Being played by the puppy!

[pantsjustpants]

I'm just about screaming with frustration!!!

7 month old dpup has developed the most annoying habit. She's gone out in the garden and now we have to play cat and mouse plus bribery to get her in. She came in, nabbed her treat and legged it back out before I could get the door shut . She's still out there now.....

The main thing is, I need for her to come in when I want her to. As I have things I need to get to on time, school/work, so it needs to be my terms and not hers. Please help!

What breed is she?

Mine does this a tiny bit but he's only 5 months so calling him in for a treat and then shutting the door works atm but I am weary of trying times ahead. Have you tried calling her further into the house and distracting her while the door is shut?
Sounds like she's hit her teens so all part of the rebellion! Hope you get her in soon!

Can you get her to come in and sit before you give the treat? Then you can shut the door while she is waiting for the treat.
I have to say with mine I have the crate door directly in front of the back door so she goes straight from the garden into her crate, so she doesn't get muddy paw prints everywhere. The garden is a quagmire!

I meant to say, when she doesn't want to come in I drop a treat at the back of the cage so I can shut the door behind her.

She's a Springer/Patterdale cross, so pretty intelligent and a real problem solver, as she's proved today!

She's not a fan of her crate, so would have to be a mega high value treat. She's definitely hit her teens....just as ds turns 3. Awesome!!!

Mine likes her crate, but she's almost 6 months so admittedly we aren't into the teens yet! I'm burying my head in the sand about that tbh, and the spaying She's been a nightmare puppy, so adolescence isn't gonna be peachy is it?

Can you ignore her completely until she really really wants attention and will come in to get some plus treat? Sounds like she thinks it is brilliant game!

Call her in, then as she approaches the door scatter a handful of delicious treats inside, away from the doorway, so she has to come inside to hoover them up and you can shut the door behind her. That will get her in in an emergency.

If what you're wanting is her to come in from the garden as soon as she is called, it's recall you need to be working on. I'd recommend a whistle (Acme whistles are pretty cheap on Ebay). Select a signal she can learn to associate with meaning 'get back here immediately - something fantastic is about to happen' (often something like three short pips/toots) and start doing it as soon as you give her he meals, every single time. Also prepare some super tasty treats - and I mean they have to be extra special, so things like a big chunk of freshly cooked, still warm meat, a whole tin of sardines or foil tray of cat/dog food, a great big handful of her favourite smaller treats scattered right across the floor etc. Start of by giving her the treats and peeping/tooting your chosen signal at the same time and when you're sure she's made the necessary association between whistle and treat, start using the whistle to call her to you from just a couple of steps away or across the room, building up to the next room, then two rooms away, then perhaps upstairs and back in from the garden. If she's not food orientated you can do the same, but use toys/games/whatever she loves most to form the positive association.

That is a very condensed version of how to get started, but I'd really recommend getting hold of a copy of Total Recall and following it's easy to follow step-by-step programme, as it really is very simple.

I would also have a think about your general relationship and how you can make yourself more interesting/fun to her so she really wants to come back to you, as that's the most rewarding/fun place to be. Lots of short, fun clicker training sessions (check out Kikopup's videos on YouTube for ideas) plenty of fun, a bottomless treat pocket so you can capture and reward her whenever she does anything you like and want her to repeat etc. Basically just work on building a solid bond with her so she naturally wants to be with you.

Yeah, what moosemama said (not what I said )! I have the Total Recall book - it's ace.

Our pup pulls this one on my husband all the time! Not really me though! My husband just says get on with it then and shuts the door, which I feel, is exactly what pup wants. When he's done it to me I'm out there with a treat and then I've picked him up. Now if he tried to leg it up the path I call him and he comes. But he knows hubs will just shut the door and he'll get his own way!

I will definitely get a copy, thanks moosemama. I got Pippa Mattinson's puppy book as I always planned to move n to Total Recall having seen it on here.

Her recall is pretty good on the whole, but obviously always room for improvement! We had lovely game with her tennis ball earlier, she's very ball orientated.

Thank you all for your advice.

I have a ball obsessed PatterdaleX , he is not allowed balls at home ,they are kept for walks . If yours is ball obsessed use the ball to get her in and let her have it indoors for a couple of minutes play but then take it away until the next visit to the garden .