help
I have a 1 year old golden retriever, husky mix. Things have been challenging the last few months as we've navigated adolescence but we have reached a point where I'm unsure of how to proceed and my frustration grows increasingly by the day. We have a fence in yard and I let her out throughout the day (I work from home). I would say about 70% of the time she just refuses to come inside. We can be outside playing, she'll let me touch her and get close, but the moment she senses that I'm trying to lure her inside or I start walking towards the door she will instantly go on alert and refuse to come. Then she won't let me hear her. Treats do not work, neither do toys. I even have tried bacon as a lure- she does not care. I don't chase her because I don't want her to think it's a game.
I've tried attaching a 10 foot leash that drags behind her and makes her easier to catch, but this presents a safety hazard and I'm not comfortable relying on it 100% of the time. It's also something that she WILL pick up on and start avoiding all together. For awhile I had a baby doll that I could lure her with (she loves babies) but then she realized it wasn't real and now looks at me like I'm a fool for even trying it.
She legitimately will not come. She is extremely smart, and is very good at picking up patterns so part of me wonders if she is doing this because she knows what comes next is 1) her paws get wiped, and 2) she has to be inside.
For about 9 months she had excellent recall, so good in fact that I could take her to a park and let her off leash to explore a bit. One day though she saw a deer and took off, so it's been awhile since we've had that off leash time. Is that what's leading her to becoming frustrated and refuse to come in?? I wanted to work on her recall before we went fully off leash again but….were moving in the wrong direction. I'm truly at a loss here. I have been late to meetings and events because of this and it is starting to affect my bond with my dog. I don't want to be angry at her but when I'm late to a wedding because my dog won't come inside, we have a serious problem. Help!
submitted by /u/jrhodes4797
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