Out with the dogs having a general mooch while we collected some almonds from our trees. They wandered a little too far for comfort while we were being boring; still in sight, just the far end of the field, about 60-70m away. The wind was blowing from them towards us so, as I blew my whistle, I wasn't sure if it would reach them. Sure enough, they didn't hear it. Then, a second later, they whipped round and came shooting back. It was really funny to see the delay between me blowing the whistle and them hearing and responding to it Good dogs!
Good dogs indeed, well done Willow and Shadow Am hopeful of getting a similar response form Molly .... one day!
Super dogs. I love it when you get that whip-around moment on pipping the whistle - would love to see the delay caught on video.
Hi I am new to the forum. I have got two labs Amber and Shadow. I am just in the process of reading the book and training my dogs the recall. How long does it take from starting to actually being able to use the recall whistle ???.
Good doggies. Whistles are great but I've been thwarted by wind too. When I was a kid we thought it was really funny to use echos to call the dog. There was a spot on a big, flat rock we used to play on and from it we could yell at the barn and get an echo. It was probably me who thought to call the dog. Sure enough, away he went racing to the barn. When he was at the barn he couldn't hear the echo, only us, so when we called again he came racing back. And again. Poor Teddy.
My first lesson at grammar school was timing how long it took from the whistle blowing to when we heard it! Never forgot that lesson
it's probably different for each dog. Don't rush it, take your cues from your dogs as to when to step on. It is really really great when you can do it. Wishing you success x
Funny! But also interesting. I use a vocal whistle, which does seem to be quite effective, as it's also quite distinctive. But I've noticed a difference in response when it's windy. Must remember to give the whistle time to reach them! Not that my vocal whistle will in any way match the range of a proper dog whistle, but it seems to suit us.
I don't understand how the wind created the delay....the wind would refract sound upwards, not delay it?
No, I meant it was the distance that caused the delay... I didn't think they would hear it because of the wind, that's all Although, now you've got me thinking, since sound is a longitudinal wave, if the wind was coming toward me, away from them, then the medium the sound is travelling through would be moving towards me, and so the sound would take longer to get to them.
It's probably not significant enough to write home about, though I guess the humidity and temperature of the air have a greater impact? It's not something I've ever really contemplated, I have to say!
It would have to be a massively strong wind to make a difference you could notice on the speed of sound* - the more significant effect is that the sound wave is refracted, this makes sound travel less well, which is why it is hard to hear at a distance in wind. * 340.29 m / s
Ted had his first off-lead-in-the-park experience yesterday. He had been so responsive to the whistle in an enclosed area, and it was early in the morning, so I tried him out. At first he stayed very close, looking up at me (roast chicken in my pocket), but eventually he decided to explore a bit further afield. Again he shot back immediately on the whistle and was happy to be put back on the lead when it was time. A bonus was that he was also very responsive to "leave" - plastic bottle tops, etc. This morning we got to the park to do the same thing and just before I was about to let him off the lead when I realised I'd forgotten the (expletive deleted) whistle! So he stayed on the lead, and had to make do with his usual treats, even though he know I had a chicken stash. Poor Ted.
I feel naked when I don't have my whistle! They do have a pretty good recall to a vocal cue, but the whistle trumps it, hands down.
Ah I forgot my whistle this morning too. Coco had run back to the edge of the wood and was gazing up the hill at something - I know not what. Luckily his verbal recall is good too, and he wasn't TOO far away...he came bounding to me.
Good boy, Coco!! I did some work on my verbal recall this evening with Shadow, calling him away from smelling where our neighbour's dog (who he loves but hasn't seen in months) has peed.
I don't think a day goes by I don't work on recall. He still gets rewards for every single one - mainly food, occasionally a ball.
When recalling your dog either by voice or whistle always hold your arms-out wide hands as big a spread as possible that way if it's windy or other noise distractions as soon as they glance back to see where you are they see you and come straight back start as you mean to go on I start as soon as my pup arrives at 8 weeks saves problems later on as young children absorb knowledge and right from wrong so does your dog but never expect to much of them or push them to hard bit by bit and enjoy as your dog will learning as they grow
