What Does a Dog Whistle Sound Like?

Sometimes "Fido come!" just isn't enough. A dog whistle is a whistle used to train dogs, as well as cats. The whistle emits very high frequencies that only some animals can hear.

  1. History

    • The dog whistle was invented by Francis Galton in the 1880s. He discusses it in his book "Inquiries into Human Faculty and its Development."

    Function

    • Dog owners can use dog whistles to either get their dog's attention without screaming when they have wandered far off or to inflict pain when a dog misbehaves.

    Identification

    • The sound of a whistle is that of air being forced through a small opening. Dogs hear high-pitched sounds when a dog whistle is blown, like those of a normal whistle. Dog whistles sound nearly silent to humans, as its frequencies are inaudible to the human ear. Humans can only hear the sound of the air being blown. Dog whistles are within the range of 16 to 22 kHz.

    Types

    • Not all dogs can hear all dog whistles. Large dogs can't make out some of the higher frequencies that smaller dogs can.

    Fun Fact

    • The Beatles included a dog whistle on their influential album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." In an interview with Rolling Stone, Paul McCartney said: "There's going to be one dog and his owner, and I'd just love to be there when his ears prick up.'"