As I’ve mentioned, Lilly’s recall at home has suffered of late, especially if she thinks she has to come inside. The problem got worse over the summer, but we seem to have turned a corner.
I wrote about our recall problem in August.
Since then, I’ve tried not taking any crap, walking up to her, leashing her up and bringing her in without a word. It worked, but it also made her afraid of the leash, so I stopped.
I’ve tried calmly taking her collar and walking her in, again without a word, but she’ll often flip over on her back, full-on submissive posture, then scream like I’m killing her for asking her to come inside. It got annoying after only a few tantrums, so I stopped that too.
I’ve tried just ignoring her when she lags behind or lays down rather than come with me inside. I come in, close the door and fuss on Ginko really loudly because he’ll never turn down an invite inside or out. Usually in about 30 seconds, Lilly is at the door asking to come in.
Sometimes, she still slinks away when I open the door, so I just close it again and go about my business. There are times when we repeat this process a few times before she’ll actually come in.
But, if she comes inside when I ask (rather than a formal recall), then we walk to the treats in the kitchen. The entire way there I sing the following over and over:
Lilly gets a puppy treat
Lilly gets a puppy treat
Lilly gets a puppy treat for coming inside.
I hand her several treats, one at a time, during my final chorus.
I’d like to think that this singing, walking, happy form of a jackpot is what’s getting her in the door more easily. But, the weather may also play a role. It’s already quite cold here, so staying outside alone isn’t as much fun.
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