I have a friend who does this. She has to be very very careful when picking up the poop.

I don't think it's breed specific I think it depends on the area you live. We walk in wide, open countryside so for us a whistle is invaluable for him to hear us. His recall is also much more effective and faster on the whistle - not sure why, but I'm not complaining.

Think t is more breed specific to be honest...and down to individual dogs. We walk in city parks/woodland/countryside....Cosmo never strays far. Another FCR we had did...his recall was better with the whistle.
The GSD Xs we have been around never strayed far either...but our BC did, so we would always whistle him, but just using our mouth, not a whistle.
Cosmo returns to a proper whistle, us whistling and to the voice...I think it is useful if dogs are trained to all 3 because you ay foget your whistle one day, you may lose your voice...but you can always whistle with your mouth. We keep him guessing!

never really used one or needed one. i think i have a loud enough voice lol. pepsi recalls perfectly every time and doesnt venture that far from me. maybe when she starts hunting rabbits then i may need one but until then my gob works lol

Well I can't whistle and tbh I expect my dogs to return to me with very little effort on my part, that's what all the training was for. How can they be under control if I can't see them? I'm not happy when they disappear from view for more than a few moments and expect them to return as soon as I call. I walk in woodland, so they could disappear quite quickly. I'm not keen on fields they cook my head in the summer and expose me to too much weather in the winter.

I have a whistle, and I can (and do) whistle the usual way very loudly...

It's much easier to recall the boys with a whistle on an empty windswept beach - voices get blown away, but whistles carry much further.

I use both whistles and voice commands with my two, that way I've not shouted myself hoarse on the beach!

I don't need one. My dog doesn't stray far from me, and I wouldn't let him even if he did.

The reason I said it's not breed specific is because Woody never strays too far and will come everytime to either "Woody come" or the whistle. The whistle is much easier, clearer (for him) and for some reason always makes him come faster ;o)

What breeds do you think need it then? I notice people with collies not using one and I would have thought if any breed it was a collie?

Just curious.

I meant it is more breed specific than area specific...we have always walked our dogs in many different areas, city parks, woodland, countryside and beaches. Every dog is different...I think it is more breed specific than area specific, but generally, more down to the individual.

i use one all the time its taken me 9 years to get one of my springers to come back and he only does it to the whistle agree that a whistle they cant here youre panic