This is a brief explanation of how this method is introduced effectively; be patient, it is worth the investment of your time.
Using a whistle. The whistle will give you an additional tool to use with your puppy’s/dog’s re-call; it is an as well as, not an instead of. The whistle can never lie to him/her, if you blow it, you must give a food treat and praise for the response. The week to week progress guide below is just a suggestion and should be adapted to suit progress.
Note. Do not rush to implement this when out on a walk or to test the theory, it takes a lot of patience. If you transfer the sound of the whistle to outside to soon, you will almost certainly train him/her to ignore it and therefore lose the positive effect it may have. I suggest that you use an Acme gun dog whistle, tuned and pitched for your specific breed of puppy available on line, or any good pet shop. (Buy more than one, they are easily lost and/or forgotten).
If you find that your puppy/dog stops responding be prepared to go back 2 stages and start again from there. Don’t keep blowing the whistle in the hope that you will get a response, all you will do is start to training your puppy/dog to ignore the sound and lose all future benefit. Do not set him/her up to fail, this is applicable with all puppy/dog training.
Start to 3 weeks. During the day, (3 sessions spread out during the day, 5 or 6 “practices” per session), when you are very close to your puppy/dog, as in, it is right next to you and you have his/her absolute attention and a treat in your hand, (always use high value food treats such as cheese, hot-dog or chopped, cooked chicken), say his/her name and blow the whistle, peep, peep, peep and immediately give him/her the treat, followed by a sincere, “good boy/girl”. (Note; there is no obedience involved in this; it is not necessary for him/her to be in a sit, you need to reward/praise the reaction to the whistle not the sit)
Also, when giving him/her main meals, prepare his/her food and as you place the bowl on to the floor and your puppy/dog is about to eat, blow the whistle 3 times, short, but loud blasts. This will start to build up the association of the sound of the whistle meaning “ah food”.
Blow the whistle when out on a walk and he/she is next to you on the lead, this will help to increase his/her response when there are distractions such as people, traffic noise etc.
Progressing this exercise. Always treat and praise!
Week 3. Try calling him/her when he/she is at the other end of the hallway but in your line of sight.
Week 4. Hallway with you out of line of sight.
Week 5. Try with him/her out of sight in the house. Initially it should be from the next room, building up the distance as your progress.
Week 6. When he/she responds 100% of the time try when he/she is in your sight but in the garden and you are inside.
Week 7. Go to a contained dog walking area or fully contained grass area and if there are no dogs present, repeat the line of sight process. Do this from not more than 20 meters away.
Week 8. Practice in open spaces with other dogs a significant distance away.
Week 9. Practice with different distractions, keep practicing and positively rewarding your puppy/dog.