Whistle While You Work

My training bag o’ tricks is jam-packed with dog-friendly goodies. Treats, toys, clickers, chews, six-foot-long leashes – I’ve got canine training and entertainment covered. The darn thing weighs almost 14 pounds! (You should see how jacked my left arm is.)

I have one extra special training tool in addition to all of my staples that I absolutely love, but for some reason always manage to forget. That could be because I only use it in certain scenarios. It’s effective, fun and sort of spy-esque.

What is it?....

The silent dog whistle!

Truth be told, it’s not actually silent, but it isn’t nearly as loud as a referee’s whistle. That’s a good thing if you plan to use it during odd hours.

For example, one of my canine clients had a tough time coming in from the yard after her final potty trip late at night. Her people sheepishly admitted that they probably sounded angry when they called her, which made their dog even more reluctant to come to them. (What dog is eager to come to someone screaming “Get in here NOW! I mean it!!” Think about it folks – if you want your dog to joyfully run to you when you call, don’t sound angry!) The dog whistle was a great solution for them because every time the dog heard it she knew she was about to get a big chunk of cheese the moment she came inside. (Plus a whistle can never sound pissed off!)

I have a whistle at the ready for Zeke and Sumner when they get snarky with the dog that lives behind us. One toot cuts through their passionate between the fence “conversation” with Maxine (a conversation that roughly translates to, “I’m going to kill you! I’m going to chew through this fence and bite your face off! Die, Maxine, die!”), and makes them race to me to collect something scrumptious.

So how do you train your dog to respond to a whistle? It’s actually pretty simple: blow into the whistle then immediately give your dog an extra-special treat. Repeat a dozen times, then disappear around the corner, toot the whistle and immediately give your dog a treat when he rounds the corner to find you. Gradually begin to use the whistle in more distracting environments. Don’t overuse it, and make sure to pay up with a treat each and every time your dog responds to it.

I usually reserve my whistle for Maxine run-ins, but I’ll occasionally give it a toot just to watch the spectacle of two pudgy old dogs running towards me at full-tilt. Zeke and Sum have wonderful everyday recalls, but their silent whistle recall makes them look like greyhound wannabes.