Help! Please help us figure this behavior out!!!!

[Caro]

Just out of curiousity:

Are you sure he wants to come in as opposed to wanting you to come out? Maybe he wants to play outside? Jake would be outside all day long if we let him and often takes his time coming back in.

Yes, it does sound like he wants you to come out. Deska went through a stage when he would bark and then I would go outside to get him and he would turn it into a game of chase, even tho I would be fuming.

Firstly, Rommey is still in adolescence so part of it may be that crazy phase they go through (Deska settled down after a while). Plus, could be winter cabin fever.

If he doesnt come in straight away then leave him outside. It gets boring outside alone, eventually. I wouldnt use treats to entice him in, I would only give him a treat when he comes inside. Atm you coming out is probably more rewarding than a treat. Also when he comes inside play a little game with him. If its attention seeking behaviour then give him the attention when he is inside, make it fun to come inside. If you want to entice him inside then open the door, ignore him but start playing a game or rolling a ball, squeaking a toy inside - show him that the fun is inside the door not outside.

Can't help you with the long line, mine have access to a dog door when I let them outside. But when working on Deska's outside barking I put a short lead on him (just short enough so it doesnt drag), so it was easier to catch him - he gets dragged inside without a word so any attention seeking behaviour isnt rewarded.

One other thing. I whistle my dogs inside - they respond really well to a whistle (i have a special 'come' whistle). Train them to the whistle the same way you would train a clicker. Start by whistling and then giving a treat to 'charge' the whistle, then, if it is winter try it inside the house first - when you are in another room whistle to him and when he comes, give him a treat. Once he is responding every time you can move it to outside and try whistling him in.

Good luck.

 

[SheltieChe]

save some really high value treats, put him on the leash and practice walking in and out of the house, every door, including the one he does not come. Make sure there is something nice waiting for him inside, like his favorite toy to tug for few minuts or chewy, keep repeating ad nauseatum until he has no trouble following your command in or out on the leash... if he has some problem being spooked by reflections etc it will desensetize him enough not to be afraid anymore....
if he just wants you to come outside because he is bored to run alone, start going out playing with him outside, putting him on the leash and coming indoor. Once you indoor, play some other interesting game for few minuts or spend some time doing his favorite activities indoor as well to let him know that fun is where you are and not where he is...

 

[4sheltie]

thanks to everyone for writing back with all of your suggestions. i can't tell you how much i appreciate all of the tips. per my original post, romney is our 4th sheltie and before this happened, we always prided ourselves on understanding a sheltie's messaging.

we had thought about using a run but we had preferred not to go that route because we're afraid that he would get all tangled up since he does run around in circles when he gets excited. what i think we're going to have to do is to get some additional makeshift fencing and just have him contained in a smaller area of our yard. (not a pen - we would use fencing to set up an additional barrier) this way, while we're attempting to stop this habit, we won't have a 4 hour episode like we had last week since it would take much less time to pick up him to bring him inside if we had to.

the toughest challenge about trying to change romney's behavior is the fact that he really doesn't respond well to treats. he certainly will eat the treat if it's readily available but a treat alone just doesn't seem to motivate him to obey a command. All of our other shelties would do ANYTHING for a treat - but not romney.

there is no pattern here. for the 10% of the times when romney enters the door like nothing has ever happened, it's for random people at random times. when this first started happening, we made sure only to have water and not food outside for romney because when he was cold/hungry he did eventually come in. last night, my husband sat outside for almost 20 minutes until romney decided that it was "ok" to snuggle with him. (we're from massachusetts so it's cold outside at night!)

i don't think romney was hurt at the door. when he gets in his "trance" where he refuses to come in. it looks like he's having a phobic reaction to something and it does not look like he's playing a game with us and/or wants us to come outside to play with him.

we've tried using the mechanism on the door to prop it open and we've also tried covering the glass door itself with wallpaper so that he's not seeing any kind of reflection. on occasion, when we've left the door open and we haven't been there, romney has come in by himself but when he sees that we've seen this he'll try and run back outside. we can't leave the door wide open for an extended period of time because we live in massachusetts and our heating bill would be much, much too high!

when romney does come in we've always given him plenty of love and kisses.

i agree with everyone that it's very important to be firm. we have been looking romney in the eye and leaving treats on the ledge of the doorway and, moving forward, we'll try calling him without looking him in the eye. i also think that walking him on a leash through the door a couple of times is an excellent suggestion that we'll try. romney LOVES going on a leash and, perhaps, that will help him relate going in and out of the door with a positive experience.

again, i want to thank everyone soooooooo much for taking the time to offer us suggestions.

