The English Bulldog Puppy Blog

Dog training whistles have evolved from our need to train dogs and make them listen to our commands. It is not a practical solution to whistle commands to our pets in the mainstream community. Neighbors will eventually complain from annoyance of constant whistling. It is also futile in some areas having high traffic and loud noises. Francis Galton invented the dog whistle in the 1880s. It was named Galton’s whistles considered to be an excellent tool to catch your dog’s attention.

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Your choice of dog whistle is a wide array from plastic types to the metal dog whistles. The basis of your dog whistles depends on the breed of your dog and how energetic your dog is. There is a combination type of two whistles into one having dual frequencies. It produces different dog whistles sounds.

For those of you who would like to understand how dog whistles work, take a look at the underlying mechanism on dog training whistles.

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How dog whistles work

The concept of dog training whistles is based on the ability of dogs to hear higher frequency of sounds than man can. The optimum frequency range for humans is around 2000 Hz with a maximum frequency of 20,000 Hz. Dogs, on the other hand, can hear frequencies higher than 20,000 Hz. In fact, they can hear a minimum frequency of 8,000 Hz up to 48,000 Hz. Dogs are anatomically gifted than human when it comes to how their inner ear vibrates or resonates to the high frequency sound waves.

A dog whistle frequency is more optimized to produce sounds above 20,000 Hz to be easily heard by dogs even in noisy settings. These silent whistles (to man’s ears) are designed in such a way that when air is forced down the cylinder and out of the hole with the sharp edge in between, a transmission of high frequency sound is produced.

The length of the cylinder greatly affects the pitch of the whistle. The shorter cylinders produce a higher pitch while longer cylinders yield lower pitch. Ideally, most dog whistles are one inch or less.

Training the Dog

We know for a fact that dogs can hear higher frequencies, which make dog, whistles a great tool for training. However, there are no magical spells to lure your dog to respond to whistle commands. Chances are, your dog will ignore the sounds of dog whistles when it is busy roaming the garden or merely not paying attention.

It is generally observed that dogs respond to the voice commands of a dog trainer. It is then easier to train your pet when given verbal commands of a dog trainer. Similar to verbal commands, these whistle commands heavily rely on sound cues to train dogs.

1. Pick up a set of whistle commands as cues.

For example, two short toots means ’stop’ while long toot could be associated with the command ’sit’.

2. Give the verbal command followed by the whistle sound that the dog learns to associate the command with it.

To help the dog learn, pair up the whistle command with a voice command.

The idea is to incorporate it for all the other commands. You should keep it simple to make it easier for the dog to remember all the commands. Additionally, there are many types of whistles that produce various tones associated with a particular command.

The dog whistles have the advantage of providing consistency than human voice commands. Dog whistles are excellent tools for clicker training. The choices of dog whistles are abundant. There are different types of dog whistles are available to suit the deaf and the older dogs with hearing loss. A friendly reminder to all pet owners who plan to use dog whistles. Be careful as how often you blow the dog whistles. These whistles can cause damage to your hearing, which is more adept to lower sound frequencies.

written by: Toni S.

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Spike, a defenseless puppy, remains under medical care two weeks after being beaten with a shovel and thrown against the ground by his owner.

East Elmhurst neighbor and eyewitness Alvin Lau captured the abuse on his cell phone’s video camera on Wednesday, February 24, as owner and alleged suspect, Maria Aguilar, 36, inflicted injuries on the 11-month-old English bulldog.

Lau called the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), which transferred Spike to its Manhattan hospital.

“If this witness had not reported this cruelty to the ASPCA, Spike may well have continued to suffer abuse at the hands of his owner,” said ASPCA assistant director Joseph Pentangelo. “It is a crime that someone would do this to a defenseless pet.”

ASPCA special agent Deborah Ryan arrested Aguilar, 36, on Friday, March 5, at the 115th Precinct, after Aguilar turned herself in and the ASPCA’s “investigation yielded sufficient probable cause to support that arrest.”

According to Ryan, Aguilar admitted that she threw Spike and hit him with a shovel. She has been charged with felony interference with or injury to certain domestic animals, and two misdemeanors: criminal possession of a weapon and “Over-driving, torture and injury of an animal or under-feeding.”

In 2008, the ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement (HLE) unit, which upholds and enforces NY State animal cruelty laws, investigated 5,227 reported cases of animal cruelty, made 78 arrests, and rescued more than 400 animals.

According to Stacy Wolf, vice president and chief legal counsel of the HLE, though the number of investigations and arrest decreased, at least one third of the 2009 arrests have been for felonies.

