My dog wont come inside???

Question

I have an 11 week old puppy. I adopted her from a shelter and who knows what kind of life she had. She loves everyone, but you can't move too quick towards her because she'll get scared. I have a fenced in yard and it is perfect for her and she loves it!!! The problem is...is that she waits by the door when she is done, or whatever...and then when i call her to come in, she will come right up to the door and she just wont enter. She is like a foot away from entering and she doesnt. She looks scared of me and afraid to come inside. I live in Chicago and it is cold so i cant keep her out there for more than like 10 minutes with all the snow on the ground and i cant keep the door open for a substantial amount of time either. What should I do to train her to come in when i open the door? Why is she afraid? I dont yell or hit and she sleeps in her cage at night. She naps with me all day. She is perfect, she just wont come inside. So i have to go out there and get her. Please help!

Yeah I am pretty sure she was taken from her mother too early because the shelter said they found the litter of pups. I do try to hold a treat out for her and she is soo cute...she just stand up to the entance and tries to reach and stretch out her body to try and reach them...I just need a couple of more ideas

Oh yeah, i got her Friday...do you think once she gets used to the new family and me, and knows that we wont be mean, she will come in more willingly?

Answer 1

Relax, dogs will do this for many reasons. I know mine does this when he wants me to come outside and play with him. It is unlikely that this is an abuse issue because you would see other signs. The dog is young and many young dogs are afraid of the big looming person in front of them and sudden moves.

I would start by offering a treat. If she is still unwilling I would sit down. Wait no more then a minute and if it doesn't work shut the door and wait. When she is cold she will come inside to the warmth. When she is inside work on recalls and then spend some time training the recall outside. She should quickly catch on that when you call her she comes and gets a treat.

Good luck and if the problem persists post again for more suggestions. Also make sure to tell us what you have tried and what has not worked. That way we can better offer advice for your situation.

*Edit* It sounds like you need to train a recall and be patient. I don't think abuse because like you said the litter was together and at the shelter. She may be scared because mom never got to build their confidence. You can also try putting the treat on the ground inside the door where she can see it and then walk away. You can also take her out on a long leash and then when ready to go inside calmly walk her beside you into the house. Once you are inside praise her and reward.

You just got her and this is all new. She needs time and patience most of all.

Answer 2

I once had an elderly lady for a friend. She had a wonderful little dog. A mix of some sort. She had the dog trained well and it behaved very well. Learn here https://tr.im/MXChN

She kept an uncovered candy dish on her coffee table with candy in it. The dog was forbidden to eat the candy. When she was in the room observing the dog he did not even appear to notice the candy. One day while she was in her dinning room she happened to look in a mirror and could see her dog in the living room. He did not know he was being watched. For several minutes he was sitting in front of the candy bowl staring at the candy. Finally he reached in and took one. He placed it on the table and stared at it, he woofed at it. He stared some more, licked his chops and PUT IT BACK in the bowl and walked away. Did he want the candy, oh yeah. Did he eat it? Nope. They can be trained that well but most, I'll admit, are not trained that well. When I was a young boy, maybe 5 years old. We had a german shepherd. He was very well trained also. My mom could leave food unattended on the table, no problem. She would open the oven door and set a pan roast beef or roast chicken on the door to cool. No problem. He would not touch it, watched or not. But butter? Whole other story. You leave a stick of butter anywhere he could reach and it was gone. He was a large shepherd so there were not many places he could not reach. Really, I think the number of dogs trained to the point they will leave food alone when not being supervised is very small indeed.
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Now if we are talking obedience training, not food grubbing, that is a different story. Way back when I was first learning obedience training one of the final exercises was to put our dogs in a down/stay and not only leave the room but leave the building for 15 minutes. The only person that stayed was our trainer, not the owners. Most of the dogs in my class did not break their stay, which would be an automatic fail. I'm happy to report my dog was one of the ones that passed.

