Can anyone really say there is one best thing to train your dog? Recall, potty training, don't pick up food off the ground (I haven't taught this to Lupin)? Probably not.
But there's one thing that I call "the best thing to train" because it's so important and so easy: whistle recall.
The problem it solved for Lupin
I over-socialized Lupin initially, and when he would see another dog all he wanted to do was bolt at it to play. I would tell him to sit or down, and he would manage to vibrate 10 feet forward while getting into the position, not looking at me once. And when he was already playing, the challenge was amplified.
Lupin may be more focused on engaging with other dogs than average, but typically the most difficult thing to call any dog off is another dog, whether already engaged or just wanting to engage. They're in the zone: focused on playing, sizing up, sniffing, being aggressive or submissive.
You can train your dog to recall from another dog with your voice, and I 100% encourage every dog owner to do this. You always have your voice with you, so ideally your voice is the main thing you use for recall. (That's a longer project; I wrote up the full protocol in Part 1 and Part 2 of building a bombproof recall.) But it takes a while, requires reinforcement and environmental training, and still your voice may not always be enough to shift their focus.
Even though Lupin's self-control wasn't rock solid for a while, I trained him on a whistle recall early on. It has come into play several times, like a deus ex machina, cutting through his hyper focus on another dog to snap his attention onto me.
Why a whistle works so well
You're using a sound the dog rarely hears anywhere else, so the only thing it associates with that whistle is you and the best damn treat ever. The whistle becomes its own little world for your dog: the only thing your dog has ever done when it heard that whistle is come running to you and get paid ridiculously well for it. So in addition to the conscious thought of wanting that treat, its automatic response to the whistle is to come running, regardless of what it's doing or where it is.
There's a name for this: classical conditioning, the same learning Pavlov demonstrated with his tone and food. Michael Ellis makes a point about the mechanics that matters here: the sound has to come first, then the reward. When Pavlov sounded the tone and delivered the food at the same time, no conditioning happened. And if you're reaching for the treat while you blow the whistle, your movement can overshadow the sound entirely, because dogs read bodies before they process sounds. So: blow, pause a beat, then produce the treat.
It's nearly foolproof to teach.
What you need
- The highest value reward for your dog. Something fresh like meat, cheese, or donut (yes, it's ok for your doggo to have a piece of donut every once in a while, especially for this). Ideally something easy to get again in the future.
- A dog whistle. I use an Acme dog whistle, but any dog whistle is fine. If you have a loud finger-whistle, that works too.
The steps
- Stand next to your dog with the high value treat hidden in one hand. Ideally they aren't really paying attention to you.
- Blow the whistle. Pick a toot pattern (one long, a few shorts, short-short-long, whatever) and stick with it forever.
- Then give the treat. Whistle first, treat second, every time.
- Wait a few minutes, or however long it takes for your dog to forget about you.
- Stand a few feet away with another treat hidden in hand. Maybe 3 to 5 feet, still within arm's reach.
- Blow the whistle. Give the treat. Your dog may come to you. If not, reach out and give the treat anyway.
Repeat several times on the first day. Your dog will likely associate the whistle with "the best damn treat ever" fairly quickly.
Building distance and difficulty
Each day after, continue to blow the whistle a number of times from various places, getting farther from your dog:
- A different room
- Outside and inside
- Around the corner (if your dog's training is at that level)
- While they're sleeping
- While they're playing with someone else or another dog
- While they're playing with a toy
- While they're eating a meal
Two rules from Ian Dunbar's recall work apply directly here. First, reward the coming, not just the arrival: if your dog starts toward you, that's the behavior you're paying for, so never let a recall end in nothing. Second, never punish a dog that just came to you, no matter what it was doing before. A dog that gets scolded on arrival learns the obvious lesson: don't arrive.
Aim for 15 to 30 repetitions over the first week building the association, then look for situations to use it every few days for several weeks. Once it's solid, treat it like any other trained behavior and proof it against real-world distractions.
Keep the whistle pure
During and after the buildup, it's crucial to keep the whistle "pure": only blow it when you have an ultra high value treat. After the association is built, it's ok to use the whistle without one if necessary. But fill that void with lots of praise, scratches, and whatever other positive reinforcement your doggo loves, and at the next chance do a re-association: blow the whistle with a high value treat in hand and stick it in doggo's mouth.
This is where Doggo Discs in the Doggo Treat Tube come in handy. Discs are not as high value as fresh meat, but they're as high value as non-fresh gets, so you always have something your dog really likes stashed on you. The Treat Tube can even be reused to carry messy, moist, fresh treats.
Whatever you use, whistle recall is one of the most powerful things you can train your dog. Try it and you will be impressed.
Sources
- Michael Ellis, Markers Lecture (V2.05), The Michael Ellis School, on charging a marker: sound before reward, and overshadowing
- Ian Dunbar, How To Teach A New Dog Old Tricks, "Come Here"