[Dyerryjex]

So i adopted my sisters dog, which was my sisters since the dog was 8 weeks old. Ive now had her for 4 months and have had the same problem: getting her to come back inside the house (or even come to me) when in the backyard.

I can leave my front door wide open and outside to my front yard, say "stay," and she will stand inside and not come out. If i say "come," she will come to me in the front yard and listen to me even when off leash in the front yard when i tell her "come inside," and walk back in my house.

But when im in my backyard, it can take up to 45 hours to get her to even get close enough to me to where i can grab her by the collar and bring her back inside. She completely ignores any command and only runs away, thinking youre trying to play with her. Even if i slowly approach her and try to get her to follow me inside, she will just run whereever she wants and do what she wants.


My sister told me she had the same problem the whole time she had her (shes about 18 months old now) and shed have to hold a treat in her hand to get her inside, which still took a long time because shed run up to her hand and run away again.

I understand that this can happen if a dog doesnt get enough exercise, but this will happen even after i take her on a 5 mile bike ride with her running full speed the entire time, coming home completely warn out. She is just 100% disobedient in the backyard.

Any ideas on how to resolve this???

[ValdisSeroff]

Keep her on a leash or long line, so you can reel her in when you tell her to. Don't approach her, as you're just playing her game.

[Drugsonl]

I'd be keeping her leashed on a 10-15' (or longer) long line any time she's in the backyard. That way, she can still "think" she's free, but if she tries to run, you can just step on the line and catch her. Sounds like she's figured out that whenever you get near her in the yard, the fun ends. So you need to re-program her a bit.. take her outside multiple times a day and work on recall.. if she's food motivated, bring the best food ever. Toy motivated, bring her favorite toy as a reward for coming to you. And don't end the game at the same time.. so maybe do 3 recalls, reward, then go inside, next time, do 5 recalls, switch it up. That might help

---------- Post added at 04:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:33 PM ----------

Keep her on a leash or long line, so you can reel her in when you tell her to. Don't approach her, as you're just playing her game.

GET OUT OF MY BRAIN!

[ValdisSeroff]

GET OUT OF MY BRAIN!

It's that "great minds" thing, ya know?

[Drugsonl]

It's that "great minds" thing, ya know?

[Nesskissabe]

Jake used to do the same thing. Even to the point that if you went into the backyard with him, he would jump all over you and try to knock you down and then of course take off running. (We called them "Run By's) We determined that he needed more interaction with us while in the backyard. It was very easy to just throw the dogs out and do something else while they were outside. Once we started making a point to play and train while out there with him, the behavior starting becoming less and less. Now we do not have this issue, and he is happy to come in when we tell him it's time. AND he has a great recall. He's a lot more fun to hang out with in the backyard now. AND as everyone has said, DO NOT play their game. Start on a long line and work from there.

[Wachearex]

Yup, know this all too well! Aeris likes to do this as well. If a squeaker toy does not do the trick, I usually just close the door and walk away. Within minutes she is singing by the door to be let in.

[LxtdK9i4]

Great advice from everyone! It seems like the dog has been taught that running away and not coming back outside is the game he's supposed to play. The first thing you need to do is to NEVER call him unless you are 110% sure that he is going to come running to you immediately. Every time you call him and he doesn't respond only reinforces the idea that he doesn't have to respond. Keep the line on him until he comes every time you call him.
If he has a solid recall inside the house, take some really delicious, only special occasion treats out to work with him in the yard. I'd start all over again with a totally different word for "come". Whatever you use now he associates with ignoring you. Choose a different word (we use "HERE" or "RIGHT HERE" when we want them NOW). Get him used to responding in the house and then move outside in the yard with a long line. Don't let him get very far from you at all and then call him. When you call, run backwards and when he gets to you make it a huge party. Lots of treats, pets and excitement. As he learns more and gets the idea that responding to your call is a GOOD thing you'll be able to treat less often (every other time, then every 4th or 5th time, etc). It will take some practice but I bet he figures it out pretty quickly! It only took Jet a week or so of daily work to understand and have a reliable recall.

I'd also start playing your own game...Get him to chase YOU. One of the things I always do with my dogs is to never chase them and only let them chase me. This solves the "i need to catch the dog and every time I get close he runs away wanting to play" syndrome. Grab a toy he loves, show it to him and play the chase game with you as the target. It really does work!

[ValdisSeroff]

Yup, know this all too well! Aeris likes to do this as well. If a squeaker toy does not do the trick, I usually just close the door and walk away. Within minutes she is singing by the door to be let in.

But she's a saluki... it's different! LOL

Though ignoring the dog IS a really good trick - Zealand started to not come when I'd call him to follow me inside, so I just started walking away. Then he'd be like, "Wait, where are you going?!?!" and follow me lol

[Wachearex]

LOL! It is much different!!

She looks at me like, "Pfft! How dare thy lowly hominid command ME!" ...Until I walk away/disappear and then it's all like, "Oh shit. Alone! No fun! >.< I command ye to let me in! >.>"