Gundog Training Forum

How do you fully implement the stop whistle, i kinda get the idea of it my dog will do it (sorta) however he’s very reluctant to it.As In when I do it there’s a large delay - he prefers to sniff the floor. Or he inches towards me.

If there is any hesitation or reluctance by the dog to comply with the stop whistle then it has not been learnt and it is not good enough, if you search on the forum you will find a lot of references to it which should help. My simple view is if someone tells me their dog is absolutely, fantastically, brilliant at the stop then it is just about getting there, anything else isn't.

If it helps I'm in the same boat, but moving slowly forward.

My cocker is now at the stage where she'll now stop but still sometimes will take a few steps before 'Oh yeah, I'm meant to stop' kicks in.

Also what made a big difference is that now she definitely knows what the stop whistle means, and on occasion will get an 'Oi' or 'Grrr' from me to remind her that it's not optional.

So like you I have a fair bit to go, it takes some perseverance and time it seems.

Egaraust wrote: ↑Wed May 31, 2023 5:44 pm How do you fully implement the stop whistle, i kinda get the idea of it my dog will do it (sorta) however he’s very reluctant to it.As In when I do it there’s a large delay - he prefers to sniff the floor. Or he inches towards me.

With patience! Start close to dog, raise hand, say sit, dog sits. Once that is nailed blow stop whistle, raise hand, say sit if needs be. Dog should preempt you asking for a sit after a couple of goes on the whistle + raised hand. Once it sits when you pip the whistle then gradually extend the distance between you and your dog. Practise anywhere and everywhere always starting close and working up to a distance. Reward the dog whenever it sits with a treat, a retrieve, praise, whatever floats your, and the dog's, boat. I sometimes blow the stop whistle when I feed the dog, holding a bowl of food over its head is a big incentive for it to sit.

If the dog is sniffing or inching towards you it's not entirely sure of what you want. Equally if the dog is next to you and doesn't plonk its ass down when you ask then there is no point in trying to get it to sit at a distance.

And the transition from doing it next to you perfectly to doing it 5 yards away without rolling forward can be more difficult than it should be! My young dog is spot on at my side but does just take too many steps to sit when coming in. He's getting better i.e. the distance is shrinking but it is a work in progress. His Mum got it soooo much faster!

PRH wrote: ↑Fri Jun 02, 2023 12:02 pm And the transition from doing it next to you perfectly to doing it 5 yards away without rolling forward can be more difficult than it should be! My young dog is spot on at my side but does just take too many steps to sit when coming in. He's getting better i.e. the distance is shrinking but it is a work in progress. His Mum got it soooo much faster!

Argh! I Used to train a sit to whistle by my side then I found the dog would rush to my side and sit, now I vary where the pup is when I ask for a sit, I try to ask when the pup is anywhere within a few feet and a 180 degree arc around in front of me, that way they don't associate a stop with any particular place. Then we go to rats by asking for a stop when they are too far away.

Had a real breakthrough with the stop whistle tonight. I took Moley the spaniel out with Ginger, sat him up and sent her scurrying about and did a few stops followed by throwing a dummy into cover as reward (not running in, taking a signal). Then did the same with the Ginger mutt and you could see the penny dropping, nice and sharp, really focused. No doubt tomorrow will be different!!

The first time my young WCS stopped to a whistle at a good distance from me, I was amazed, and delighted. She is now getting quite good at this, as long as she is in a boring environment. However, the difference between stopping when there is nothing exciting going on and stopping when there might be a pheseant or something else to flush seems insurmountable at present. One sniff and she changes.
I have been walking her, on a lead, along a track, where I know there are pheseants. My idea was to make pheseants as 'normal' as woodpigeon. It's not working so far.

Kibble wrote: ↑Wed Jun 07, 2023 6:04 pm The first time my young WCS stopped to a whistle at a good distance from me, I was amazed, and delighted. She is now getting quite good at this, as long as she is in a boring environment. However, the difference between stopping when there is nothing exciting going on and stopping when there might be a pheseant or something else to flush seems insurmountable at present. One sniff and she changes.
I have been walking her, on a lead, along a track, where I know there are pheseants. My idea was to make pheseants as 'normal' as woodpigeon. It's not working so far.

This is where experience makes all the difference, only blowing the stop whistle when you know the dog is not "otherwise engaged" otherwise you are teaching them to ignore you. The reward for stopping a youngster is never greater than their enjoyment of game scent. Once they cotton on to the rewards for stopping they get better and better.

Kibble wrote: ↑Wed Jun 07, 2023 6:04 pm The first time my young WCS stopped to a whistle at a good distance from me, I was amazed, and delighted. She is now getting quite good at this, as long as she is in a boring environment. However, the difference between stopping when there is nothing exciting going on and stopping when there might be a pheseant or something else to flush seems insurmountable at present. One sniff and she changes.
I have been walking her, on a lead, along a track, where I know there are pheseants. My idea was to make pheseants as 'normal' as woodpigeon. It's not working so far.

How old is your dog Kibble? You could put the dog on a long (ish) line in a scented area and insist on and reward the stop. If you can make the reward after the stop really exciting I think it helps. A ball, a dummy, a food reward (whatever works best for the dog) thrown out with some high energy focus from the handler gives the handler a chance of being more interesting than whatever the smell is.

More knowledgeable folk will be along shortly......