stop whistle

sallie · stop whistle

Any ideas on how to get Monet to stop at a distance with the whistle. He stops when i whistle him, but this is usually because he is running at me at a pace that i think will cause an accident - but he doesn't stop automatically when running away. He knows the sit whistle and does this beautifully, he comes back everytime when i whistle him to come back, but i want to know how to stop him with his back turned to me. any suggestions?

johnhod

Will Monet play about with a trailing lead? If so, I'd encourage him to have a sniff around, keeping close to him. When he isn't concentrating on you blow the whistle and , if necessary grab the lead to enforce the command. Once he is responding to this you can then extend the distance (use a long lead or trailing line). As he stops to the whistle when coming in, this should work as you only need to let him know that even though he can't see you when going away you can still see and control him.

guy

This is the method I have used.

1. The dog is walking at heel - I command sit as we walk, i keep walking.
2. I add the sit / stop (to me they are the same - in as much as in the field a poor sit ie no bum on ground is a stop)
3. I let them walk ahead a bit and whistle - I am still close enough to be a presence.
4. I cast the dog off and follow it as quietly as I can and then blow stop. If it hasn't complied I can add voice - you should see the look of amazement in the dogs face when it realises I am only a pace or two behind when I should by rights be well away :-) Only talking four or five paces here.
5. Keep extending the distance - if the response is not good go back a few stages.
6. To polish up the response you can stop when he is running back - a useful skill for him to have - should you want to send him in a different direction rather than come to hand. Here you blow the stop and can reinforce with a hand signal (assuming you have taught him one) and also run a few steps at him. Don't make a habit of this one as it can make some dogs 'sticky' on their return as they anticipate the whistle.

Having burned my hands on long lines i have finally succumbed to using a retracting lead - particularly if the dog is likely to 'bolt' rather than 'trot off' when released. It does not tangle itself and does not get into a knot in the training bag. Cressy has a nice sounding non woven long lead from the States - I can see that would be very useful when you moved from open ground to training in cover.

You cannot control at a distance unless you can control locally. Don't forget to praise the dog for compliance.

Mugi

I use a similar method to Guy.

With pup when I want to ensure he stays close he will be run with the line that Guy mentions (Cressy being my username on another forum Wink

).

It is available from here http://www.permatack.com/new_page_3.htm and is modelled by Chase in the following couple of pics.

It runs well through bramble cover too, I haven't had a snagged up pup yet Laughing

.

sallie

Thanks for the tips - but do i use the same whistle for the stop at a distance or do i use my thunderer whistle. usually for the sit/stop i use a short pip on my 2.10 1/2 but for the stop i tend to use a longer whistle and a thunderer.

Mugi

I only use one whistle with different pips. Multiple short rapid pips = recall, Stop is a long blast. With four dogs and multiple leads I can't imagine trying to get the right whistle in my gob so they are being trained to the same commands as they won't be worked together but they do run out together.

Annie as admin

My four are all on the same whistle and commands too. Same as Sue, I use one long blast for stop and sit at distance. Two peeps to turn, and millions of peeps to "come-back-as soon-as-possible-because-I-love-them-to-bits-and-have-lots-of-gorgeous-bits-of-turkey,chicken, liver, phessie, cheese" Unfortunately we still have to perfect that command Wink

I'm sure they understand, and would obey if there weren't so many other things to be investigated first Rolling Eyes

so I am not so brave as Sue and don't let them all off together - one day perhaps Embarassed

Annie

johnhod

I've tried using different whistles in the past. Turner Richards used to make a whistle that has a 210 1/2 at one end and a thunderer at the other. I still got them mixed up in the heat of the moment.

guy

I use a silent one and a 212 - the 212 because you are not allowed to use a silent whistle in France for TAN or trials.

I was given a Turner Richards 'silent' for Christmas - I wish I had bought one earlier, the 'european' silent whistle that I had until then and available from most pet shops always blew soundless when needed most :-) The only shortcoming of the new design T-R is it needs a bit of sellotape to stop it self adjusting its pitch when left hanging around your neck.

The 212 is a most 'invasive' noise - but you can see the dog has heard it as he ducks. A big advantage is you cannot 'overblow' the 212 - it produces the same noise however hard you blow - useful when you are trying to shout down te whistle.
I now tend to use the silent for close work and the noisy one at a distance and in a wind

Nice handmade lanyards available here http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/sashal/lagopus_index.htm

Victoria

Yes, Guy, the 212 is my whistle. It is very adaptable to whatever situation you are in.

Britmania

Both Barry and I use two whistles. We use a short,sharp blast with the 212, which means stop, and a trill on the thunderer which means "come back".
To teach the stop whistle, we have a laneway on our property (access to the back paddocks) which has gates at both ends. The dog walks at heel through the gateway and waits until it is sent away. Before the dog reaches the gate at the other end, the stop whistle is blown.The dog turns and comes back (if it doesn't, it cannons into the gate!).
We always reward our dogs for doing the right thing.

Hope this helps.