Answer 3

I have a one year old dog that is exactly like this. Sometimes she absolutely will not come in when I open the deck door. We have two other dogs that come in and out with her, but she just stands there sometimes. I found that just shutting the door and then opening it again in a few minutes does the trick. Also, try not standing in front of the door, but sort of off to the side. She may have been scolded for coming inside by her previous owner. Just speak to her in a soft voice and encourage her. Also try giving her a treat when she does come in as requested. This will let her know that it is a good thing.

Best of luck to you.

Answer 4

Hi, I understand that you are looking for some advice or resources to help fully train your dog or fix behavior problems. If a professional dog trainer is not an option at this time, or if you want to trt training your dog on your own (a great way to bond), I'd suggest you https://biturl.im/aUNHz

A friend recommened it to me a few years ago, and I was amazed how quickly it worked, which is why I recommend it to others. The dog training academy also has as an excellent home training course.

Answer 5

My 10 yo shihtzu started doing this in Feb and died right before Easter. Now I have this dog I found in July who is doing the same thing and it scares me. She is outside shivering. She likes cold weather and has a thick coat but something is wrong. We have a doggie door. I bring her in and she goes right back out. The other 2 dogs don't even want to go outside because it is so cold. There are no candles or odors in the house that is bothering other 2 dogs.

Answer 6

Most rescue dogs have be tramatized usually by mistreatment or abuse. They become wary of people and of places. Being outside gives her security as shes not penned up in the house.
She needs time and training. The easiest way to get her to come in is to bait her. Stand inside the door with a treat. As she enters the door close it and give her the treat, praise heavily. If this doent work at first try getting her to come to you outside using bait. then try it inside again. You may have to do this for a while. I have multiple dogs who at times dont want to come in and I use bait to speed up the process.

Answer 7

Ive been there. I used to do voluntary work for a social organisation taking care of animals.

My puppy (now seven years old) was beaten badly on her back and abandoned on the streets. Her back bone broke and she was really almost dead. She is a fighter and the docs were surprised that she made it. Now she wasnt too pretty, lack of proper nutrition with neglect was all showing badly on her.

No one watned her and so my mom and i decided to take her in. She is a very well tempered dog, doesnt bite, isnt a mess. But she had many many many bad habits. She would start screaming in the night, sometimes go in teh hallway, tear some book she found lying on teh couch. Now, she is very very well mannered. She never goes in teh house, never screams at night and is such a pretty treasure to have.

She was so scared when she was young, she would start shivering even when one of us raised our voices. It was like she was a retard, couldnt even get basic commands.

All we did was love her. No pressure, nothing. If she didnt come inside, someone just went out and guided her in; if she dirtied the hallway, someone just showed it to her and said no in a loud curt voice. it took her about two years to change.

It's not easy living with an inconfident dog at first. But we cuddled her a lot and now she is really really confident. Infact i think in some ways she is also a role model to me. She's seen such bad days, she hung in there and things changed for her. She didnt know how to interact with humans, she changed herself and learnt, and she was so damn scared, she has conquered most of her fears.

We call her Pari. In Hindi, it means an angel.

Answer 8

Be patient - she is just a scared little baby. She is in a new environment and is not completely comfortable yet. You said yourself that you don't know what kind of life she has had. Maybe she was hit when she came in before -- you don't know!

Keep carrying her in until she does it herself. You can also try to coax her in with a treat or toy. You can try throwing a ball and see if she goes after it. Praise her and love her up each time she does. She will learn quickly.

Answer 9

If it's a puppy, you'll want to carry her in. Carrying is how bitches would teach their litter, as well as show discipline. eventually she'll figure it out.

You can also try bribing with treats, but then she may come to expect a treat and start going out just to come back and get one.

Remember to stay Alpha and be consistent in showing your dog what you expect from her. Be gentle but firm. Don't give up. Eventually she'll get it and become a great dog.

Answer 10

when you got the dog from the shelter, maybe the life it had before was bad since it is real jumpy when you move fast. and maybe it has a memory of something that happened inside so its afraid to come back in or something. the advice i would give you is when she is ready to come back in, leave the door open and walk away from the door and see if she will come in...if so maybe she thinks of you as a threat or something. if not then try food or a favorite toy