That must have been so scary!
For Lucas we have an "emergency recall" command. Basically you choose a distinct word that you do not use in everyday life. Ours is BOOMERANG.
For the first week or so of training with it, you train 3 times a day. For the actual practice you YELL the word several times (BOOMERANG BOOMERANG BOOMERANG) when the dog is in another room. When the dog comes, you give 12-15 treats over 30 seconds while praising verbally as well. This is important because this command and praise needs to be distinct from everything else you train your dog to do. This has to be special.
So you do that 3 times a day for the first week, once a day for the next week or 2 depending on how solid you feel they've got it. Then, you practice it once a week
forever, so that the dog never forgets.
This has worked marvelously for Lucas, and although we have never had to use it in a real emergency, it gives me such comfort to know that if I ever needed to I would be able to call him at the drop of a hat (and knowing 12 treats are coming up, boy does he run!). I would definitely recommend this for ensuring Teddy comes back quickly if you ever really need him to
