Well, honestly, I had to completely give up on him and when he ran I had to just stop chasing and bribing and walk away. I walked away and I shut the door to where he only had to nudge it to open it. And I held my breath and waited. And he came back after like ten minutes. And each time this happened it got shorter. And now I actually open the door and if it's after 8:00pm , I let him do his sprint around the area and he comes right back. Sometimes he won't even take his freedom. Strange, huh? This progression took about a month from first giving up til now. We don't live in the best area, and we live on a fairly busy side street ... So it was risky. But if I chased him he just ran faster and avoided me completely. And when I stopped and he didn't have my familiar face and was faced with so much unknown, I guess he got scared and ran back home. Whatever it was, it worked. He doesn't always come on command mind you, but I guess I had to teach him that it wasn't always a negative thing when I called him to me. Now he comes running cause he knows he's not gonna be scolded or punished for it. Nonchalance worked wonders. |