Both my dogs are very attached to me & both suffer with some separation anxiety. Echo has a good reason for his separation anxiety. I know that him & 3 of his siblings (sisters) were found in the hunting part of State Park in the late summer. Sadly by the time they were discovered they were close to starving, thankfully they stayed together & were rescued. They were about 4-5 months old then & didn’t get there on their own, they were dumped. I’m sure they were frightened & missing their mother whom they had always lived with. All the pups went to a shelter, but they were full, so they reached out & a Humane society said they would take them. They were all vaccinated, altered & taken care of & then adopted out. Echo was adopted with one of his sisters, but sadly approx 6 months later they were returned (no fault of theirs). His sister was adopted the day before I went to meet Echo. So in his short life, he was dumped, scared, almost starved to death, taken to a shelter, then adopted, returned (into a new foster home), his sister goes away & then he gets adopted into my home. He was not previously taught any comments, not even his name at the time, learning helps to build confidence as they learn & get praised for doing so. Echo adores his dog brother Hunter, & he has learned a lot & has matured & very bonded to myself & Hunter.
Because he is so attached to me he hates when I leave & don’t take him with me. He is smart & he picks up on routines quite fast. He knows I usually make breakfast shortly before I leave & they go outside to our fenced yard to go potty before I leave. He knows he has to come in so I can leave, but he started to refuse to come in & would look around as though I wasn’t calling his name. If I would go outside he would run & avoid me & act like it was a game. He usually will come when called under most circumstances, except not this one. He has been allowed to roam free while on some vacations & I can call him & blow a dog whistle & he comes running back every time. I have had to call my dog sitter on a couple occasions & ask her to come by & let him in. He will go right to her & inside, guess he figures “I didn’t stop mom from leaving, might as well go inside now.” I decided I need to come up with some ideas of how to get him to come inside when I need him to come in. Here are some suggestions if you have this issue.
- Teach your dog a realizable recall (to always come when called), please only use positive reinforcement training.
- Reward your dog every time he/she comes to you (wear a treat pouch, so you are always ready), this will only work with a dog who is food motivated.
- Attach a long line to your dog’s collar. I recommend a very light weight line such as a clothesline that is 8-10 feet long & allows them to drag it around. Don’t attach it to any solid object, let it drag. I tie a loop handle at one end & a hook to the other(to attach to the collar loop). It is sold in 25-100 foot lengths, so can make several & use one while another is being washed. If you use this method please monitor your dog to be sure they don’t get hooked on anything. You don’t want your dog’s neck getting strained or injured if jerked. I use a long line & if Echo gets hooked on anything he won’t really pull, but he will bark, so I know something is wrong. The idea of this line is to be light weight(thin) & give you a way to get your dog if the dog won’t come in when called. I find it so funny, but he comes when called when he has this line hooked to his collar. Actually he usually is at the door ready to come in when Hunter is.
4. You can toss a handful of treats on the floor inside, so when your dog comes in he/she is getting rewarded. They will soon learn that coming inside is rewarding. Dogs repeat what they get rewarded for.
5. Change up your routine, so the dog isn’t sure when you are leaving.
I hope these hints are helpful if you have this issue with your dog. I’d enjoy hearing anything else you may have done that worked with getting your dog to come inside when you need them to.
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Echoing Great Pet Care 