Recall gone to pot.....any advice? <sorry long>

[MissMarplesBloomers]

Bit of background. I rehomed a beautiful but almost feral silvery white goldie some years ago. She was about 2 /3yrs old when we got her (records not kept) from a neglectful home, and wasn't house trained or any sort of trained really.

It took lots of patience but she responded really well to positive reinforcement, lots of love and a regular routine and we went to training classes mainly for me to learn the best way to deal with her. She is very placid and generally well behaved. Recall is good close to me or middle distance but she has always been one for having a good yomp across the fields near us and as long as I could see her I didn't mind as long as I could attract her attention with the whistle. We developed a system of signals & whistles to keep her with us, she would go in big circles around us but always with us IYSWIM. She would always catch up towards the end of the walk and stay close till we got to the car or home. (our walks are always in safe areas no roads or livestock)

Fast forward to last year and she is now 10 and has over the last 6 months become a nightmare to walk off lead, running off like a greyhound at differing points, so I can't anticipate when to intervene, not responding to recall unless she is ready to and going miles on her own which I really don't like. She always comes back eventually but sometimes a good 20/30 mins after I have returned to the car. I have had the embarrassment of several good folks catching her & ringing me to say they've got her & one time she was 5 miles away which worries me that one day it might not be a kind dog lover and she'll be stolen. I don't know if it's relevant but I broke my ankle last year so relied on a variety of folks to help walk her, but she was getting worse before then.

SO I have returned to long lead walking and training her with lots of praise and fuss when she returns to me. However every time I think she is improving and slowly move on to letting her go loose again to test her distance recall she is off. Its worrying me and TBH spoiling the enjoyment of my walks, I could just keep her on a lead but she loves and needs her long yomps and I love seeing her bounding across the fields but not if it's putting her at risk.

HELP oh wise doggy people of MN!

I don't know how helpful this is going to be but I know that as my JRT got older - from about 2 onwards - he established in his own mind that very local walks were his own hunting territory. His recall had been good until then and it remains good provided he's not on "His Manor". Like your goldie, he'd take himself off for a worryingly long (and uncatchable!) time.

He's now nearly 8 and a lot less interested in going missing. But for all that I no longer take the risk and he gets taken out on a long lead when we are in the fields behind the house. He has his off lead walks in parks, on the beach etc., where he remains absolutely recall reliable.

I'm wondering whether you might need to do similarly?

Do you still treat whilst out walking?

Yes I'm wondering the same pandemonia

Silvder yes I do alternate treats with lots of praise when she DOES respond. (even when I'm cross with her!)

Always feel I can't tell her off for eventually coming back -is that correct?-but it's sooo frustrating.

I do think she's getting a bit deaf now which doesn't help, although how much is selective is debatable, she certainly has a distinctive "sod you" set to her her head & shoulders when she's off the old bugger!

watching with interest, have a similar problem with my rescue, but he is only 1! Again, no livestock, no roads, so I'm not worried about safety, but he loves to run and is often a couple of fields away (although the longest he is ever away from me is 5 mins, he always comes back to check-in, but I'm worried he might get worse). I think the 'his manor' thing is true - on the rare occasions when we walk somewhere new, he sticks close by and his recall is immediate. Problem being I'm in the middle of the sticks so it would be inconvenient to drive somewhere that isn't 'his manor'. Maybe I should use a long lead too, but it's such a shame as he adores his off-lead walks

I thought it was a real shame to have to take Senior Terrier out on a long lead at first and this is why I persisted as long as I did despite the 3 hour disappearances. When I bit the bullet and accepted that this was how things had to be I was surprised at just how unbothered he was. He still has good and happy walks and he's on a long enough lead to explore properly. It has had a very positive effect on my sanity too!

Thanks Pandemonia, I agree- such a worry isn't it.

I've been doing loads of recall practice all this week & long lead in between. She's been v. good & as you say seems to still enjoy her walks.