle louder than any truck driver, marine, er anyone I've ever met <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> ! Hey, first time I ever got to brag about my whistling abilities <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> . OK, nuff about me...

My dog responds with incredible intensity when I whistle as a recall. Whatever he's doing he drops everything and tears ass to me. I don't know why exactly, maybe something in the sound, but I use that intensity to my advantage and use the whistle recall when it's vitally important he get to me yesterday. It's a great thing to use, especially when he's off leash.

As to how I trained it, there's no "expertise" behind it, maybe just dumb luck but when he was a puppy, I'd whistle softly and tap my leg as the same time and he'd come over to investigate and I'd praise/reward him. After only a short time, I didn't need to tap my leg anymore. I eventually increased the distance too. In the beginning, I'd be in the same room w/him. But then I quickly moved on to other rooms that were close, say 20 or 30 feet away but I'd be behind a wall so he couldn't see me. This was all when he was a puppy so the intensity of the whistle was modified to be soft and not frightening. My whistles can be ear-piercing and didn't want any negative connotation associated with it. Eventually I moved it outside and off leash when he was older. I have the e-collar but never needed it w/that command.

I have several recall commands that don't all mean the same thing: when I say, "Come" he MUST drop everything and get to me as quickly as possible at that moment in time. When I say, "Bei fuss", it's the same thing w/a sit added to it. When I say, "C'mer" (bad slang I guess) he knows he has to get to my little space on the planet but he can come at a more leisurely pace. When I whistle, it means RUN to me. And I use the whistle sparingly.

Hope that helps!

I have a specific whistle sound that I use for a recall for my dogs. (It is just whistling with my mouth not a dog whistle.) I use it off leash all the time when my dogs are out in the field. Their recall with it is just as fast as with a come or here command & will recall with it under any distraction. I never really taught it, but would use a whistle sometimes out in the field to get their attention & then call them...so it kinda just evolved from there.

I train retrievers for Hunt test and am getting ready to dabble in Field Trials. I use a standard Pea Whistle for the sit command and the HERE command. Works like a charm. I still teach the verbal command first then later move on to the whistle. I do the verbal command from 8 weeks til about 6-8 months depending on the dog then I start collar conditioning. (Which by the way is different than the collar conditioning mentioned on this board.) In the retriever world Collar Conditioning referrs to the solidifying of already known commands using the e-collar. My dogs get the collar put on them starting at about 4 months and they wear it whenever we do something fun, like walks or retriever training or rides in the truck. I don't actually start using it on them until they are at the level that I am ready to start Collar Conditioning. But to get back to your question, yes the whistle is a very good way to teach your dogs to recall. And it works alot better if Fido gets out of site in the woods than screaming your lungs out.

Thanks, Chris. I have been working with the whistle and am having great results in the back yard (fenced in, but long enough that they don't hear when I call). However, I'm still a little leery about relying on it totally in the fields without the e-collars. They never once hesitate to come running when they hear it, but I want to be a hundred times positive that the whistle will be enough to make them obey. They may be ready, but I think I need a little more time!

Jan, I don't nick as a command (or at the same time as the command) -- An e-collar "zap" is a correction, not a command...

The ONLY time my dogs would ever get a nick from their e-collar is for refusing to obey a command -- But they no longer offer refusals, now that they've become accustomed to their remote trainers (my Akita used to refuse once in a blue moon IF live prey ran across her path, but she doesn't even do that anymore!)...

I agree. That is why I am leery of just using the whistle alone. If they are running in the fields and choose to ignore the whistle, I can't zap them with the collars if they aren't on!

Not sure I follow you there -- My dogs are never offlead without their e-collars ON...

I would train in the fenced yard with your remote system on:

1) command COME and immediately blow the whistle -- use a marker

2) this will accustom your dog to "whistle = COME command"

3) ONLY nick the dog for a refusal, NOT automatically

4) change to whistle-COME-whistle, in rapid succession & mark

5) this will solidify dog's association of "whistle = COME"

6) switch to whistle only, plus your marker -- nick for refusal

Bet your dog learns to re-call on whistle only in just 1 lesson.