My dog doesn't want to come home?

Question

My 10 year old pom has always been good about going out, doing his thing, and coming back home when called. But he has changed completely these past few days. I thought there may be a few reasons. My boyfriend came back from the ER, and ever since then, he's been acting this way. My bf has a cast on his leg and is walking on crutches. Would it be because of the hospital smell, or maybe he's afraid of the crutches? Another reason may be him trying to adapt to our new house. We've been living in this new house for about a month and a half. He's been good for this whole entire time... until now. What's worse is that he seems to want to run away. We've had him for about a year and a half, but the previous owner told us about this bad habit of his, and we are always good about it. We put him on a leash and watch after him very closely. There's no way he can run away. But I really don't understand why he's acting this way. His appetite and everything else is very normal. He just doesn't want to come back home!! Any advice??

Answer 1

Keep him on a leash when he is outside. It's a new place and he's probably just curious. He wants to look around and there's too much too see for him to bother coming back. The crutches may be bothering him a little bit. Watch his reaction around the crutches to see if he may be scared of them.

Answer 2

poor little guy has had lots of upsets in his little life. He is responding to the need to have things back to what he sees as normal.

The leash is great thanks for doing that. But he still wants to explore his surroundings since they are new. Some dogs just want to do a tour of the perimeter to make sure there are no intruders into his territory. But I really think that your baby is wanting to get things back to his normal.

Since this is not possible then keep on giving him lots of attention so that he understands that where you are is safe and its home and all is well in his world.

The last advice is this........never trust that he won't run away. He will not be running away in our sense of that term. He is just investigating and the trail leads away from your house which is not to his best interests as we see them.

Answer 3

My dogs are like that too. They like hanging out outside because it is interesting and there are lots of smells about. The best way to get your dog to come when called, is to make it really fun and worth his while to do so. Remember that you are competing with all the interesting smells and sights of the great outdoors.

First of all, practice calling to him inside the house. Go just a short distance away from him, crouch down, and call to him. When he comes to you, praise him well, and give him really good treats (I use sardines for recall). Just keep repeating this until your dog learns that coming to you when called is really really fun and good.

For now, put a long lead on him before he goes out. When you need him to come, call to him. If he doesn't come, use the lead to tug him in the right direction, and then release tension. Make sure to praise and treat him well when he comes to you on a loose leash.