The fear motivated moment.

Whoosh! A river of adrenaline courses through you. It floods into you in a fifth of a second, the one where you see your dog running into traffic. Yes, the seventeen-year-old next door is driving the Suburban at high speed, and now, in the blink of an eye, you are about to witness the death of your dog.

What will your brain do?

Find the word. Find the special password you learned in the Emergency Come When Called Class. In spite of the adrenaline and its cousin, cortisol, your brain finds the word, sends the information to your larynx, and you bellow out that special, life-saving word.

We practice, practice, and practice more, sounding out the word in fear-motivated moments. Part of the practice is for the dog, and part is for your brain. Your brain needs to rehearse this word in moments, sometimes just a fraction of one, when your dog's life is in danger.

Today, when you call your dog from sleep, while he's playing with toys, or eating his dinner, imagine the worst. Your brain won't know it's only a rehearsal. Picture your dog in the busy street, running toward the neighborhood 'bad dog,' investigating a hunk of marijuana or nosing at a bat flapping on the sidewalk. Got the picture? Now, blast out the word, and it's better brain training than any crossword puzzle.

You can save your dog. I know it and so does your brain.