How to Make a Dog Whistle
Humans have been using dog whistles since the 18th century. Originally designed to train dogs for hunting, today people use dog whistles for basic dog training. It is a great tool because it can work at long distances, and will not disturb others around you. Dogs can hear sounds that are higher in pitch than humans, so a well designed dog whistle will be silent to the human ear, but a dog will be able to catch the sound at a distance and get back to you should it run far away. A dog whistle is a great tool to assist you in training your dog, but you don’t have to spend money and buy one, because you can make one yourself with easily found materials. Here is how.
Things required:
– A Branch from a willow tree
– A small carving knife
– Some Sandpaper
Instructions
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1
Cut an 8-10 inch section of the branch. This is long enough to work with, any longer or shorter and the pitch of the whistle will be affected, and humans will be able to hear it.
The width of the branch should be cut no wider than an average adult thumb. This is important because if it is any bigger, the whistle will be uncomfortable to use and will not produce the high pitch required. -
2
Slice one end of the branch at an angle and cut off any sharp points and edges. You have just formed your mouth piece.
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3
Placing your knife at a 90 degree angle from the mouth piece and pierce a small hole. Cut the other side of the whole at an acute angle. Make sure that this hole remains small; should you need to enlarge it that can be done at a later stage, however once the hole is too big it can’t be changed.
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4
Cut the branch so that it is 6 inches long from the mouthpiece to the end. Now cut a circle around the inside of perimeter of the branch. Once the circle is made, use the small knife blade, insert it in the centre of the circle and pull hard, much like pulling a cork from a bottle of wine. This will hollow out the inside of your dog whistle.
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5
You now must carve out a small trench at the top of your whistle. Make sure it is as small as possible, because bigger the trench, the lower the pitch of the whistle. You should also mark a notch right in front of your mouth piece, but before the trench.
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6
Use the sandpaper to smooth out any rough edges. Wet your whistle with a little water and enjoy calling out to your dog with it.
