Must Know Emergency Recall Words For Dogs

Statistics reveal that around 48 million American households currently own a dog for a pet. Is your family one of them?

If so, congratulations on growing your family to include man’s best friend. Among the many benefits of owning a dog is the love and adventures you’ll share. To enjoy all those moments, though, you’ll also need to train your pet to ensure that it remains compliant and is an extra good girl or boy.

Training your dog to understand common recall words could even save its life. If you’ve never heard of dog emergency recall words before and are wondering how to give your dog commands and get it to listen, read on. Below, you’ll learn everything you need to know about recall words for dogs and how to use them.

What Are Dog Emergency Recall Words?

New pet owners may not know what dog emergency recall words are. These words are specific commands that are meant to teach your pet to act in a specific way and are often crucial in emergency situations.

For instance, let’s say your dog has found itself a snake in the garden and you notice that it’s a copperhead — yikes! Your pup wants to play with the snake, so you need to act quickly and calmly. The best way to navigate this situation would be to firmly instruct your doggo to “stop” and “come” to you. These words won’t have any effect, though, if you haven’t trained your dog to act on those commands.

Why Dog Safety Training is Important

Dog safety training is important because it can be lifesaving for both you and your pet in an emergency.

Take pet fire safety, for instance. When fleeing a fire, you need to be able to tell your dog to “come.” You should never risk your own safety attempting to rush back in and save a disoriented dog, but love can make us do crazy things. Make any evacuation with pets easier by ensuring they understand safety recall commands.

What’s more, you are 100 percent legally liable for your pet’s actions as their owner. If you haven’t trained your dog adequately and they injure someone, you will likely be responsible for any medical bills or other damage incurred.

The Most Important Emergency Dog Commands

So, what are the most common emergency dog commands you should teach your pet? Start with these commands:

While many of these commands are basic and can get used daily, save your emergency recall command for training purposes and emergency situations only. If you use this command too often or in situations that don’t require it, it dilutes the full effect of the command.

How to Train Your Pet to Be Safety Aware

Knowing that your pet should understand these emergency recall words and training them to behave in the correct way are two very different things. Training your dog will not be an easy task. Doing so will take time, consistency, effort, and patience.

Use common training techniques for emergency recall words, but in a heightened way. We’ll go over how to accomplish this in more detail.

Reinforcement and Praise

First, you’ll need to teach your dog what each word means and what you want them to do when you say the specific command. To train your dog, you’ll give the command and then gently show what you expect. For instance, tell your dog to “sit.” Follow up by lightly tapping your pup’s bottom to the ground until they are in the sitting position. As soon as they’re in the right position, reinforce the behavior with a treat.

Common commands like “sit” and “stay” should come with everyday dog treats. However, your emergency recall word “stop” deserves special treatment. Be sure to provide your pup with extra special treats like lunch meat, hot dogs, steak, or something else enticing when they follow through with the emergency command.

Practice Makes Perfect

Your dog needs consistency and persistence to become the most obedient dog it can be. Don’t expect your furry friend to understand the emergency stop command for dogs after just a few days of training. Your pup will likely need several months of consistent training before they graduate from your personal emergency-command school.

Use Emergency Recall Words for Dogs Wisely

Emergency recall words for dogs are something you need to teach your pet sooner rather than later. You want your dog to understand these commands for their own safety and for your best interests, too. After all, anything your pet injures, harms, or damages will ultimately be your responsibility since you’re the pet owner.

Of course, at the end of the day, dogs are still animals with their own free will. And while you can teach and train your pet, they can still get out of control. This holds true, especially, if your dog is bigger and harder to control physically. The good news is that you can take proactive steps to protect yourself financially by getting pet insurance should your pet cause an accident or injuries.

Wawanesa can help you find peace of mind by providing a policy that will cover your fur baby. Learn more about our trusted partner’s pet insurance offerings. To speak one-on-one with an agent, call 888-740-9975 to get a quote.