The Pet Nurse
How to use a shepherds whistle
17 Browns square
St Neots
Cambs
PE19 1PE
INSTRUCTIONS (TIPS)
Tie a piece of string through the hole on the tab, you can hold the whistle by its tab if needed.
Place the whistle in the mouth so that the semicircular part of the whistle is against the semicircle
formed by your lips. If you have a perfect bite then you can hold it in your teeth.
Blow gently so that the air enters the whistle through the small circular holes inside your mouth, and
leaves it between the two pieces of plastic which are between your lips.
Curl your tongue so that it is on the back of the whistle, this will vary the direction of the air, and after
a little trial and error, you will soon master the art.
Try your whistle out somewhere that nobody can hear you to start with to avoid complaints from
family, friends and neighbours and their dogs.
Once you’ve mastered the art of producing some sort of sound every time you try, you then move
onto playing a song, jingle bells will be a good starter (again you may not want people around to hear
this at first). If you get that bit over, try playing some other sounds copying the pitch, if you and other
people can easily recognise it, then your ready to move to the next step.
Get someone to play you a not and practice copying it, pitch perfect…got that? They your ready to
start using it with your dog.
WHISTLE SOUNDS
To properly move livestock, each of the herding commands must be mutually understood (lie down,
come here, walk up, come by, way to me, get out, look back, take time, that'll do). Each herding
command is explained briefly below, with the verbal command and whistle sound also provided.
The use of the in-mouth shepherds whistle requires some practice, most new users can produce
controlled sounds quite quickly, but before using the whistle with a herding dog it is recommended
that consistent commands can be produced so as to avoid confusing the dog.
When learning the use of the whistle, many people find listening to a recording of the basic border
collie commands is helpful as a reference to ensure the "vital" control tones are correctly learned.
Once the basic commands are mastered the handler may introduce his/her own personal
modifications to effect more refined and subtle movements, the Sheepdog is a wonderfully intelligent
breed and is easily able to assimilate a great many different command whistles.
Lie Down
One long blast
Stops dog
Come Here
Whee-Whee-Wheet
Brings dog to handler
Walk Up
Two short whistles
Come By
Wheet-Wheeeo
Way to Me
Whee-Who
Moves dog straight toward the
livestock
Moves dog around the livestock
clockwise
Moves dog around the livestock
counter-clockwise
Wheet-Wheeo-WheetWheet
Moves dog away from the livestock
Look Back
Who-Hee-Who
Turns dog around to go gather more
livestock
Take Time
Hee-Hee-Hee-Hee
Slows dog to a steady pace
That'll Do
Hee-Hee-Hee-Hee
Orders dog to quit working
Get Out
Sheepdog Training is great fun for dog and owner. why not give it a try today
www.the-pet-nurse.co.uk
07754269810
Copyright © Bryony Peacock RVN MBVNA 2011
Bryony.thepetnurse@gmail.com