Well, my Ella is soooo stubborn!  She will even give me dirty looks.  She absolutely loves being outside and especially in the snow!  I take her for walks, I play with her outside and inside but she never wants to come back in.  Other than resorting to "dragging" her back in the house, I've had to actually pick her up and carry her in.  It's to the point now that all I have to say is "ok...I'm going to pick you up" and that gets her moving towards the house but only a few feet and then we repeat this process.  I have a small choke collar and have tried it.  It seems to work somewhat better but I don't like using it because I feel like I could hurt her little trachea.  Are all corgis stubborn like this?  Sheesh.  I'm starting to dread taking her out just because she is so stubborn about coming back in.  My shepherd goes out, does his duty and comes right back in for me.  Just wondering how many other corgi owners go through this. 

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We began potty training when we got Sophie by giving her a treat ASAP outside when she did her business. Now we wait until she gets in the house, so all I have to say is, "Time for your treat," and she heads to the back door. Re: dragging her by a collar --- that is not a good idea for her trachea or neck. Our vet (who also does chiropractic on animals) recommends a harness for a corgi (actually ALL dogs) to lessen pressure on the neck/back.

They mostly are. Remember, they herded cows and geese, and were general farm dogs (ratters and the like). A dog who backed down from the right thing when challenged was pretty worthless.

Teach her "let's go inside" means "we'll get a treat." I'd start by going out with a handful of small treats, wave them near her, when you have her attention say "Ella, inside!" in a happy voice, and head for the door. Then give her the treats once she is in. Chances are within a day or so she'll be looking to you quickly. After that, fade the lure (don't go out with treats in your hand) but do give her treats when you get in.

For the poster upthread, puppies have a strong den instinct and don't like to leave the home area. :-) That starts to fade somewhere between 5 months and a year or so.

I feel your pain, Becca is also very stubborn. I have trained her that she gets a treat when we come in, but some days she still lets me know that she would prefer to stay out. If I offer to give the treat to the cat it helps.

This sounds like how Kaylee was (and is sometimes still). I have some suggestions. 1) Have someone else run away from her inside and use their chase instinct. 2) Use a ball and roll or toss it towards home. 3) If yours is food motivated, perhaps a good treat will work.

The first two are the only ones that really work on Kaylee if she is being stubborn. We have to make going inside part of the game, especially if she just finished a game of fetch and is super tired.

Ella is not too old for class. I took Snickers to her first class when she was two. It was a beginner class, not a puppy class. Another thing that helped a lot was our learning Nothing in Life is Free -NILIF.  A suggestion I read in another thread was to make going inside part of the fun, not the end of the fun- go inside get treat- go right back out! repeat. My three dogs also know their names and don't go outside without being called. It does sound like she might benefit from more running around outside time, even on a long lead you can have fun running and chasing together.  My mix/rescue, Dolly, did not come when we got her at 4 years old, so we practiced on a long lead with a happy voice and lures, A LOT! Now she is good about coming when she is called. Ella won't learn instantly, but if you decide on a plan and stick with it, she will get it.

Abbey is almost 4 months old, and yes, she is very stubborn.  like the rest,  she loves the outdoors.  Getting her to come inside is quite a challenge.  But reading the posts here, gives me some good idea to try.  I wish you luck with Ella.

I appreciate everyone's responses!  I have some good ideas to try now.  I would love to get to the point where my Ella could actually go out with me unleashed and stay by me!!  I would love to see her be able to run all out and enjoy chasing a ball rather than only being able to run the length of her leash.  There is a lot of work to do but it will be worth it.  We've already practiced a few of your suggestions so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  Thanks again!  :) :)

 

If you have the room to let her chase balls and run full out, but cannot put up a physical fence (best option) you may consider an electric fence.  No amount of training is 100% reliable, it just stacks the odds in your favor.

Remember Cindy, the classes are more for your benefit than the dogs! Corgis are what I like to call "thinking dogs" (all working breeds tend to be). They hear a command and try to decide a) Is she right, b) should I do it, c) do I know what she wants, and c) what is in it for me.  My beagles used to say "HUH?",my Doberman says "Huh, I will try", my Golden Retriever said "yes!" and my Standard Poodle said "absolutely and I will do it even more!! Dogs bred to work with or independently of humans require positive and consistent training. It makes them great to train but easy to train the wrong things. Also lots of fun! Just remember with the training collar to instantly let up when she takes a step forward. Many trainers now are using a martingale type collar instead of the older "choke" collars. At least you know when she obeys she really intends to :)

 Exactly!   Although in Chewey's case his first response always seems more like  "What's in it for me?" ;->

All the corgis and shepherds in my family can be quiet stubborn, because they're smart and they know they can get away with not listening to you.  And they're all really ADHD too. "OMG...look, a horse!  I'm going to herd that horse!!!  Whoa, that's a big bird in the tree! I HEAR THE NEIGHBORS!!!!!! What was I supposed to be doing?  AHH!  I don't care!!!  I GOING TO SEE THE NEIGHBORS!!!!! Oh, wait, what is that I see?  OMG....ANOTHER DOG!!!!! MUST GET DOG!!!!" (My interpretation of the herding dog thought process).

But there is a secrete weapon - DOGGIE TREATS.  Tasty treats trump all other things.  I use treats to bribe Fauna all the time, otherwise she'd never come inside.  Sometimes she'll come inside without them, but only if the chickens aren't out, or someone isn't walking down the street, or the squirrels are sleeping...pretty much only if I'm the most exciting thing around, then she'll listen without a treat.

I had this same problem with Fae, and found that getting near the door and calling her to come with treat in hand helped. I also would walk into the house after getting her on the porch and then call her again and offer her a treat for coming. Now I don't need to use treats at all, it still sometimes takes me saying "inside" several times before she will come up onto the porch and come in, but she does not pull and fight to stay out!

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