Shepherd's Whistles

[hivin]

Hi:

I recently purchased a Shepherd's Whistle for training purposes from an on line pet supply store. I assumed the thing would come with instructions ... silly me! Any way, here I've got this whistle and can't get it to make a sound, no how. It's a Whistle that's shaped in a semi-circle and fits into the mouth ... that much I can figure out ... but you've gotta twist your tongue into some unusual position apparently to make it work ... anyone have any luck with a Shepherd's Whistle?

Take care: Hivin

 

[Jean Cote]

A dog whistle produces a sound that is out of range of human hearing. How does your dog react when you blow in it?

 

[hivin]

Shepherds Whistles

Hello:

The Shepherds Whistles aren't silent whistles ... think it's got something to do with the fact they're used in competitions with other dogs present ... also they're usually used to cue the dog to stop, sit and turn to look to the handler for visual directions ( when hunting they usually guide the dog visually over a distance ... especially if the dog has gotten confused or lost the scent of what they're searching for ).

We did try silent whistles once ... but it had to calibrated to the dog and she never did respond to it no matter how we adjusted it so we gave up on it. We finally found a supplier of dog whistles in the UK that makes whistles for specific breeds and the frequency that certain breeds hear better. We got two specifically for Cocker Spaniels and she responds great to them. The only reason we wanted to try the Shepherd's Whistle is because ( OK this is a little gross ) when one is blowing a reg. whistle or just holding it in the mouth ... well, drooling (human's) can be an issue. lol :doglaugh:

Take care: Hivin

 

[tx_cowgirl]

I would suggest talking to CollieMan. I believe he had a blog not so very long ago about these whistles and he purchased one as well. =)

 

[hivin]

Thanks!

Thanks for the link Jean, it's appreciated!

Take care: Hivin:dogbiggrin:

 

[CollieMan]

hehe They're fun aren't they? It's actually much much easier than you think to make the sound, but, it's incredibly difficult to explain how to do it. I'll do my best....

Place it into mouth. If it's like mine, there will be lettering on it which tells you which is the top. It should be so that the curved side is facing away from your mouth, not in towards your mouth.

It needs to be in so far that the curved side is resting slightly behind your bottom and top lip. Your tongue should be below the whistle. Once in, bite down on it gently so that it rest firmly in position. Your tongue tip should now be able to lift up and down towards the hole in the middle of the whistle. (That is how you make the sounds change). Now, you really do just blow.

There is definitely no twisting of the tongue, so if you find yourself twisting it, you're doing it wrong. It should be relaxed and just pushing up towards the hole (but not completely covering it.)

Hope that helps.

Once you get it going, I would suggest that you start with the "Down" command, as that is just a single tone whistle that lasts for a few seconds. You can hear the common standard sounds here.

How I did it was I would whistle the tone, and then issue the command "Down". Eventually, it got to the point where she only needed the whistle to realise that it meant "down".

 

[l_l_a]

hehe those sheepdog whistles never fail to amaze me! watching stockdog trials you can hear the handlers whistling away it's almost like they are playing music!

Do you keep the whistle in your mouth the entire time you are working the dog or do you wear it around your neck and take it out of your mouth and then put it back in again?

 

[hivin]

Thanks Collieman for the suggestions. I tried it out this afternoon and actually got a sound out of the thing !!!!!!! Bailey just sort of looked at me but ... this is actually pretty funny, I didn't think about how sound travels in an apartment building and while Bailey sort of just looked at me to see what foolish thing I was doing now ... when I blew the whistle the dog in the apartment next to us started barking :doglaugh:

Poor Precious ( that's the neighbor's dog ... funny name for a bulldog - pitbull mix ... but she is kinda cute ) ... now she's going to have to put up with the silly human behaviour!

Thanks again: Hivin & Bailey ( don't think Precious is very thankful atm ).

 

[CollieMan]

I tried it out this afternoon and actually got a sound out of the thing

That's the hardest part dealt with then! Once you get that bit down, the rest is just a case of experimenting with the position and curl of the tongue, and how fast you move it about. That is how you create the different tones and pitches.

I didn't think about how sound travels in an apartment building

Oh yeah, they sure do carry. When I first got mine, I practised in the house, and almost deafened myself in the process.

Do you keep the whistle in your mouth the entire time you are working the dog or do you wear it around your neck and take it out of your mouth and then put it back in again?

I personally keep it in the mouth all the time. I found that if I rested it in between my teeth, it allowed me to shout and then just whistle when I needed to. But then I'm not really working Ellie, so much as training her, so my use isn't as much as a shepherd's would be.

There is a loop where you can attach a cord, so I presume there are those who take it out and rest it around their neck. When mine isn't in use, it's in my pocket. I carry it around with me at all times.

 

[storm22]

Oh yeah, they sure do carry. When I first got mine, I practised in the house, and almost deafened myself in the process.

hehe me too:dogwacko:
i love these whistles too, ive taught storm a few so when hes running i can whistle and bring him back in and also to stop herding (he has natural ability and i did some herding with him when he was younger, but now we dont really do it but he wants to sometimes)

 

[ktag]

here is a youtube video showing how to do it

basically, you put your tongue on the center of it and wrap your lips around it. Blowing harder makes it harder to make sound