Your instruction was very helpful. I got my first whistle and your video along with two ladies video instructions were excellent. I was able to use my whistle within the hour. I'm learning more control over pitch and tone everyday. Thank you. Very helpful and well played video.
Great tutorial. Couldn't understand what I was doing wrong for a while, but the comment about the tongue dividing the mouth into two halves was what made sense to me. I hadn't been lifting my tongue.
Awesome video! We work sheep with our dog as well as hike in broad areas with him. I can't whistle (mouth or using fingers) to save my life. I did play a woodwind instrument in my younger days, and this video got me making "noise" with my herding whistle right away! The suggestion to practice playing songs is perfect. Thanks so much, Michael!
Extremely useful thanks very much for posting these videos mate! I just got my acme whistle this morning (plastic one) and it didnt have any instructions at all and its impossible to get any noise out of it, however within 20 seconds of watching you demonstrating I was already making high and low noises. Thanks so much :)
It truly is a remarkable tool. The variable pitch whistle is designed to communicate over long distances, regardless of the model. so the first piece of advice I would give you is that when working close up with you dog (or otherwise really) you should attempt to blow the whistle as quietly as possible. Only enough for the dog to just hear it, thus simulating how it will sound at a longer distance.
awesome tutorial, our border collie is 12 and belonged to my daughter and son in law, they moved to BC and I got custody of our dog. We had the whistle for a long time none of us could figure out how to how to use it. After I practice the whistle, I will watch the next tutorial. Thank you.
How have I not found your video before!!!! Absolutely brilliant, I've had my whistle for a while now and this is the first video that's really broken it down so I understand it. My dogs in process of training with sheep so she's learning and I'm learning 😁
I last had one of these when I was 10 and was really good at it, just never got a dog 😅 now I have a collie cross and just bought one again. Day 1 today, I can get a squeak, I drive 2 hours a day so the training begins 😄👍🏻
I have been using these sheperd's whistles for over 40 years, both metal or plastic. As kids we made them from bottle caps. When I worked in construction I used them to signal the crane driver with specific blasts so I could use both hands to handle the load under the hook.
for mine to work (took 25 minutes) i need to squeeze my cheeks from the sides, so i was wondering, does that mean i need a bigger one? i just bought the ACME plastic one they sell on Amazon.
lol I finally got a sound and my dog immediately jumped up to see what was doing! Planning to use this at work at Starbase. My dog can't be off leash, or he'll be gone, though I did train him to turn left/right with regular mouth generated whistles on leash.
While I was anxious for you to get to the tutorial, the intro material was very interesting and useful. None of that was obvious to me until you explained it. I found Shepard Whistles on a 3D printing site, and googled for instructions. Your site came up. I'm going to print a couple of them and see how it goes. Looking forward to watching Part 2.
Well, here I got the whistle and thought I could start using it right away... to my frustration, I couldn't get any sound and thought it was broke. Thanks for your explanation and now I just have to practice. Who knew this is requiring to actually learn an "instrument"!
I got one, but couldn't find the instructions how to use it. Was it assumed we knew already? I'd would've loved to use one, even if was just for a walkie to my Tess's favourite park or a walkie around the neighbourhood. Blowing it in Petco or PetSmart might be confusing or annoying to other dogs.
Michael, the Sam tatters comment is typical of someone training to be a behaviourist, they spend all their time explaining why you are wrong. You are correct a whistle that uses a specific sound is a cue, its not to get the dogs attention its to give a command Great tutorial, I've had one for ages, worked straight away, the secret seems to be not to try to hard cheers
You are the best! I actually was able to get a song goin' on before your tutorial was over! I want to use it to call my horses in :) Now on to your next video . . . . thank you!!!
Got my shepard whistle yesterday and decided to YT a vid on how to play it. Saw this tutorial and figured it was decent. After a day of practicing. I realized that a whistle is the easiest thing to pull off. You can actually get a deep clarinet sound off of the Shepard whistle. I've been doing my scales all day today. ...suddenly I realized that this guy is a n00b. There are other vids out there that have the clarinet sound and better instruction. I'm pretty damn good at it already. Whistling Isa for n00bs. Making a deep clear note is for pros. Git gud skrub.
great tutorial. problem is I have a fairly long tongue. I found that if I fold my tongue down and put the whistle on the top it creating a space under the whislte I was able to whistle. it took about 5 min before I was able to do it.
A great tutorial. You may have just started an orchestra thing with that whistle. I'm definitely going to try it with my dog, and maybe just to make music. I used to play the Orchestral Flute, so it's down my line.
I had previously purchased a herding whistle at the suggestion of another trainer to use in hunt testing. I want to give cues such as right or left, sit, come etc and also may use it as a marker since there are so many sounds. I agree that it takes awhile to get the sound but then it is very cool and impressive! Question? I also need it LOUD I bought the lite version, is there a louder version to be heard at farther distance?
Michael...thanks for the tutorial. I have been searching for a dog whistle to use on my 2 extremely spoiled lap dogs. Yes, I know I created them, along with a lot of help from other members of the family, but it is time for change. I need to train them to come when called-not when they feel like it and to stop barking their heads off for no reason. I believe this whistle may be the perfect answer to my situation. My Shorkie sat right up during your demo-however, my Shih Tzu didn't even budge:)
Thanks for the Video! but i didnt find the Part II you mentioned - is it anywhere on RU-vid? otherwise it would be great if you could upload the advanced Level ;-)
Yeh thanks for that! I would have absolutely no idea if I hadn't seen your vid. I can now make a sound but I'm still working on how to control pitch. My dog is very interested too.
