Whistling to a different tune

I’ve worked with dogs for many years and the whistle commands I use are instinctive. Most people who are working dogs will use an acme whistle. This means that, even when I sell a dog on, the whistle commands will sound very similar to them. Watching a video made by Emma Gray, who is selling her fully trained dog, Blue (a relative of my dog Skye), I noticed how she used her whistle. She’s one of the best, which is why she received a record price of £18 900 for one of her fully trained dogs

Logan Whistles

For sheepdogs, a logan whistle is used. This is not a whistle in the traditional sense as it is held against the tongue in the mouth. The sound is produced by air flowing through the top and bottom holes and then out from the slit between the two flat sides of the whistle. Emma has been using this whistle for years and has total command of it. It’s taking me a while to get used to the logan whistle; I could not recreate the sounds she uses. I would have to consider this if I was to bid for Blue at auction.

When you are flanking a dog out to bring in sheep, you could be sending them ten acres. They are not going to hear voice commands from that distance and that’s why training a sheepdog is harder. A fully trained dog will know what’s expected of them but will also need direction, particularly working on new land. It would be interesting to know how farmers and landowners who buy trained dogs make this transition with their whistling commands.

Posted: January 18, 2022