About ten years ago, I adopted an adult dog who had received very little training in his previous home. I had houseguests who decided to surprise me when I came home from a Sunday trail run by making pancakes for everybody. The pancakes burned, leaving the house smoky, and they opened the front door to air out the house and were quite surprised that my new dog decided to bolt for freedom, which probably took him all of about six seconds. Apparently, it never occurred to them that a dog might just leave if the door was propped wide open. When I returned from my run, they were chasing after my dog and yelling Come! in panicked angry voices. Luckily, I returned home before anything happened to my new dog and was able to get him to safety by tempting him with a real marrow bone and letting him chase me back to the house to get it. Frankly, we were all very lucky that the story did not have a horrible ending.
As a dog trainer and behaviorist, naturally I think that teaching our dogs a reliable recall is critically important. A dog who comes when called makes life better, safer, and a lot less stressful. However, even people who pride themselves on having well-trained dogs, who also responsibly use leashes, gates, and doors to keep their dogs safe, can find themselves in need of an emergency recall. Hearing that such a situation should never be allowed to happen in the first place or that prevention is the only solution to such a problem may sound sensible, but how does it help someone whose dog is at risk of getting hit by a car right now?
There are many ways to entice a dog to come when that dog’s recall is not perfectly proofed. However, they are not guaranteed to be effective and should not be considered a sure thing. Dogs who cannot handle off-leash freedom in all situations need to be managed and prevented from getting into trouble with reasonable precautions and common sense, but if you ever find yourself in a situation in which a dog does not come when called, here are some techniques to try.
A general truth about working with dogs is that sometimes just NOT doing what comes naturally is a step in the right direction. In the case of emergency recalls, most people’s natural inclination is to chase after the dog while yelling. These actions will make most dogs move further away from you, and should be avoided. Instead, turn away from the dog and run away . Dogs tend to follow moving objects, and they are more likely to approach people whose shoulders and toes are pointed away from them. While you are running, make a lot of happy, repetitive noises such as clapping, whooping, or saying pup pup pup over and over again.
Using your own actions and body postures to get your dog to come to you is a generally effective strategy. Consider crouching down low or doing a play bow (either authentic by going down on all fours and lowering the front of your body towards the ground, or partial in which you are standing, but bend your knees, lower your upper body in a bowing motion and spread your arms wide.) Follow the play bow by running away from your dog. Some people have had success by lying on the ground and waving their arms and legs in the air. I don’t know for sure what this signifies to dogs, but dogs may perceive this as a play invitation. Alternatively, perhaps dogs come to investigate just because of the novelty of the behavior.
Another possibility is to lure the dog to something that she adores. I used a bone to catch my dog, but anything special to the dog may work. Any treats, chew toys, squeaky toys, or balls that the dog loves have potential. On the more creative side, I know of people who have lured their wayward dogs back to them by holding a dog their dog loves to play with, by getting in their car, by getting the dog’s leash and saying, “Let’s go for a walk!” or simply by calling cheerfully “Dinnertime!” Anything that has ever resulted in your dog running enthusiastically to you in any context just may work and is worth a try.
---Karen B. London
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