Cocker spaniel - training and other issues

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Help! my spaniel is 18 months old, we've had her since a pup... she has a wonderful nature with people and other dogs, is very intelligent, sociable etc... but off the lead had virtually no recall!! she gets a scent and will not come back!! she used to as a pup but as soon as she got her confidence she was off. so she's on a lead/long lead. She is off lead when I'm at work as she comes with me and can run around freely all day... her recall here is ok... i whistle, she comes back!

she is not food motivated, not bothered about being told off, nothing ive tried will get her to come to me if she doesnt want to!

What can I try? i would love to have her off lead more, but just cant trust her to come back!

Also... when left at home (never more than a few hours at a time) she chews anything she can!... I have put her in her own are and removed everything but her toys and food.... she ripped up the lino! any suggestions on how to stop her doing this..... is it just boredom? will she ever grow out of it?

Is she a show cocker or working strain ? Have you tried www.cockersonline.co.uk the forum there is lovely , my doggy mumsnet!

It sounds like a combination of boredom and separation anxiety, if she won't come back I would have her on a long line and train from there, do you go to classes.?

Does she like tennis balls? My cocker/springer has amazing recall if I have a tennis ball in my hand. Can't help with the chewing, mine just sleeps if we go out.

I sympathise- are you sure she isn't a beagle???

Have you ever used a crate for when you go out? I am not sure how it would work if you haven't used one from the start but i would go mad if i couldn't contain my pup.
What about obedience classes to help with recall?

I have a working cocker cross who is 2.5years old. One of the things I have found is that I need a method of breaking in when he is on a rush of adrenaline be it in the undergrowth or at agility jumping every jump in the building ignoring me.

Two things have worked and Acme 211.5 (spaniel) dog whistle and my really cross voice. First I had to use the cross voice then when he was responding to that then I changed to the whistle.
It seems to have been a teenage thing that he has now grown out of.

We have a cocker x and she was exactly the same, we tried EVERYTHING, the things that worked the best we're waving our arms and shouting her name, we looked stupid but she found it amusing and came back, the other thing that worked was when she eventually did come back we praised her instead of telling her off, it worked a lot better.
Good luck.

I had a similar recall issue with my labradoodle when she was about 15 months upwards. I got some advice from a dog trainer, and used a 30 foot training lead for several weeks. My dog also had a very high prey urge and once she scented something interesting, she was in another world. When holding the lead, you're re-enforcing the appropriate distance there should be between you and the dog. You can work on recall using either treats/special toy/lots of praise because the dog is on a long lead. Once recall is improving, move on to letting go of the lead, but you have the opportunity to step on it if the dog isn't responding to you calling. Do you know if your spaniel is from working or show parents? I took my dog back to training classes, and she is doing well thankfully - these gun dogs types need lots of mental stimulation, or they find their own entertainment I think. Good luck