 

[SheltieGuy]

my pup is the same way he comes to the door ..not to come in.... but for me to come out with him and play.... and I do play outside with him a little (as long as i can take the cold weather) ..Snickers doesnt understand that I get cold and he doesnt with his big furry coat!! But once i give him a firm "come on" he gets the idea that there is no more playtime for now and comes in.

 

[Strider]

thanks to everyone for writing back with all of your suggestions. i can't tell you how much i appreciate all of the tips. per my original post, romney is our 4th sheltie and before this happened, we always prided ourselves on understanding a sheltie's messaging.

we had thought about using a run but we had preferred not to go that route because we're afraid that he would get all tangled up since he does run around in circles when he gets excited. what i think we're going to have to do is to get some additional makeshift fencing and just have him contained in a smaller area of our yard. (not a pen - we would use fencing to set up an additional barrier) this way, while we're attempting to stop this habit, we won't have a 4 hour episode like we had last week since it would take much less time to pick up him to bring him inside if we had to.

the toughest challenge about trying to change romney's behavior is the fact that he really doesn't respond well to treats. he certainly will eat the treat if it's readily available but a treat alone just doesn't seem to motivate him to obey a command. All of our other shelties would do ANYTHING for a treat - but not romney.

there is no pattern here. for the 10% of the times when romney enters the door like nothing has ever happened, it's for random people at random times. when this first started happening, we made sure only to have water and not food outside for romney because when he was cold/hungry he did eventually come in. last night, my husband sat outside for almost 20 minutes until romney decided that it was "ok" to snuggle with him. (we're from massachusetts so it's cold outside at night!)

i don't think romney was hurt at the door. when he gets in his "trance" where he refuses to come in. it looks like he's having a phobic reaction to something and it does not look like he's playing a game with us and/or wants us to come outside to play with him.

we've tried using the mechanism on the door to prop it open and we've also tried covering the glass door itself with wallpaper so that he's not seeing any kind of reflection. on occasion, when we've left the door open and we haven't been there, romney has come in by himself but when he sees that we've seen this he'll try and run back outside. we can't leave the door wide open for an extended period of time because we live in massachusetts and our heating bill would be much, much too high!

when romney does come in we've always given him plenty of love and kisses.

i agree with everyone that it's very important to be firm. we have been looking romney in the eye and leaving treats on the ledge of the doorway and, moving forward, we'll try calling him without looking him in the eye. i also think that walking him on a leash through the door a couple of times is an excellent suggestion that we'll try. romney LOVES going on a leash and, perhaps, that will help him relate going in and out of the door with a positive experience.

again, i want to thank everyone soooooooo much for taking the time to offer us suggestions.

I'm still thinking the long line is going to be your key to success here. Be very gentle, obviouslly. Don't yank him in, just call him one time and guide him in to the house.

On the treats issue, Deja is about the pickiest dog I've ever owned. I took her into Petco at 4 months and had her sample every treat they had for sale and she snubbed them all. I now do hotdog treats with her, diced up and baked.. sounds exotic but honestly we do a turkey hot dog packet of 18 dogs every two weeks, takes about an hour to prepare and costs 4 bucks but every dog that tries them loves them.

Experiment with Romney. See if you can't find something he really likes and turn it into a treat.

 

[clancyh8sabby]

I think making his potty area smaller could help..just don't get caught up in the chase me game...calmly and quietly walk him down and bring him if he refuses to come in on his own.

What?? A Sheltie who doesn't want COOKIES!! LOL
Does he like a toy...a ball maybe?? Something that can be tossed or play tug with??

I know its frustrating!!

Julie
Clancy & Abby

 

[Toffee's Mom]

great advice, everyone
I am with Justicemom, so not going to repeat what she already eloquently said!

I have ALSO used the 'IN' command as opossed to 'poisoning' any other command, like a come(straight come, sitting in front) or here (just get close to me, can jump up and be foolish)...

If he Rommney doesn't like treats, maybe you can try toys, or running away from him.. Toffee usually cannot resist chasing either a ball or a tug rope or me... if thrown fast... and maybe in addition try playing in the door area etc?