The Story of How Training Saved My Dog’s Lives

A couple of years ago my dogs gave me quite the scare by putting their dog training to the test. It was shortly after moving into our (then) new home and we were so excited because Shiloh and Roxi finally had a beautiful, fully fenced backyard to run in. All was good! That is, ‘til one morning, while I was outside on a Zoom call letting the dogs play in the sun, when I realized it was WAY too quiet. Something wasn’t right. Apprehensively, I looked around the corner of my house and to my horror, the gate leading to the street was wide open and the dogs were nowhere to be seen.

Panicking, I raced towards the gate while every horrible outcome ran through my mind (isn’t it interesting how time seems to slow down long enough for your mind to play out every possible worst-case scenario?). I got to the street and my heart sank when I looked right and left and they were nowhere to be seen. I spotted a young couple pushing a baby stroller across the street and I managed to frantically blurt out, “Dogs! Have you seen dogs!?”

They looked at me like I had 3 heads (understandably so) and then pointed up ahead to their left. There was Shiloh and Roxi, about 6 houses down the street, sniffing some bushes without a care in the world.

Never have I been so happy to see the two of them in my entire life. We weren’t in the clear yet, though; I still had to get them back into the yard. I resisted the urge to run up to them. As badly as I wanted to just get to my dogs as fast as I could, I knew that approaching them was not the right move. “Chase me” is one of their favorite games (as it is with most dogs) and I couldn’t risk them running away from me into the street. The only option I had was to call them to me.

Would they come? We had spent countless training sessions practicing their recall behavior (coming when called), but this was the first true emergency I had ever needed to use it in. I had no training treats on me, my treat pouch was still in the house and they could clearly see that I was empty-handed. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and as naturally as I could, I yelled their recall cue and said a silent prayer. My heart skipped a beat as both dogs looked up and came cheerfully barreling towards me (The look on their face said, “Oh, hey mom! How’s it going? When did you get here?”). I started praising them like a mad woman (seriously…anyone watching definitely thought I was nuts, but I didn’t care) and they eagerly followed me back to safety.

The recall behavior quite possibly saved both of my dog’s lives that day. I still shudder when I think what could have happened. They could have been hit by a car, they could have been lost forever, they could have been killed by a wild animal.

So, the question is- why did it work? Why did my dogs come when called when they didn’t have to. They were free to explore the great outdoors. I had no treats for them. They could have easily ran in the opposite direction and I wouldn’t have been able to stop them.

The answer is two-fold.

1. We had practiced zillions of times in the past and they have always been rewarded VERY VERY well for coming when called.

• I’ve always prioritized training their recall, or coming when called, behavior. I’ve made sure that recall is their favorite game in the whole world, they always get lots of high value food rewards like chicken and cheese for coming when called, and they have never been scolded or punished after coming to me, no matter the situation. I like to think of the recall behavior like a bank account. The more deposits you make to your bank account (in other words, the more you reward your dog with things they love) the healthier your bank account is (or in other words, the more likely your dog is to come when you call them). This time, I didn’t have any food to reward them with, but since I had rewarded them with high value food so many times in the past during recall training, we had a really healthy “bank account” built up.

2. I remained calm when I called them.

• Although inwardly I was panicking, I didn’t show it. I refrained from chasing them and I called them to me in a happy voice, as if it was no big deal, just another recall training exercise. If I had let my nerves get the better of me, it could have spooked them and caused them to run away from me.

Recall is by far the most important “trick” you can train your dog. It can mean the difference between life or death. That may seem extreme, but I have heard way too many horror stories to think anything less!

If your dog struggles to come when called, schedule a free phone consultation so we can start implementing the proper training to keep your dog safe in case you’re ever faced with a similar situation.

Don’t wait until there’s a real emergency. It might be too late.

With wags and aloha,

Cori Tufano- CPDT-KA, CSAT, FDM, FFCP, BA