Hi All,

I am due to start recall training with my Bracco soon and i need a whistle, having never trained a dog using one i am uncertain as to whether i should be looking at a certain type or if any dog whistle will do....any advise is greatly received.

There are so many whistles available.
Most gundog trainers use the Acme 210.1/2  or  211.1/2
Once you have decided on which make and tone you are going to use, it is best that you stick to this type only and do not confuse the dog with other makes or tones.

Acme 210.1/2.

You might find this thread of interest: Whistle training

Agree with wait ok with the Acme whistles. I’ve always used them with my dogs having tried various other ones over the years. If the website is still the same you can hear what each different whistle sounds like. I’ve tried this with my dogs to see which one had the strongest reaction, not sure if there was a big difference but it was fun trying

I dare say you will know this, but make whatever series of toots on the whistle as distinctive as you can as so many people use a whistle to recall their dogs, many incorrectly. How many times have you been out and heard someone continually blasting on the whistle trying to get their dog to recall whilst it is happily chasing rabbits not taking a blind bit of notice, then they will tell you how great the dogs whistled recall is. Ummm, no. The dog only came back eventually because all the rabbits were gone. Use, but don’t abuse the whistle as with any method of recall.
Total Recall by Pippa Mattinson is a recommended book

The dog I have now has a brilliant whistle recall largely due to something her breeder did when weaning the puppies. When he put down the dish of food he would give several toots on the whistle as the puppies surged towards him so that they learned from a very early age that whistle meant go to human, get food. I continued with this whenever I fed my puppy for several weeks and also practiced a lot in the garden. Her whistle recall now is more or less automatic as she turns and heads back without even thinking. You could start right away using the whistle when you feed your dog.

Lol, I always know when my neighbour's dog is running loose along the road when I hear a whistle blowing constantly in the distance.

It's not about which whistle, it's about how you use it
Assuming that the Bracco will be expected to work quite a distance from you, you may want to go for the ACME 212 rather than the 2.10 1/2.

Acme 210.1/2

This is what I bought, along with a 30ft long line in an attempt to get my Whippet's recall sound ...... hum.

" .......something her breeder did when weaning the puppies. When he put down the dish of food he would give several toots on the whistle as the puppies surged towards him so that they learned from a very early age that whistle meant go to human, get food. "

This is one thing we never had to do to get our puppies, or adults, to come for their food (Mrs Basset )


" .......something her breeder did when weaning the puppies. When he put down the dish of food he would give several toots on the whistle as the puppies surged towards him so that they learned from a very early age that whistle meant go to human, get food. "

This is one thing we never had to do to get our puppies, or adults, to come for their food

You would certainly never need a whistle to get the majority of dogs to come to their food, it's about positive association with the whistle.

He wasn’t using the whistle in order to get the puppies to come to their food, they are golden retrievers for a start who never have problems coming for food. It was just to get them to realise that a whistle meant something good, which was why it was used as the puppies were already coming to the food bowl not before. He told me it was a trick passed on to him by gamekeepers and people training dogs for the gun. He also worked his dogs

> This is one thing we never had to do to get our puppies, or adults, to come for their food (Mrs Basset <img class="fsm fsm_grin" src="/images/epx.png" title="grin" alt="" />)

Sense of humour - not much??

It is well worth looking on Acme's site. Information about the pitch and range, and clever test sounds to play with.

Thank you all, very useful and also much appreciated.

Pavlov comes to mind :) such an easy and sensible.thing to do  will be making note to self for next pup

A 210.1/2 is more than ample for a Bracco. Have you considered joining a HPR training class? The GSP Club run training classes open to all HPRs, all over the country. It would be well worth joining one as you will need to get the Bracco's nose under control Most Branches/groups sell whistles but the secretary will be able to tell you if they do.