Trick Of The Week

[whatevah]

I am trialling a possible trick forum. The idea is that I am posting a simple trick to start with. I will explain a method I know that works. People can have a go and if they have any problems with this trick, they email in, and somebody else following this thread maybe able to help. If this thread takes off, Troy has offered to post it as a forum, and have each trick as a different thread. Please keep it nice and friendly. :D)

First Trick - Calling a dog to a whistle.

Benefits - when your dog is way off in the distance, just simply blow your whistle and he/she will come back, save your lungs in calling. Also handy if your dog is about to jump up on someone or give somebody hassles, just simply blow whistle and dog comes.

Equipment needed - whistle, treats, (any type of whistle, but not silent whistle)

Treats, have to be yummy treats, not boring dry food.

Method -

Have dog not too far away

Blow whistle for four toots, call the dog, as soon as dog arrives click and treat, or just treat, if you don't have a clicker. Repeat this about 4 times.

Now just blow the whistle (four toots) and dog should come.

Practice with dog further and further away. Then practice with distractions. Then only reward every second time dog comes, then keep the rewards random.

Reason why I suggested four toots, is that I do field retrieving, and we use one toot for sit. Try to keep it consistent.

Have fun.

If this takes off, will post more interesting and involved tricks as we go along.

[Pheebs]

Sounds like Fun!!!

Edit: *CLUNKS HEAD* Just read "any type of whistle, but not silent whistle" ;)

Sorry!

Will give it a shot and let you know how we go! :D

Edited February 13, 2004 by Pheeble

[aatainc]

bb,

what would be wrong with a silent whistle for this? I personally would prefer not to attract as much human attention as a whistle might attract!!

With a silent dog whistle you can still hear when you are making the silent noise because you can hear the air rushing through it.

Great topic idea though.

I can contribute plenty of tricks if you want. How about "open the fridge, get me a drink and then shut the door after yourself!!!"

[Chanel]

Pheeble you can use almost any whistle. I've used a cheap soccer referee whistle and an expensive hunters duck whistle with the same results.

You can also substitute a squeaky toy or anything that makes a noise.

For the first few weeks I use the whistle (or substitute) to signal mealtimes and I also add cuddles/praise when I'm phasing out the food rewards.

[Benson]

I have a sneaking suspicion that if I used a whistle anywhere near Bronte she'd flip out - either because it excited her beyond belief, or scared the hell out of her.

And unless the whistle was somehow attached to a tennis ball, Benson wouldn't even bat an eyelid.

Mmmm, I think I'll buy one on the weekend and give it a go though. Always up for being mauled by a Weimeraner who's approaching draft horse size...

[Chanel]

Benson I've also trained my dogs to recall at the sound of a bell and a bicycle horn so you can use just about anything.

To get Benson interested ring the bell when he's close & can see you have the ball. When he comes you reward him with a game of fetch. It may take a couple of weeks to motivate him but make sure that he only gets access to the ball when you use the bell or whistle.

[Pheebs]

Benson, was going to suggest us meeting together at a park somewhere as we live relatively close to each other... however I can see it now...

Two weimaraners can certainly get up to mischief! :D

[Benson]

But it's such fun mischief!

It would be nice for Bronte and Tess to meet without Benson being around actually, as she doesn't look at anything / anyone else except him (and his apparently very tasty legs).

I'm definitely going to try the whistle thing though. How about we meet at a park that's all fenced in, send Bronte and Tess off, blow our whistles and see what happens :D

[Chanel]

Benson: I'm definitely going to try the whistle thing though. How about we meet at a park that's all fenced in, send Bronte and Tess off, blow our whistles and see what happens 

The distraction of the park would probably be too much for the poor dogs :D

Ideally you start the whistle training with no distractions and then add distractions gradually. The park would probably be the final step in the program because everything there would be more interesting to the dogs than a bell or whistle.

[Bow Wow]

I will try it this weekend , sounds like fun.

I just had a mental picture. :D

All our whistle trained doggies, at the local park, chasing the referees, wanting their treats.HAHAHAHAHA ;) :D

[pawsaroundoz]

Training the dogs to come on the whistle is fun and works really well for a number of reasons. ie sometimes calling your dog over a long distance and having to shout you just cannot help but sound as if you are cross...dog thinks umm that doesn't sound too good!!!

The whistle sound carries much further in the wind.

