Back when I was training folks on how to work with their dogs I had a mantra that “training should be fun for everyone”. While part of that was advice on how to engage their dogs with training games, the other piece of that was that the humans should be having fun with the training as well. Part of that was having cue words that made the person smile or laugh, as a way to help change our brain chemistry during difficult training scenarios.
So, what are your jokey funny cues for your puppers?
The. Best. Approach.
I used to teach folks to train their normal recall and an ‘emergency’ one that’s similar to your augmented one. Nothing but the most amazing rewards for showing up when you hear it, no matter what you were doing when you were called.
“Come inside” or similar cues are another one that’s tough because there’s just so much to experience outside that coming in seems like punishment to some dogs. We would play the come inside game to get a treat and a drink and then go back out for more playtime, rinse and repeat.
Exactly! Not having that emergency call is like not wearing a seatbelt. It’s not a problem, until it very much so is. I’ve made that mistake, and while nothing tragic happened because of it, it almost did. Never again.
I’m very glad nothing tragic happened, but even more so that it’s moved you to be an even better human! I always called things like emergency recall, drop it, and leave it “life skills” because they’re things that help our pups enjoy their full lives