We all noticed that after it’s “update” it takes years of spamming till the abilities come off because of the pet range.
I came here with a situational hint that helped me some nice bunch of times in PvP (not every time, but generally).
If you really need the pet to use his ability – “Return” him and reactivate. He will simply reset his AI and force the ability (works mostly for non-target abilities like Wolf’s Fear or Jaguar’s Stalk). Also, their abilities are reliable right after pet Swapping.
~Hope it helps.
“Observe, learn and counter.”