Teaching your pets an emergency recall sound

If you have pets that go outside (supervised only, please, especially when it comes to cats), it’s a great idea to have an emergency recall sound that your pets learn means COME INSIDE NOW. We live in Manhattan, and have a totally fenced in yard for our cats to enjoy, but they can still be in danger from hawks, weather or occasional street violence. While they each know and come to their names being called, calling names in a multi-pet household would take too long in an emergency situation, and also not tell the pet that this is a special situation that requires urgency. Thus, I have taught them an emergency recall sound that is only used in drills or in an actual emergency.

First, you’ll want to choose a sound/cue that your pet can easily hear throughout their outdoor area and that is a unique sound they will not hear elsewhere. I have chosen jangling a large amount of keys for my sound, but you can pick a bell, a tone, anything that works easily for you. Remember that your recall sound is a CUE and should be short - not a continuous sound. Initially pair the emergency recall with a normal recall/when you normally bring your pet(s) inside, and also with a high value treat item. Then phase out the normal recall and proceed with trials of simply the emergency recall + high value treat. The emergency recall MUST have a greater reward than your normal recall in order for your pet to understand the urgency behind it. Once your pet(s) have the hang of this emergency recall, drill them on it every few weeks in order to maintain and reinforce this behavior. Now you have a safe and effective way to get your pet(s) inside if they are in danger!