Stop right there

Fran Ardley instructs you on how to get your dog acclimatised to the stop whistle, a crucial part of its hunting and retrieving development

- Fran Ardley

One of the most important commands you can teach your gundog is the stop whistle, and yet it is probably the one command that handlers find the most challenging to get right. In previous articles I have looked at how to teach your dog the basic stop whistle command, which initially begins as a sit (normally directly in front of you) and then the distance between the handler and dog can gradually increase as the lesson is learned.

Most dogs will learn quite quickly and respond well when the exercise is done under controlled conditions, such as the dog walking next to the handler – you pip the whistle the dog stops/sits. The challenge comes when the dog is in full-flow hunting or retrieving mode.