I have discovered the secret to getting a dog to come every time it's called without fail - bits of hot dog.

I took Oscar to a small grassy area near our house to practice. Once there, I let him have a whiff of the bag the hot dogs were in. Can we say "complete undivided attention"? I have never seen him so focused before. He was so interested in the treats I had a hard time getting him to wander off so I could call him back. Once he did, however, I didn't have to ask him twice to get him to come back to me. He ran like a bullet train every single time. It was truly an amazing sight. On our final try, I let him wander off quite a ways. I was actually getting a little worried because he was so far away, but I needn't have worried. I held up the little bag of hot dog bits and, before I could even shout, "Oscar! Come!", he was running towards me like a greyhound after a rabbit. Glorious.