[amdteamo]

We are expecting a baby in two months & I think all the rearranging in the house has messed with my dogs emotions. When we let him out at night to go potty & such before bedtime he no longer wants to come back in. Last night by far was the most frustrating for me. I feel we've tried so much. It's been getting worse for the last 3-4 weeks. We have used familiar words. "treat", "bedtime", "come", "walk", "dog park", "kennel up", "food" to cox him inside. We say "buddy is here" (his best dog friend), this has always worked if nothing will but not last night. We tried coxing him with a piece of cooked chicken, squeaky toys, treats, laser light. I tried shutting the door & turning off the porch light. He would sit at the door & bark but you open the door he wouldn't come in, you reach for him, he runs. My dog is (was) pretty well trained before the rearranging in the home due to the upcoming baby, but he still gets walked 5 days a week & we play frisbee daily still (no frisbee on rainy days). He still gets to sleep in bed with us. I don't understand this new misbehavior & am so frustrated with it. I can't stand a barking dog so leaving him out to bark I just can't do. We have several neighbors with sleeping children when he is misbehaving & I don't want to be inconciderate to thier families. Please help, how do I retrain him to come in at night when it's time?

[Jessica&Crew]

How old is your dog? He may be goiing through the behavior change for many reasons, or he may be attracted to something out there at certian time.

Are there any new dogs in the area?

If anything, redirecting his behavior may need to be done at the end of a leash for a while.

[amdteamo]

He is 2 & 1/2 years old. The behavior is only in the late evening after 900 pm. We try to let him out one more time before bedtime because in the past he's always needed that to sleep through the night.

I have wondered if there's a new dog in the neighborhood & I think there might be about 3-4 houses down. But no dog seems to be out at the time we're having our problem. He does seem to stay on one side of the yard & stare down towards the yard with the possible new dog we've noticed. My dog is nutured.

In the last couple days he only gets to go out on the leash for his last potty break of the day. He's not fond of it but it's better than what we were going through. He gets a treat as soon as he comes in & sits.

Thank you Anna

[sheltieluver]

I'm guessing it could be a number of things - changes in the house, a new dog in the neighborhood. Dogs can sense if things are changing and I'm assuming you are still giving him as much attention as you have before.
You mention he stares down at one part of the yard. Have you gone out there with him to see what he is attracted to? You may have to put him on a leash for his last time out at night and bring him back in with you that way. Other wise, I always took my dogs for a walk before bedtime if you could get someone to walk him before keeping him in for the night.

[slobberchops]

awwww bless , sounds to me like your dog may be attention seeking !! They pick up on so much that we dont even think about, he will know there are big changes going on in your life, it might be his way of letting you know he's a little bit worried so he acts out like a child for the attention

[alundy]

I think when he barks, he is saying "come pay attention to me". And when you open the door to let him in, he runs away to say "I'm not coming in, come outside and play!".

Maybe around 9pm instead of just letting him out you should take him outside, play fetch for 10 minutes, let him do his thing, and then go back in the house together. I would think that should help.

However make sure you play on your terms - ie. YOU initiate the playing - don't let him bully you into playing (ever). That will just perpetuate the habit.