Wont come in the house!!!

Hi,
I have 2 labs. One lab is a little over a year old and the other is 14 weeks.

We lived in a house for a long period of time that did not have a fenced in yard so when taking my 1 year old lab out he was always with us on a leash. We recently moved into a house that has a fenced in back yard, my 1 year old lab will NOT come in the house when called.
I have tried a lot of methods, taking him out on the leash and giving him a treat everytime we come inside.
When he decides to come inside on his own give him a treat.

He will refuse to come in the house, even when his favorite treats are shown to him, he will run around the back yard until my husband and I can somehow corner him and he gives up when he knows he cant get out of the situation.

HELP WITH ANY SUGGESTIONS. We have started taking him out by leash again but I want him to be able to roam the yard with the other dogs but he will not coroperate!!

It would be helpful to see a video of him when he's doing this, that way we can see his body language and try to help pin point his problem with coming inside.
It could be as simple as he's enjoying being out too much, or that he's learnt if he refuses to come in he gets treats and possibly a good game of chase, or it could be that something is scaring him.

What is his recall normally like?
Does he shy away at coming inside while he's on his lead?

No he doesn't shy away from coming in the house when he's on his lead. I believe he is associating coming in the house into meaning going to his crate because that is what happens early in the AM when it's time for my husband and I to go to work. We would love to let him run around the house while we are gone but he is no completely out of his destructive puppy stage. He acts like he's scared when we tell him to come into the house, tucks his tail and runs around the yard. Then when we do try to corner him sometimes he acts like it's a game, when he sees us getting upset with him then he acts shy again because he thinks he's in trouble. I have thought about a obedience collar but I have never used one and want to use that as an ABSOLUTE past resort.

Net time he refuses to come in, shut the door and walk away, keep an eye on him from a place where he can't see you. He will come to the door when he wants to come in, then he comes in on YOUR terms. Do it just before a mealtime, so he is hungry, then when you do let him in (make him wait) he has his meal. In the mornings whilst this is going on then you'll have to keep him on his lead to ensure you can get him back in the house successfully. Not sure what sort of 'obedience' you are expecting if he gets a shock everytime he is outside or won't come to you, that will reinforce his belief that it is not a good thing in the first place and he will be even less inclined to want to co-operate

Labs are sensitive dogs , whatever reason he had for not coming in before , it seems that now that judging by his body language , it is the situation of you trying to catch him and corner him that is is worrying him. he has become fearful.

His body language is genuine , he isn't acting .
When a dog is in a difficult or stressful situation they well do one of the four F's . Fight , Flee , Freeze or faff/fiddle/ around.

The running away with tail tuck is fleeing , acting like its a game is faffing becauese he feels trapped and doesn't know what to do . When he senses you are upset or angry the acting "shy" he acts appeasively to avoid confrontation.

Just for now, It would be best to long line him or put him on a lead to prevent this situation from happening and becoming worse .
I know you would love him to run loose but its stressing you all out and damaging the relationship with your dog.

You could try staying in the house and using a whistle to call him in.

You have to condition him to it first . I use one for my dogs.
Start off indoors , near your dog just blow two pips and give (or drop it near you if he wont approach you) a really tasty treat to him , keep repeating . You can also give two pips before you give him his dinner. You dont need to say anything or fuss him.
Then try further away and then when he is in another room. when he responds quickly from different locations indoors , let him outside (on a trailing lead )just before his dinner and leave his dinner bowl in its normal place but you stay in the house . Give the two pips and see if he comes in . Hopefully he come in will run to his dinner bowl and you can close the back door while he is eating .

Once he is indoors does he try to run out again?

If he doesnt come in , go into the garden and try it there , drop the treat close to you so that when he picks it up, you can calmly get hold of the training lead .

If you garden has a lot of shrubs you might want to use a harness instead of a collar and trailing lead in case it catches .

Another point is that you have recently moved into a new house and new routine , your lab was habituated to being on the lead.
This is a massive change and stress for him and sometimes the smallest thing such as the not being on the leash and led back into the house could throw him. Change can cause uncertainty which might have led to his reluctance.

Sometimes it can be as simple as that.
I feel if he didnt want to go back in that he would also show signs of reluctance to enter your home when he is on the lead , such as hanging back.
if you feel it is because he doesnt like is crate , is there anything you can to do to make it better for him. You can pen off a section of a room rather than crate for example.

I would take him out on a leash (for now) when you know he'll have to go in his kennel afterwards.

Then, practice working on "come!" when you don't have to end the fun by bringing him inside. So, work on this for maybe 5 mins here and there in the evenings or on weekends or whatever it might be.

He really wants to stay outside and play, so use that as a reward.

Here's what I'd do for 5-min sessions here and there:

- Put him on a long rope you can grab if needed and head outside with him. Let him run.
- Call him (with something like chicken or meatballs on hand)
- He'll probably come running. If not, you can "reel him in" with the rope.
- Reward with a piece of the food and then let him run around some more!

If you keep doing this, he'll learn to associate positive things with coming when called. He gets food rewards that are worth it, and the "Fun" doesn't end.

Good luck!