If you use a dog whistle as part of your dog training then you’ll expect your dog to respond to your whistle commands and, at times, you can find yourself in some strange places which may involve walls.
You could find yourself in a building or in an environment where your dog is behind a drystone wall or other obstacle which could potentially make handling tricky.
In these types of situations you’ll need to have a good grasp of your dog’s ability and his response to the whistle which leads us to the question ‘Do dog whistles work through walls?’
A dog whistle will only work through a wall ( or for that matter anywhere else ) if your dog can hear it and if he understands what the whistle means and how he should respond. If the environment is noisy or your dog has a hearing deficit then his performance and response to the whistle may not be as good as you would normally expect.
Dog whistles only work as part of training
Having a dog whistle is not a magic cure all to dog obedience.
Even if the whistle can be heard through a wall, unless your dog knows what it means, it will have little, if any effect.
Your dog whistle is another tool and progression in your dog training and, regardless of breed of dog, you have a path to follow if you are going to get effective results from using a whistle.
Blowing a whistle won’t produce miracles and you’ll need to introduce the whistle alongside more basic training exercises.
You can read more about basic training exercises for dogs in my post here.
It deals with spaniel training but the basics are applicable to any dog, regardless of breed or whether you want a pet or working dog.
How do you use a dog whistle?
There are actually very few ‘normal’ commands that you would give to a dog via a whistle.
The most common ones are:
To come back
With a hunting dog such as spaniel or bird dog the whistle can be used to get the dog to turn when hunting
In fact the possibilities for incorporating a dog whistle into training are potentially endless – the whistle could be used to convey a wide range of instructions to the dog.
If you consider the variety of whistle instructions that a sheepdog handler uses then this gives you some indication of the versatility.
Consider noise levels and distractions when using a dog whistle
Your dog will only ever understand the dog whistle if you have introduced it to him and it has built upon his previous training.
However, if your dog cannot hear the whistle then even the most responsive and obedient animal will struggle.
If you consider walls – they do present a physical barrier that both absorbs and deflects sound.
If your dog is on the other side of the wall, for example you are outdoors and he is on the other side of a drystone wall, then he may struggle to hear you.
If you combine the physical barrier with other noises, such as wind noise, the brushing and cracking of undergrowth, sounds of animals, people, vehicles then, just as you would be, his hearing can be impaired and he may not hear or not fully hear the whistle.
Can I use a dog whistle to stop next door’s dog barking?
If you have success with this then well done.
It is highly unlikely that next door’s dog will have any idea what the whistle means and the chances of any success or virtually nil.
Even though the dog might hear the whistle through the wall he’ll be perplexed as to what it is.
It would be easier to have a word with your neighbour to let them know that their dog is making a racket.
What dog whistle should I get?
My preferred choice and the one that I recommend are the ACME range of whistles that humans can hear.
They’ve been in production for years, the whistles last for decades and the company supply globally.
You can find the ACME whistles here on Amazon.
Personally I don’t like the silent type of dog whistles because I can’t hear them and thus don’t know if I’ve blown the whistle properly or if the whistle has packed in.
With the ACME whistles I can control the sound levels and type – because I can hear it.
You can also read my dog whistles review here.
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Final Words
Dog whistles do work through walls but only if the dog can hear the whistle and understands what it means.
Simply buying a dog whistle and blowing it will serve no purpose, apart from making you frustrated and the dog confused.
Dog training is well within the reach of most people and the use of a whistle is just another step in the process.