“In recent years, cases have shown recognized links between violence to animals and violence in families,” said Wolf, who oversees 22 licensed Peace Officers with power of arrest. “People who go through the trouble to torture and create suffering may be doing it to human victims, too.”

Rhonda Windham, an anti-cruelty veterinarian at ASPCA’s Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital on 92nd Street in Manhattan, said Spike’s veterinary medical records indicated he had been seen at least nine times by a clinic in Woodside between June 2009 and February 2010 for surgical and ophthalmologist consultations.

Part of Spike’s laundry list of physical abuse includes: a neck fracture; blindness in his right eye and injury to limbs that have cause lifelong lameness and some degree of pain in his joints, according to Windham, who added that Spike has sustained multiple injuries consistent with blunt force trauma.

The cruelty to Spike has shaken another East Elmhurst resident, Maria Orzo, who volunteers with the organization, Neighborhood Cats, that controls the cat population through the trap-neuter-return method. Orzo said she can’t get Spike’s suffering off her mind.

“She hit him and the little animal just cried. Just thinking about what happened to that poor dog is hair-raising,” said the animal-lover, who has seen the video of the abuse on the Internet. “I have two puppies that look like him and when I look at the photos, I just start to cry.”

Let’s hope this case of dog abuse send out a message to all pet owners to be loving and understanding owners in as much as we would expect our pets to love us back.

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Learn tips and instructions on how to train your dog to come back. Be sure to take notes and practice the tips found in the free video below:

How to Train Your Dog to Come Back When Called — powered by eHow.com

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Learn from this free instructional video how to train your dog to back up.

Train a Dog to Back Up with Body Language — powered by eHow.com

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The thought of your playful and friendly bulldog waiting for you at home is one endearing pet to go home to. The sight of your lovely but chewed furniture, however, is not what you want to see when you get home. Find ways on how to teach your dog that there’s more to life than just chewing your furniture.

photo courtesy of Dr. Julie & William Wickel

Ways to stop your dog chewing your furniture:

1. Determine the root of your dog’s habit of chewing on furniture. The reasons may be from teething, curiosity, boredom or a behavioral disorder. Your veterinarian or behavioral specialist will be glad to assist and discuss these options with you.

2. Provide a teething ring or a frozen washcloth for your dog to chew.

3. Keep your dog close and monitor it closely. Use a baby gate to keep him in the same room as you. You can also crate train your puppy and put him in the crate with toys for short periods in times you can supervise it.

4. Divert your puppy’s attention to something more suitable and less damaging, such as dog toy, when you catch your dog red-handedly chewing. Alternate toys of soft and hard textures available to avoid boredom.

5. Set time as a “me and my puppy” bonding moments. The much needed interaction can easily redirect your dog’s energy to worthwhile training such as learning tricks, obedience training workouts, and engaging in outdoor adventures.

6. Make it a point to raise your dog as a physically active pet. You will have fun during these times, and lose weight too! Chances are, your dog will be too tired to even think of chewing the furniture.

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The task of training your dog how to fetch can be easy as 1-2-3. All you to do is to know ways and tips on how to teach your dog.

Tips to remember

1. A dog that retrieves is likely to get more exercise than a dog that doesn’t.

2. You will have an easier time when you use a retriever. You can just stand in one spot and throw the ball for your dog.

3. Most dogs love to chase after the ball and bring towards the owner. When the dog gets close enough he/she starts to play keep away. You can get your dog to give you the ball by having two tennis balls with you.

4. Always make sure to have two balls with you.

5. Get your dog interested in the second ball when they come back to you.

6. The better you are at acting like you’re having a great time with the second ball, the faster your dog will drop the ball he/she has.

7. Don’t throw your ball until your dog has dropped the ball he/she has.

8. End the retrieving game before your dog gets bored with it. In this way the next time you play fetch, your dog will be very excited about it.

Steps on how to train your dog how to fetch

1. Throw the first ball and let your dog go after it. When your dog starts to come towards you, ask your dog to “drop it.”

2. If your dog does not drop the ball, stop paying any attention to your dog and take out the second ball.

3. Start to have fun or act like having fun with the second ball. Toss it up in the air. Show your dog that you’re having a great time with the second ball. Keep doing this until your dog looks at you. If you’ve done this step correctly, your dog will drop the ball that he/she has and look up at the one you have.

4. As soon as your dog drops his/her ball, show the ball you’re holding to your dog. As soon as your dog focuses on the ball that you’re holding, throw it.

5. Repeat the process when your dog comes back to you. Within a short period of time, you’ll have your dog retrieving for you.

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