whistles...too many choices

Pointing dog...take your pick, I like a lower tone whistle like a large Acme T.
Best advice is to blow it seldom...took me a while to learn that one.
 
I use a Fox40 whistle. Seems to give me the best tone, and my Britt listens to it - first whistle he pays attention to!
 
I use Roy Gonia whistles, they work well for me. I think all dogs are different just have to find the one that works. I have never had a problem, they learn their whistles while still puppies less than 3 months....Bob
 
I whistle with my lips -- as little as possible. With an ecollar you can substitute vibration or tone for whistling and then give your dog a hand signal.
 
BritChaser said:
I whistle with my lips -- as little as possible. With an ecollar you can substitute vibration or tone for whistling and then give your dog a hand signal.
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Same here. I lip whistle just loud enough for her to here. If she is out 40 or 50 yards, I hit the beeper on her collar and she heads right back in, checks with me and then starts hunting again.
 
Probably doesn't matter on a preserve in Illinois but if you hope to hunt wild birds in South Dakota don't buy a whistle. Get an E-collar with a pager. Once you use a collar with a pager you will be hooked.
 
niceshot said:
Probably doesn't matter on a preserve in Illinois but if you hope to hunt wild birds in South Dakota don't buy a whistle. Get an E-collar with a pager. Once you use a collar with a pager you will be hooked.
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Can you elaborate on the benefits of that?
 
I believe he may be implying that silence can be paramount to success in a pheasant field.

Those e-callar pagers are indeed pretty slick...I never run an e-collar so....not for me.
 
Don't worry about training the dog to listen to a whistle of what ever variety you choose to hunt wild birds. But pea whistles do alarm stuff the most. The Acme 210 1/2 or British Buffalo whistles never seem to get birds jumpy at all. No matter if its Dakota hunting or Timbuktu. If they are that jumpy, shutting a car door can set them off. It does not necessarily mean you will have to hack on the thing constantly any way. I only use it when needed, which is most times just to hup or stop a dog after a flush. It's just a nice tool to have if needed. The collar is fine but hunting them non stop with that can cause sores on the neck as well. In trials etc. you can not have a collar on so a whistle trained dog is a must if needed some. Most dogs after time will run for you with less and less whistle as they learn what you expect. Your team just gets stronger in time. The dog gains knowledge and obedience, there fore less whistle.
 
haymaker said:
Can you elaborate on the benefits of that?
Click to expand...

If your going to play the field trial game by all means get a whistle. I don't know anything about field trials or whistles, but I do know pheasants have REMARKABLE hearing. Public land roosters learn to love dog whistles, and the more you blow that whistle the less you'll shoot your gun. I use a Dogtra collar with a "pager" feature and love it. The collar silently vibrates to get your dogs attention so there is no need to "nick" or shock a trained dog. This technique is very humane and very effective. Distance, wind, and cover are no longer factors in communicating with your dog. One of the reasons I go hunting is to get away from the noise of the modern world and the pager allows you to hunt silently. You, your dog, and your hunting partners will be happier.
 
nothing more to add other than if you have a hunting buddy that you hunt with quite a bit, you may want to consider a different whistle than him/her.
 
the best whistles are those real loud ones that look and sound like a bull horn:rolleyes:. oh yes i must add they need to be where i am not hunting because quieter is best on wild birds:D. the only thing worse than a loud whistle is the loud screamer:eek:. :cheers:
 
I always whistle train my dogs and have seen little, if any, adverse effects of using a whistle in the field. I try not to use it any more than necessary but I do need it on occasion to reign in my big running Brit.

My previous Dogtra collars has the "vibrate" pager feature and I could also bring the dogs back in with that. However, last year I went with the Dogtra T&B2502 beeper collars and lost the "vibrate" feature. But I love the beepers for finding the dog when they are locked up on point in tall grass. I only run the collars in "Point Only" mode. I did have two instances last fall when my dog went on point and the collar started to beep that it flushed the bird. But the advantages still outweigh and disadvantages.

How about "Silent" dog whistles? Anyone use them? Are they effective? If the dog can hear them can a pheasant also hear them?
 
Quiet is of course good around gamebirds unless noise can be a factor to confuse a bird...and that can happen to the good.

Gamebirds tho hear far more than an Acme's toot....our footsteps alone, in pheasant field or alder swamp, must sound a high bugle.
Add in all the other hunter noises and a whistle, unless steadily blown for lack of confidence, can be overrated as to harm re a gamebird....a whistle is simply as easy to blame as it is for us to hear.

Quiet is good...but quiet on a hunt is almost impossible to achieve on a practical level and to a gamebird's senses.
 
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