Gun Dog Forum

Just wondered who did not use a whistle with their dogs training?

I haven't used one yet. I've read through "Best Way to Train Your Gun Dog, the Delmar Smith Method" and have watched the Perfection Kennels videos, and neither use whistles. I just call out my commands, and that works well because Justus usually doesn't get out of voice range. He's a close hunter and a true velcro-dog.

I don't whistle train my dogs...just use my voice....one dog does hand directions fairly well. The dogs don't range out far enough to use a whistle...and I don't want all the dogs in the field come running when I blow the whistle and they think it's for them. Has that happened to anyone else?

I use a whistle to release and come...

I whistle for them when they get a little to far out thats all, they all three know how far is far for the most part. I have seen dogs trained to come all the way back to their master to me tahts a little much. Its just a, Hey! put the breaks on an hold your horses up for a minute. If no response I use the collar an thats really all it is used for.

I have trained with the whistle only for come. Usually I only end up using it to encourage my dog on a retrieve.

One tweet on pealess: Turn or look at me when in the water
Two teests on pealess: Here
Long blast on triller: HALT

Jim

I only recently introduced the whistle for when in the field because even though I have a Weim she can get out there. I introduced the whistle along with telling her to come and I also introduced my self whistle for come in case I don't have a real whistle in the field.

Now she comes just to a soft self whistle or when far out and in hot pursuit of jack rabbits she will break off the pursuit at the sound of two blast from a real whistle.

I also started really working hard on heel and to help encourage the heel I keep her to a heel when entering the field. I pause and hold her to that heel for a few seconds then one blast of the whistle and let's find those birds - tap her on her head and she is off.

two blast: come
one blast: Hunt em' up - Find those birds.

I use the whistle now as a locate tool. For the dogs to locate me, Just a ten count blast, and the reason I quit using it more often was the fellow I was braced with at a hunt test just couldn't let his dog go more than 30 yards from him with out blaring away on his whistle. My Gordon kept coming back to check in with me everytime he blew the whistle. She finally went over and stood in front of him. Of course his dog paid no attention what so ever to the whistle.SDGORD

The less apparatus the better. You dont find bird launchers and whoa mats in the field when you go hunting, though they do have their place in training. NOthing more irritating than a hunting partner blowing on his whistle all darn day to call and direct his dog. There have been times when i wish THAT guy would choke on the darn whistle.

I whistle for HERE, that is it. I guess I've always whistled for my dogs to HERE. It carries better than my voice plus I've always had dogs that would run out of voice range. Thus, the whistle comes in handy. My Rudy, is about a medium range dog but he is getting further out, I really noticed this two days ago in the mountains. He got on birds, forgot about me and disappeared for a while, which I am pleased with.

Lost my whistles in a house fire in late 1990's. Used it a lot in the begining but got tired of whistles blowing every where nondiscrimently. I do whisle som now but thru my lips. Two to get their attention and one after a command. They hear the one after the command and they are getting shocked.

I use a sit and come whistle, and use the tone on the collar for quartering, the whistle can probably be heard for three times further away than my voice. I also don't like to listen to people quartering there dog all day, but would rather listen to a whistle than one of the locator collars than continuously beep.

I use a whistle only to get my dog's attention when i want her to change directions, two quick toots, then useing hand singnals.

two whistle blasts means you are released to move ahead. a continuous trill means come in. I thought I would use a single blast for whoa but never found any use for it with the first dog and have not trained it since. I do use the single blast to mean sit for the retrievers for handling and would use it with the pointers were I to be teaching handling for retrieves.

Gentlemen,
I do not use the Whistle any more at all, the beeper behind the dogs ears which is master initiated, works much better and is quieter in the woods. We substituted the T&B collar for the whistle years ago. The T&B collar is a great command and locator tool while training and hunting both, the whistle & bell are now obsolete in the Grouse woods.
RGD/Dave

I started whistling just to get attention, my gsp is a big runner compared to my other dogs. so one long blast is whoa, three successive short ones are here and i use to occasionally give a short one to change direction but after awhile he just kinda learned what i expect and i rarely whistle now

I use my mouth to whistle. I have three commands that my dogs recognize and I enforce with the collar. I'm a pheasant hunter and I don't like hunting with guys who shout commands. Besides, it's so much easier to communicate with the dog with a simple tongue whistle.

I use only two
1. Long blast 2 short -move out
2. Multiple short tweets - get back here

All other commands are done by voice

My previous springer was trained to sit on one bleep and come on 3. My setter and GSP just come when I whistle, there is nothing worse than someone yelling for their dog when out hunting. Hunted with a buddies friend a couple of years ago that didn't ever shut up. I finally told him to shut up and that he had a pointer and the dog would stop when he found a bird so he didn't need to be 30 feet in front of him at all times.

Wouldn't hit the field without one. Its as valuable as your gun and ammo is to kill a flying bird.
hacking or yelling is not in my dog training dictionary.

nothing worse than hunting with a guy who uses a whistle. Spent a entire weekend with a guy whistling to his dogs, it was unbearable.

Beats yelling the entire time!

I whistle train retrievers but not pointers. I've watched handlers handle
Their brace mate in negative ways once they realized that there command meant the opposite to the other dog. There No reason to hack or yell either. I've found that more whistlers hack (with little response from the dog.) then silent handlers.