Oooh my gosh girl! What a frightening ordeal. I would of done exactly what you did, cry my eyes out and pray for him to come.... It is always a good idea to lure the puppy with a squeeky toy, keep a small one in a pocket just in case. I would try a gate by the door if possible. I saw something like this on Cesars dog whisperer - have someone knock at the door, stay with the dog in an area not too far from the door, keep him engaged in playing, getting him to ignore the door. I have been trying this with Lexie and it has worked, now if the other 2 would also participate it would be nice
. Cesar has had episodes that tackle this subject so perhaps there are copies of it on you tube or you can purchase his dvd.
One day Jazzie got away from me, my heart was in a panic, I tried to sound calm and told her, good girl come, sounded excited, good girl come, she came to me, oooh my gosh, was I shaking, she is a scary cat and anything noisy would have made her bolt. phew.
Good luck with your training.