Puppy runs away

Question
Hi Kristen.  I have a 14-week-old, female Papillon puppy.  We enjoy her so much.  We are litter-box training and using the crate so she does not run the house all day even though I work from home.  

When I take her from the crate, I place her in the litter box and use the command, "go potty."  She does, and this earns her some free time in the house.  She loves the game fetch so much, we could do this for an hour straight.  She is learning commands like sit, lay down, paw.  

My problem is that when I try to pick her up, she runs away.  I could spend 10 minutes trying to get her, and when I need to go somewhere or do something, this is a big headache.  I have resorted to tricking her by throwing a toy, and when she returns with it, I pick her up.  A couple of times, when I caught her and picked her up, she growled at me.  

What can I do to stop this behavior, both running away and the growling?

We are signed up for basic obedience class beginning in a couple of weeks and looking forward to it.

Answer
Hi, Nadine! It sounds like you're doing excellent with the crate and litterbox training! Keep up the good work! You need to start teaching her to come when called (or you can wait until the obedience class, as this will likely be one of the main things they will teach you to do). The growling is a protest, and an attempt to put herself in the alpha, or leadership, position. You should not tolerate this. If she growls at you, you should sternly tell her NO, while looking her directly in the eyes. Continue to look her in the eyes until she diverts them. You want her to look away first. If she growls again, or tries to snap at you, grasp her muzzle gently but firmly with your palm over the top of her nose, while repeating "NO" in a stern tone of voice. Do not squeeze her nose, but hold her muzzle until she shows some discomfort and tries to pull away.

Back to teaching her to come when called. One very easy way is to just let her drag a 6 foot long leather or cloth leash when she is loose in the house. When you need to get her, just grab the end of the leash rather than running after her, and say, "[Name], come here!" or whatever command you are going to use for the recall. Immediately after saying the command, give a few gentle tug tug tugs on the leash to encourage her to come towards you. As soon as she steps towards you, praise her happily! This should encourage her to continue coming towards you. Continue praising her until she gets to you, and then really love her up. If she stops coming towards you, use the leash again. Treats can also be used to encourage her to come to you quickly.

Good luck!

Kristen