I received a call from a gentleman saying he had an adult chow that had a serious problem. Every time the dog (Chief) got loose, he would run away. He didn’t leave the area, but would stay about a block away from anyone trying to catch him. The man was almost ready to get rid of him because the dog just wouldn’t come back until he was good and ready.

I talked with the owner about Chief, his likes, and dislikes. He liked treats, but he wasn’t crazy about any particular kind, so I didn’t think that would be a very good incentive for him to listen and come back when called. Then he mentioned Chief hated cats with a passion and would try to kill any cat he saw. That sounded like it might inspire the dog if it could be used at just the right moment.

Any time I go to a home to work with a dog, I teach the basic commands I think all dogs need to know. We worked on ‘stay,’ ‘sit,’ ‘down,’ and front door manners. When we started working on the heeling lesson, we started walking up and down the hall because I wanted to make sure the owner could control the dog inside before we took it out on the street. Everything went pretty well, but we still hadn’t worked on the ‘come’ lesson.

The next lesson was in two weeks and when I arrived at the home, to my dismay the owner and dog were both out front. The dog was a little excited and as I stepped out of the car, he shook his head and pulled back, escaping the collar. Chief was off and running. The owner took off after him.

I called the owner (not the dog) and told him, "Turn your back to Chief, squat down, and in a loud voice say, ‘Here, kitty, kitty," and keep saying it over and over. The owner obeyed beautifully and Chief slammed on the brakes, ran at top speed to see where the kitty was and was caught.