Nonverbal communication

This story refers to the use of a whistle. Generally speaking, a whistle should be of a sort that can be heard by both the dog and the handler. A professional would rarely use a silent or adjustable type, and if trainers, behaviourists, shepherds and gamekeepers don’t use them, then they have virtually no value. Furthermore, if the item is truly silent, a human can’t be certain that it is even working!! Finally, a pet dog will only be a reasonable distance away, and most commercially available whistles will suffice; for dogs working much further away, like a collie herding sheep, they will require a specialist whistle.

“Mr Hodson, I don’t know if you are able to help us, and if not, you can send us to someone who can assist. My father is recovering from a stroke, and while he appears to have no major physical issues, his speech has been badly affected. To make matters worse, he is so self-conscious about his speech that he refuses to even try it in front of strangers. The major complication is that Dad has decided to adopt a dog for company, and he has acquired a Lassie Collie from a neighbour of his in spite of our objections. Dad lives alone, so with no one to help, communication between dad and dog is nonexistent, and we can only see disaster as Dad just can’t train the dog. He has acquired a thing called a clicker, but it doesn’t appear to be working. The one we feel sorry for is Elvis.”

“Elvis?” I questioned.

“My father is a huge Elvis Presley fan.”

“So this is a basic obedience without verbal commands.”

“Yes, that sounds perfect. Can you do that?”

“Certainly.”

Home visit

I was arranged to visit, and I arrived at the designated address. The front garden was immaculate and a mass of colour. Not having a major interest in horticulture, I couldn’t tell the names of the plants, but it was a very impressive display.

As his attire showed, Mr Davenport obviously took great care with his appearance—trousers with knife-edge creases and a crisp white shirt and tie. Elvis was a delightful Rough Collie who greeted me enthusiastically.

The conversation was very one sided as I asked questions that only needed a nod or a shake of the head. I produced a dog whistle  and asked if he was comfortable using it and the answer was in the affirmative. The whistle was a standard one, plastic, with a number stamped on the back, easily acquired from pet shops.

The first decision to make was what were the priorities and In what order

I have often felt that one of the difficulties is that we try to teach too many commands in one go with the inevitable result that none of them have been learned effectively. Heel and Come are, for me, the really important ones. Being able to go for a walk without the dog pulling and having confidence that the dog will return when called are the priorities.

I have always taken the view that when training, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all. Dogs are like children; they are all different, and the learning process must take into account their concentration levels, their ability to absorb knowledge, their history and their response to different stimuli, which varies tremendously. Whilst we recognise that certain breeds have certain characteristics, relying on this assumption is a recipe for disaster.

The Task

So, the task to be undertaken was to train a nonverbal gentleman in Rough Collie.

As there had already been some use of a clicker which had not produced the required results, I decided that to avoid any lingering confusion, a whistle might be a better bet. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it negated the use of the need to carry two items.

Also, it’s quite simple; in my experience, the use of a clicker is a fairly reliable training aid over short distances, particularly in the home environment, but it is lacking when requiring the dog to return when called. A dog can hear a standard whistle over a distance of 400 yards, but a clicker is only really effective for close work. Let’s face it, if Fido is disappearing over the horizon you can click until you are blue in the face, even with his remarkable sense of hearing he won’t necessarily hear it particularly if the wind is in the wrong direction.

We went into the back garden, and I suggested that we stick to basics like walking and coming and reward success with treats. Adapting to using a whistle takes time. If you carefully watch a shepherd working a sheep dog and if you listen very carefully you will be able to interpret the sounds and match the sounds to the behaviour of the dog. It’s done using a mouth whistle and it looks easy but it’s not, consistency is critical. For the collectors of odd facts, a shepherd’s mouth whistle, a highly specialised piece of kit, can be heard over a distance of up to 2 miles (3.2 kilometres).

The system I used was called the Morse Code method. For any particular exercise, a combination of a short peep and a long peep could be created. I would not recommend it generally, but it worked extremely well for those with a speech impediment.

We started with one short peep for walking to heel and one long peep for returning when required. Treats were given as rewards, and progress was excellent. Three more visits and Elvis was walking to heel and returning fairly consistently.

Delighted

Mr Davenport was delighted, and a telephone call from his daughter indicated their gratitude.

In my experience, when someone suffers from a life-changing experience, a pet can make a huge difference. They don’t pass judgement, accept you for who you are and are incredibly adaptable. They are not suitable for everyone, but those who have benefited consider them to be life savers.