# Dog refuses to go back inside



## unia (Jan 22, 2011)

Hello all.
I have a huge problem with my dog.

I'm not sure how much information is needed, so feel free to ask if something is missing. She is a mixed breed, and she is 5,5 years old. I have had her since she was just a few days old. 
While she was a puppy we kept her inside, but after some months we took her back out. Since about two years she has been staying inside again, and in September I moved to a new city, alone with her, to a new appartment. We go out 2-3 hours every day.

The thing is that she was always spoiled. I know, it's my mistake. If she wants to go out right now, I have to frget about everything and do it, she won't eat dog food at all, and all these things. But these don't bother me as much because I'm used to it.

She also LOVES being outside. I have to take her out 4-5 times/day and since we moved here she made it cler she doesn't want to come in. Sometimes it was a bit hard to convince her, but usually it worked.

But now, since a few days, she is being impossible. We came back inside just now, after staying in front of the door 37 minutes. She just sits down, refuses to move, and growls at me and bites me and all that. She is too heavy for me to carry her, and she would bite me if I tried anyway. She also knows how to escape that collar, and manages to do it almost all the time.
Now it's even worse, because yesterday she had a hernia surgery. She seems fine now, and acts almost normal, but I am defintely not comfortable about her running on the street when there are cars so soon, I am too worried because of the operation.

Soon I will have to go back to school, and the thing is that, now that she knows that this works, she will keep trying to do it all the time. And I can't go to school one hour late or so every day just because of that. It's a problem anyway, because I hate pulling her around and forcing her like that. 

So please, someone suggest me something to do. I'm terrified of going out and her escaping in the dark again, and it's cold and everything. Force doesn't work, she won't listen to me, and I doubt that trying to bribe her with some food would work either. But when you're fighting with her 37 minutes just to go through a door it's so frustrating and annoying. Thank you.


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## beverley (Oct 7, 2010)

do you reward her when she does eventually come back? i know it can be hard and really frustrating but i think you should reward every good thing she does then she has a reason to come back


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## unia (Jan 22, 2011)

^Well no, I could try but it won't work unless she will want to come inside on her own. In the last few days the only way I managed to get her in was by picking her up or something. There's no way she's coming inside unless she doesn't have a choice.
We just came back for another walk, of 50 minutes. Then it took me 20 more to get her inside, and that was just by luck because she was distracted by something (and this doesn't happen too often) and I just took advantage of it and grabbed her arm and pulled her inside. She made way too much noise though, and it broke my heart, anyone not knowing what I was doing to her would think I was hurting her really hard or something. And using this is not helping at all anyway, not to mention it's not good for any of us to use force whenever we want something.


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## beverley (Oct 7, 2010)

maybe if you start by calling her to you indoors then rewarding her when she does come, practice,practice,practice then try the same thing outside. she will soon learn that when she does as you ask her she is rewarded for it.


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## Shandwill (Jul 23, 2010)

The first thing I would do is fit her with a new collar, something like a no-slip, that she cannot escape! If she were to get hit by a car, all the other suggestions you're going to get would be for naught. You mentioned she recently had surgery, so I would think that some of her "attitude" could be due to pain/discomfort or confusion caused by meds. How much exercise is she getting each day? My dogs tend to be more agreeable when they're tired and content from a good, long walk. You also mentioned that she doesn't eat dog food...what does she eat? Hang in there, I'm sure you'll get tons of feedback!


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## Clamothe (Jan 20, 2011)

unia said:


> If she wants to go out right now, I have to frget about everything and do it,"
> 
> What if you don't?
> 
> ...


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

My question would be .. what are you doing with the dog, INSIDE ?

If the dog is regularly enjoying 50 min walks outside etc, then comes back home and the fun stops ... ???


Make being inside more fun than being outside, somehow .. perhaps at the end of your walk throw a favourite toy through the threshhold and proceed to engage in a rousing game of tug etc. 

INSIDE = fun games, mental stimulation, high value treats, interaction with you, and so on

OUTSIDE = well, .... boring as boring can be


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