# Any experience with a dog whistle?



## andyrc (Apr 19, 2014)

My puppy of 8 weeks has a little nipping problem. She's very playful but sometimes gets carried away and can deliver some painful bites. I've had quite a few dogs in the past but have never really had any problems of this nature so addressing this problem is a bit foreign to me. I was speaking to friend who recommended that I get a silent whistle, and once calibrated to my dogs hearing I should blow the whistle each time she begins nipping. I've never done this before so I wanted to consult the forums before moving forward. Is this an effective method of preventing bad behavior? Are there any other methods that have worked for you that you might recommend? I have purchased a whistle at my local pet store. It's a 'Top Paw' Brand. It cost me about 8 dollars.. I'll post a picture, but I'm wondering if a whistle of this quality is any good? It seems to be made of some sort of cheap metal. When I blow into it all I hear is air rushing through the pipe. What do you guys think?


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## asuna (Sep 26, 2013)

andyrc said:


> My puppy of 8 weeks has a little nipping problem. She's very playful but sometimes gets carried away and can deliver some painful bites. I've had quite a few dogs in the past but have never really had any problems of this nature so addressing this problem is a bit foreign to me. I was speaking to friend who recommended that I get a silent whistle, and once calibrated to my dogs hearing I should blow the whistle each time she begins nipping. I've never done this before so I wanted to consult the forums before moving forward. Is this an effective method of preventing bad behavior? Are there any other methods that have worked for you that you might recommend? I have purchased a whistle at my local pet store. It's a 'Top Paw' Brand. It cost me about 8 dollars.. I'll post a picture, but I'm wondering if a whistle of this quality is any good? It seems to be made of some sort of cheap metal. When I blow into it all I hear is air rushing through the pipe. What do you guys think?


 nipping is something puppies do its a healthy part of their puppy world. 



this video is what helpedm e


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## andyrc (Apr 19, 2014)

Thanks for the video, very informative. Besides the nipping though, since I've bought the whistle I figure that I might as well put it to good use and try my hand at some whistle training. Do you have any recommendations with my particular whistle? Is an 8 dollar whistle going to do much? I keep hearing that dogs can hear a "Good quality whistle".. so what makes a whistle good quality? Do you think mine will do the job?


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## asuna (Sep 26, 2013)

andyrc said:


> Thanks for the video, very informative. Besides the nipping though, since I've bought the whistle I figure that I might as well put it to good use and try my hand at some whistle training. Do you have any recommendations with my particular whistle? Is an 8 dollar whistle going to do much? I keep hearing that dogs can hear a "Good quality whistle".. so what makes a whistle good quality? Do you think mine will do the job?


 i dont use whistles i use clickers, so i have no advice for you on whistles sorry mate !


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## Gally (Jan 11, 2012)

I have never whistle trained a dog but from my understanding they aren't made for correcting behavior. They are meant to be used as a long range cue in the field when working at a distance with your dog such as in a hunting or herding environment. Depending on the type of whistle you will pair 1 cue with an individual whistle tone such as come, sit/down or change direction.

The best way to solve puppy nipping is to first indicate that you are in pain with an "owe" or a yelping sound. Then remove your attention from the dog by turning away from them and ending any interaction. If they persist you can leave the room briefly. If your pup is biting clothes or objects you can try replacing them with appropriate chew toys as a redirection and praising for appropriate behavior.


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## goodgirl (Jan 14, 2013)

I got a cheap little whistle similar to that just for longer recalls. My dog can definitely hear it at a good distance. I think it would be very cool to clicker train an 8 week old pup and when old enough to work at a distance use a whistle. That could be a lot of fun...


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## ireth0 (Feb 11, 2013)

Yea I've only ever seen whistles used where the different whistle sounds are for different commands, so you'd blow the whistle instead of saying 'sit' or 'down'.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

My dog is trained for a whistle recall and I've considered training other behaviors with it. My first bit of advice would be to ditch your "dog whistle". If you can't hear it, you don't know exactly what cue you're giving the dog. There's nothing special or magical about a high pitched dog whistle - it's just gimmick. Whistle training is used to cue the dog to do something. typically from a distance, not to stop undesirable behavior.

I use a typical spaniel whistle used by many hunters - the Acme English Dog Whistle 210.5

You're much better off using the advice on this site to stop nipping (basically ignoring the pup when he nips) vs trying to punish by blowing a whistle.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

I have a Remington dog whistle that I used for Abbylynn. I will be using it for recall on Reese.


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