When training our dogs in Retrieving we use 3-4 sharp toots for a 'come in' command. 1 single blast means "Sit'. I have found this really usefull in all sorts of other places...ie running the dogs in those off lead area's where the council has also seen fit to put a bike track right thru the middle...bikes are coming, 1 blast and I have a lab that plants his black behind on the ground and waits for the all clear! Ok so Mouse (my Whippet) doesn't actually always sit on the whistle, but she did learn very early on in the piece that if she just stopped still whereever the lab/s were she too would get a random treat!! :D

[Guest LittlePixie]

Tilly comes very reliably to the crackle of a chip packet.

[Pheebs]

Tilly comes very reliably to the crackle of a chip packet.

Like my boyfriend's schnauzer who zooms into the kitchen upon hearing the electric meat carver :D

[quill]

What a fun topic!

When my current deadline is past, I'm going to join in!

[whatevah]

I didn't include the silent whistle as some handlers don't have much confidence with it, and cannot really hear it well themselves. I also use a gundog whistle as I don't want my dog to go running into the middle of a footy game, when it hears one whistle, that is also the reason why I use four toots.

I like the whistle as it can be heard by dogs over long distances. It has saved me many times, when my dog has gone out of the sight at the local school. I have just blown my whistle and he whizzes back.

Will teach more complicated tricks in future threads, but wanted to start off with a basic trick that is handy and quick and easy to teach. Future tricks can be teaching the dog to walk backwards, circle, go to your mat, peek abo, shake paws using your foot as a signal, cross paws, head down, targetting, open a bin with a pedal attached and remove a toy, roll over, close doors, walk backwards through your legs, weave in and out of your legs etc.

[Sayreovi]

Sounds great

I want to teach Nova all of these but couldnt find how currently teaching him weaving through legs, walking backwards and colour distinction between balls he knows blue and green now!!!! :D

thanks natasha

[Guest pawstime]

Practice with dog further and further away. Then practice with distractions. Then only reward every second time dog comes, then keep the rewards random

Great idea to start a post on teaching tricks. :D Getting your dog to come when the whistle blows is really a great practical exercise. And whistles are cheap and easy to come by.

Just one thought, in the learning phase I find it's better to use continual reinforcement and after a "lot" of repetitions introduce random rewards. I've found when the dog doesn't get rewarded, both frustration through expectation and extinction can start, so for pet dog owners I tend to stick to continual, and that is varied, sometimes it's play with a toy, a belly rub, a treat or anything the dog finds rewarding.

Blow whistle for four toots, call the dog, as soon as dog arrives click and treat, or just treat, if you don't have a clicker.

That's the most important part of your advice, ;) for almost any trick.

The four toots have to be immediately followed by the 'come' command, otherwise the dog does not associate the whistle with the known verbal cue. Almost doing both at the same time... it's essential to 'pair' the two cues, otherwise the dog won't understand. Same with fetching a tissue, the verbal 'achoo' is almost said in the same breath as the 'fetch'.

Thanks for sending in such a practical trick, it helps owners who may feel their dog will run away or what to do when he gets off lead. Lookin forward to reading more.

I remember watching the free flight bird show and the handler dropped a piece of rubbish during the commentary, silently a black raven flew out of the tree, picked the piece of rubbish up and dropped it in the bin close by, then flew to the handler waiting in the wings for his reward! All using positive reinforcement, so - not to be outdone by a bird went home to teach my dog the exercise.

[whatevah]

How are people going with this trick?

Anybody got any problems?

How long did it take for your dog to learn it?

Also when I walk my dogs off lead, I only call them when it is an emergency. I let them find me, often I will hide from them. So I am teaching them to look for me, instead of waiting for me to call their name.

With the random reward just doing that so, that the dog will still return even though there is not food there. But rewarding with praise/tugs/toys/retreives is good idea.

Edited February 15, 2004 by bigbum

[Guest pawstime]

Bigbum writes :  With the random reward just doing that so, that the dog will still return even though there is not food there. But rewarding with praise/tugs/toys/retreives is good idea.

Yes, in the early learning phase I recommend food, because it's a primary reward, related to the dog's survival, but as training progresses replace that with 'real life' rewards, which can even be releasing the dog back to play with a 'go play' such as Dr. Ian Dunbar suggests. It depends on what the dog finds rewarding too, play etc, game of tug to release stress, praise and so on.

I am an advocate of rewarding each time the dog does the behaviour, rewarding continuously teaches the dog more quickly, with random rewards he learns more slowly. I recommend to owners to write down all of the things that the dog finds rewarding too, and if possible in order of preference and keep the really important stuff for the difficult exercises (I think someone wrote that in already? ).

[Mystiqview]

My dog will stop on a long whistle. Come on short whistles and go either left or right depending on the inflection used..

yes I have a working sheep dog. The use of whistles has been a long standing practice.