Gundog Training Forum

Not sure it makes a great deal of difference, most Spaniel folks seem to use either a 210.5 or a silent whistle but I know a lot of Retriever people who also use the 210.5. To me its less intrusive on a shoot day than some of the others especially the ones with peas which can be deafening! Not the pea itself you understand, the whistle with the pea inside!

The 210.5 is the commonest around here which does have advantages; you can borrow someone's spare if you forget your own and when you are blowing the bejaysus out of it trying to get your dogs attention it could be any one of a number of other handlers.

So, if you have a black Lab, a L&W Springer and a 210.5 you can get away with murder cos nobody can be sure just whose dog it is...

Thanks, Cass - figured if my northern neighbours were onto using the l'il uns (211.5) they must've bettered the decibel levels or got Labs with more attuned ears. But your blasting's the same as our blasting for field trials - at distance for the dogs and when tromping through running water.

Judy wrote:Not sure it makes a great deal of difference, most Spaniel folks seem to use either a 210.5 or a silent whistle but I know a lot of Retriever people who also use the 210.5. To me its less intrusive on a shoot day than some of the others especially the ones with peas which can be deafening! Not the pea itself you understand, the whistle with the pea inside!

Makes a great deal of difference to the dogs' hearing, in circumstances as above. The pea-less MegaWhistle is just the ticket for your own hearing (preserving it...somewhat, by projecting pitch outward instead of upward): http://www.dogsafield.com/The-Answer-Or ... kSt5X9yZn4

MG

So far I've only seen one trainer here using that kind of whistle Mike. The poor man suffered witticisms all day long like..." Bugger me ! Your dogs must be bad if they need a foghorn to stop them ." or " What was the weather forecast for today ? Is it to turn foggy ?" I don't think he ever let anyone see it again.

They do look a bit like ships foghorns but what I'd like to know is if they are lighter or heavier in weight than the standard 211 1/2 type and is the mouthpiece easily held in the mouth for a minute or more at a time ?

For years I have wanted ACME to produce a lightweight plastic "silent" whistle but it never seems to happen. I don't like the metal ones .

Wullie

Here it is the norm. There's a fellow 4 houses down from me with a chessie that I am in the process of getting together with for some training and I can hear his whistle when I'm sitting in my house hahahaha. Its the norm here - everyone thinks my 210.5 is the oddball. I personally don't like those whistles... but I see their importance as field trial retrievers here handle retrieves and blinds at some seriously long distances. I don't know if I'll train my little nutter to handle that far out but who knows? Maybe I'll need a head turner of a whistle soon myself hahaha

trekmoor wrote:So far I've only seen one trainer here using that kind of whistle Mike. The poor man suffered witticisms all day long like..." Bugger me ! Your dogs must be bad if they need a foghorn to stop them ." or " What was the weather forecast for today ? Is it to turn foggy ?" I don't think he ever let anyone see it again.

They do look a bit like ships foghorns but what I'd like to know is if they are lighter or heavier in weight than the standard 211 1/2 type and is the mouthpiece easily held in the mouth for a minute or more at a time ?

Necessity, Bill. Dogs got to hear a command before they can adhere to it - at 400-500 yards out.

They're also more common than you might think, Des O'Neille (a lamented loss from this forum) uses one with his pointing dogs next door to you. Lightweight, yes, and stays in your mouth over the course of a series in a trial - seven or eight minutes - though only blown, typically, on blind retrieves land or water (which are, after all, handling tests), and go for a couple minutes, tops.

Cass, if your neighbour's blasting away in your neighbourhood, that ain't very civil.

MG

Judy wrote:

So, if you have a black Lab, a L&W Springer and a 210.5 you can get away with murder cos nobody can be sure just whose dog it is...

There is method in my madness!

Sarah xx

crackerd wrote:

Judy wrote:Not sure it makes a great deal of difference, most Spaniel folks seem to use either a 210.5 or a silent whistle but I know a lot of Retriever people who also use the 210.5. To me its less intrusive on a shoot day than some of the others especially the ones with peas which can be deafening! Not the pea itself you understand, the whistle with the pea inside!

Makes a great deal of difference to the dogs' hearing, in circumstances as above. The pea-less MegaWhistle is just the ticket for your own hearing (preserving it...somewhat, by projecting pitch outward instead of upward): http://www.dogsafield.com/The-Answer-Or ... kSt5X9yZn4

MG

Trouble is, when out picking up or beating the last thing you want is a "foghorn", it deafens other handlers / beaters / guns some of which will inevitably be in the firing line (of the sound, not the guns!), along with your dog. May be great for N. American Tests but would be frowned upon for the disturbance caused on a shoot day here. On some of the shoots I go to even a frustrated roar at the dog is frowned upon, you just have to bite your lip and pretend the dog belongs to someone else. Difficult when you have the only Cocker or Flatcoat there.