SOMERVILLE, MA — Neighbors say the family dog on Maple Street continues to feign ignorance of the "come here" command, a pattern of willful noncompliance that residents described Monday as both predictable and inexorably entrenched.
Baxter, a 4-year-old mixed breed owned by local schoolteacher Erin Mulligan, has reportedly ignored the verbal summons on more than 300 documented occasions this year, according to a log Mulligan began keeping after the dog first did not respond to a simple call to come inside during a rainstorm last November. "You could see the syllables leave my mouth," Mulligan said. "He heard me. He just...didn't come."
The phenomenon of dogs selectively disregarding the "come here" command is not isolated, animal behaviorists and municipal officials told reporters. A nationwide study released in June by the Institute for Domestic Obedience found that 62 percent of neighborhood dogs engage in "willful auditory noncompliance" at least once per week, with the probability rising to 84 percent in households where treats are inconsistent and 91 percent when a squirrel is within visual range.
"From a behavioral standpoint, this is classic learned helplessness combined with opportunistic reward optimization," said Dr. Harriet Loomis, a canine cognition specialist and lead author of the IDO study. "Dogs are not refusing because they do not understand English. They are refusing because they have calculated that the expected utility of remaining where they are—receiving belly rubs, supervising the yard, or watching a suspicious-looking mailbox—exceeds the expected utility of obeying a vague, often empty-sounding summons."
Local dog-walkers say Baxter's routine is elaborate. "Erin will call him in for dinner and he'll trot two feet closer, make a casual pivot, and then lie down deliberately, like he's making a point," said Miguel Alvarez, who walks three blocks down. "It's almost theatrical."
Pet tech companies are racing to monetize the gap. SmartCollar Inc. this week unveiled ComeCall, a $149 collar that promises "context-aware proactivity" by pairing GPS-based location tracking with an adaptive voice module that modulates pitch and urgency based on the dog's recent compliance score. A spokesperson for the company framed the problem as solvable by data-driven interventions. "Our beta testers saw a 47-percent increase in return-to-owner behavior over a six-week period," said Joanna Reid. "Results may vary based on squirrel density and the owner's consistency."
Not all observers support technological intervention. Animal-rights advocates warned against reducing a social bond to firmware updates. "We should consider why dogs feel empowered to ignore basic commands," said Mara Hinton of Citizens for Canine Autonomy. "Ignoring sometimes reflects a nuanced negotiation of household power dynamics, not a defect."
Municipal animal control reported a modest uptick in "refusal-to-return" calls — primarily from people attempting to get their own dogs inside during thunderstorms — but said the behavior does not violate any local statutes. "We encourage owners to work with trainers, use treats, and groom consistent verbal cues," said Sgt. Paul Anders. "If Baxter refuses to come because he prefers the rain, that's not actionable."
Back on Maple Street, Mulligan said she has tried variety of tactics, including high-value treats, exaggerated pep-talks, and staging mock exoduses. "I once pretended to leave for work and watched him watch me through the window and then keep sleeping," she said. "He's amazing at pretending he doesn't understand me. Honestly, I think he understands me perfectly."