If you think that dog collar is the only device to control a dog or train him, you are wrong. With the advent of technology, now people are getting access to smart technology and gadgets(Dog whistle) which are making it easier for them to control their dogs.

However, this article is not about any gadget or new technology. It is actually about a very simple and yet a very brilliant thing that people use to train their dogs. If you remember our blog post on How to train a dog?, you would be able to recall how treats, tricks and tips are used to train a dog to roll, run or fetch certain things. Just like that a dog whistle is used to train the dogs. How do they use it to train dogs and what a dog whistle is after all, let us see!

What is a dog whistle?

A dog whistle is a kind of whistle used to train dogs. It creates ultrasonic sound that a human ear cannot hear to, but canines, felines and some other animals can hear it.

Now let us get to the anatomy of a dog whistle. Dog whistle rhetoric says that a dog whistle is used to create a kind of ultrasonic range sound that a human cannot hear, but dogs and other few animals hear it very well. To achieve this purpose the dog whistle is definitely made differently than the simple whistles made and used by human beings.

It is mostly made of metal, but now people are also using wood and plastic to make dog whistles. The first ever dog whistle was however not the kind of whistles that we see nowadays. Instead of blowing it with mouth, it could only be used with a pump. Press the pump to its fullest and it will make that ultrasonic sound that only dogs and some other animals can hear.

However, that was a very old model and considering the air pressure that a human mouth can create, dog whistle is now made to be used by mouth. Blow the whistle with your mouth, and your dog will listen to it. Apart from these dog whistles, now technology has also introduced us to electronic dog whistles which emit the sound by electric emitters. Such electronic dog whistles are also coming with bark-detection circuits. If your dog barks a lot and disturbs you, your family and your neighbors, use such a circuit to warn the dog and control his barking.

Coming back to the history of dog whistle, it is important to mention that it is not a new invention. It was invented by Francis Galton, back in 1876. He was working on different experiments with the frequencies only audible to animals and he coincidentally discovered the method to make a whistle which will create ultrasonic sounds.

How a dog whistle works?

Dog whistle creates ultrasonic sound varying from 23 to 53 kHZ, which is not audible to human beings because human beings can only listen to the sounds which fall in the frequencies within 15 to 20 kHZ.

Since cats have a hearing range of roughly 64 kHZ, they also catch this frequency, but human ears are not good enough to hear such an ultrasonic sound. Why cats and dogs have this capacity to hear this high ranging sound category? Well, it is hard to answer, but we can speculate. Dogs and cats mainly eat rodents for a living, and rodents make this supersonic high-ranging sound to communicate with each other.

So, when a human blows a dog whistle, only his dog, other dogs around him and cats or some other animals can hear that sound. Do you wonder, how a dog whistle sounds to us humans? Well, while for dogs, it creates a supersonic sound, to human ears it only sounds like a very minimal hissing sound.

Why should I use dog whistle?

Dog whistles are designed with only one purpose: to make sure that you communicate with your dog, without disturbing the humans around you. Dogs can definitely hear the sound made by a normal human whistle, but it will irritate the humans who do not need to hear it.

Also, if you are having a dog for security purposes and you want to alert your dog, without letting know any humans around you, you can always use this whistle and your savior will be right smack-dab there. Whether it is a robber who is trying to mug you on the go, or an intruder in your home, you can call your dog immediately without having to create a loud sound. So, while the unfortunate offender will be unaware of what is coming for him, you will alert your dog and save yourself.

Also, it is important to remember that dog whistle is not only used to give instructions to or train the dog, but also to punish the dog as a manner of correction and behavior modification.

How to use dog whistle to train my dog?

There are different ways of using dog whistle to train dogs; these methods are based on same “stick and carrot” technique. You use your whistle to warn and punish the dog, and if he acts as per your command, treat him to reinforce the good behavior.

How to train your dog using this whistle? Well, this depends on you. Dog training is based on pure scientific methods, but they take time. Remember our post about Why do dogs wag their tails? we explained it with detail that dog behavior and dog training is purely scientific. Here are three very easy trainings that you can give to your dog, using a hip and stylish resident evil dog whistle, or any dog whistle that you like.

• Use a single blow – beeeeeeeeep (and train your dog to stop whenever he listens to this whistle)
• Use two beeps – beep –beep (and train your dog to come towards you)
• Use a continued beep – bip – bip – bip – bip – bip (and train your dog to sit calm)

In our blog post on dog attacks we explained the reasons for different types of dog attacks and how to stop them. This whistle can be one amazing tool in your dog training arsenal and you can manage to stop your dog from showing aggressive behavior