Subbed, thanks! I just got one of these, and I'm so excited to start training my dog. I've used clickers, and my own whistle, but this will be louder and will carry further.
Tenerife, Spain, Africa. 'Nice vid. Hey, would our Spanish articulated finger-whistling (that you can see on my last couple of videos on RU-vid) be as good as that whistle?
Some people believe metal is a clearer tone that will travel further, I haven't noticed a difference, most of the people that I train with just use plastic ones. I think people just want to justify a more expensive purchase. The metal ones are very pretty, but they're freezing cold to put on in the morning. In the end to try out a bunch and see what you like. Even the metal ones aren't super expensive. But you can get everything done you want to do with a plastic one.
Michael McManus thank you for your kind reply. I’ve been trying for ages as I can’t use my fingers to whistle lol. But I’ll keep trying with the plastic one and see how long it takes me. Thank you again.
@@paulcapel5251 I get it, it took me a long time to learn how to use my fingers. But I can do it now. Maybe I should make a tutorial on how to use your fingers. It's a lot easier to start with a plastic whistle and then use your fingers later
I still love watching all your videos! Kudos for introducing different content but from one trainer to another I absolutely enjoy watching you and you have an amazing talent! I have no idea if you're still training but if so I would love to talk to to you in the future about a podcast idea I've had. Sorry for bringing it here but I'm always on no lie and couldnt get the PM thing to work, either way I sure enjoy watching your Chanel and cone back over and over!
@PawsitivelyTraining Maybe you misunderstood, a variable pitch whistle is never used as a marker (at least not in herding or treibball), I do use marker words occasionally (not often, because markers don't work very well in herding IMHO) and clickers in treibball, so I do understand what a marker is. However, the variable pitch whistle is used to give commands when use of your voice is either not ideal or impossible. So it is a cue. Hope that clarifies the use of the whistle in herding :D.
Recommends for the good quality whistle? Our dog is still 12 weeks old so it takes a while before we can teach whistle commands but i can already try to use whistle :) We have working bordercollie that we hope that will shepherd our sheeps in the future. I tried to make video response with link to video (containing our dog first time with sheeps). But it seems that i still have to practice using RU-vid.
Thanks for the info, Michael! Really enjoyed the intro to Treibball you did at Penny's last night. Very cool...I think this is going to be THE next wonderful sport for dogs and their owners!
Got my whistle today and already can make a sound!! What, what! Ok, thanks for the pointers Michael, songs next. My heart is exploding with happy, I even have some little control! I was decided and determined to get it quickly ;) Many apologies to everyone in my life who now will have to hear endless sounds from my drooly toy. Whattaryagonnado?
@Solstisol Actually a lot of old school Irish/Scottish shepherds use there fingers to whistle like that. Most of us don't like using fingers while working stock because our hands are so dirty :D
brilliant, thanks for the wisdom and help, I'm a total novice and I think without your advise I would of made training my dog to come to a whistle terrible.
Don't forget that the whistle is only a tool, with proper training it can be a great tool, but used improperly you won't see the results you want. be consistent and don't expect your dogs to know what to do the first few times, and always reward them for good behavior Michael
i recommend the cheap plastic ones. you will probably lose several over the course of a lifetime and the plastic really works just as good as anything else. the other useful thing would be to learn to whistle with your fingers (maybe ill put a tutorial for that too). im looking forward to seeing your video!
5 days in, and I'm getting a better whistle and can almost tell different notes. A tip for anyone, it's not the breath that makes it sound differently but the position of the tongue. Place tip of tongue next to gum and bottom teeth join, then S the rest up to the top of the mouth. The straight edge goes against this, to change the tone change height of the tongue to top of the mouth. Well that's how I think I'm doing it anyhow.
Dogs have an amazing ability hear sounds, especially the types of sound the whistle creates, over long distances. Secondly, the metal whistles, theoretically, should amplify the sound better than plastic would, though you really shouldn't need to push the whistles to their limits they can carry an amazing distance.
@melmeche A Link to where i got my whistle is in the description. Ill try not to move for my next video, its just a nervous habit :D. I started using a whistle a few days into learning treibball. I feel that if your going to use the whistle, you might as well use it from day one. There isnt as much of a reason to transition like there is in sheep herding. Michael
@melmeche on the website i gave they also have the plastic ones, which are by far the cheapest and most common. I suggest learning on one of those and then switching to a higher quality one. I haven't personally tried a coriander one, The metal ones are much harder to use and shriller so i know a lot of trainers who don't like them.
I still ain't found a better method than the ol'thumb and flipper finger placed in mouth. But still trying to master this shepard whistle......harder than it looks
I use my fingers most of the time, but there are some times, like after you've been clean horse crap all day, that a plastic or metal whistle saves the day.
I can hardly whistle the traditional way, and I've never been able to do the "finger whistle." I got this to recall my five dogs thinking it would be easy. Nope.
Great advice. Just a tip, it would be easier to focus on your message if you stopped walking around, it's very distracting. I'm keen to get started with my whistle in the car though, thanks!
Really needed to say, clickers, flash-lights, whistles etc aren't cues; they're markers. A cue is an antecedent, something that precedes the desired behaviour e.g. "sit" is a cue, the click for the dug putting his or her behind on the floor while keeping his or her front end elevated (assuming the clicker has been "tuned in" so it is a secondary reinforcer) is simply to say "yes, that's what I want and because you're doing it and you're awesome you're getting a primary reinforcer" :)
are you musical at all, I find that makes a huge difference. Don't be too hard on us behaviorist :D we have good intentions, and I'm sure Sam did as well.
