[Drayken]

I have a few questions. I want to use a whistle when outside, to teach "come". I see too many people saying, "come here!, come here!" over and over to their dogs, and I can see that first of all, their tone of voice is always changing, from normal to frustration, and secondly, the command means less when they repeat over and over. So I think I will start with a whistle and see how that goes. Ok, now for the questions.

1) Would you recommend a regular "gym" whistle, or a silent dog whistle?

2) I dog can understand that two commands mean the same thing, right? Example, using a whistle and saying "come" means the same thing. Wouldn't want to have to use a whistle in the house all the time, lol

3) I plan to use a clicker for most of the dogs training. WOuld you use the whistle AND clicker when training, or leave the clicker out, for that one part of training? If you would use it, how? Blow whistle, once the dog comes, click and reward?? I am afraid that may cause confusion.

 

[sully]

Why not just use your mouth to whistle?

Not sure if you already read this, but the Recall sticky talks about whistling.  

http://www.boxerforums.com/modules.php? ... opic&t=800

 

[Drayken]

Why not just use your mouth to whistle?

Not sure if you already read this, but the Recall sticky talks about whistling.  

http://www.boxerforums.com/modules.php? ... opic&t=800

Yes, I read the sticky. Just trying to get a few more opinions and/or experiences. As for whistling myself? LOL, I cannot whistle loud at all. Whistle to a song, but that is about it.

 

[HannaBanana]

I have taught recall with their name and the command "look".   I can whistle (mouth) and they will come too.  Good thing about the mouth whistle is you always have it on ya!

However simply saying their name and look they both will come too.  Tone also had a lot to do with it.  Higher pitches seem IMO to work best.

 

[Drayken]

Thanks. I am sure tone is key, and that is why I am thinking whistle. I have seen many dogs ignore owners when their frustration can be "heard".

 

[15842]

I whistle with my mouth to get my dogs attention and it works really well but I use the whistle just as a distraction.  I always follow it up with a command i.e. Whistle-come, whistle-sit, whistle-off.  I use the whistle everywhere when possible but I also clap if I am close enough for them to hear it and I don't want to annoy someone standing beside me.  So, yeah, it's a great idea since it focuses your dog's attention on you so he/she can then follow whatever command you want to give.

 

[Drayken]

I like the whistle-"command". As far as which kind of whistle, do you think it matters? I like the idea of a dog whistle, so I don't draw attention to myself as much, but if a plain regular whistle works better...

 

[AshleysMom]

I got some great advice on line when I was having trouble with Ashleys "come" command. I had started her with hand signals along withthe command  while training, and was using the clap your leg, and saying " Ashley...Come" seemed to work..till she hit her terrible twos.
The new comand when she MUST come immediately..is "to me" ..and believe me..the voice tone DOES change..she knows I mean business when I tell her that. Don't have a clue why.. she just KNOWS she is to get her butt there NOW from that..but I have heard several people say, they can give their dog "the LOOK" and they respond.
The "come" command is still used, and she is doing great with it, but in an urgent situation ( such as me wanting to go back to bed at 2 in the morning..and she thinks its play time..lol ) the "to me" works like a charm!!