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By Lucy Notarantonio
Senior Reporter
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A dog owner's humorous take on training her cocker spaniel has resonated with pet lovers online.
Becca Gibson, 25, who posts under the handle @rebeccagibson, shared a TikTok clip of her cocker spaniel Flo racing so far up a Scottish hill that Gibson had to zoom in just so viewers could spot her adventurous pup.
The text over the video asks, "How's your recall training going?"—a sentiment that many dog owners could likely relate to.
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"Flo and I have a great bond and I have always trusted her," Gibson told Newsweek. "She never goes far without either looking back to check I'm near or running back to me. She's not got a bad bone in her body.
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Contrary to the clip, Gibson explained that her two-year-old dog has a "good recall" and was trained to come back after three blows on a whistle.
The footage, which has garnered almost 225,000 views, captures a scenario familiar to anyone who has struggled with teaching their dog to reliably come when called. It's a challenge that can test even the most patient pet owners.
Gibson told one user that she stands there and waits for Flo to return when she is ready. A strategy that some owners aren't comfortable with.
"I applaud your bravery - I would be having a meltdown," said one user and another wrote: "I'd have a heart attack."
But not all owners fear this happening. Some understand: "This is my dog sometimes; they just want to be free," said a third commenter.
Gibson reassured that Flo would come running back if she were to blow her whistle.
According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), learning to come when called, or recall, is one of the most critical skills a dog can acquire, but it's not without its difficulties.
As the AKC states, "Teaching a recall can be challenging, as dogs find so much of the world so interesting. Each time we ask our dog to come to us, we are asking them to stop what they are doing and turn away from other stimuli. As a result, to build a reliable recall, we must teach our dogs that being near us is the most fun thing they can do and will bring them the most rewards."
Gibson's playful post sheds light on the journey of dog training, where moments of humor often arise alongside the triumphs and setbacks.
The AKC emphasizes the importance of achieving "reliable recall," a skill where owners can feel 99.99 percent confident that their dog will respond enthusiastically to their call. While perfection is unattainable—dogs are not robots, after all—reliable recall is essential, especially when allowing dogs off-leash outside fenced areas or in emergencies.
For dog owners like Gibson, the journey to reliable recall may come with its share of uphill battles—quite literally in Flo's case.
Update 01/06/25 07:00 a.m. ET: Comments from Becca Gibson have been added to the article.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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