We're moving back to the UK with our 4-year-old Golden Retriever. We currently live in a very dog-unfriendly country. Dogs are viewed as dirty and often mistreated. Our dog was living in a high rise in the capital and at risk of being put out on the streets when his owner was offered work abroad and no one would take him. We brought him to us, 300 miles from the capital where we have a fairly big garden where he can play in safety. During the summer months, we can't take him out for walks as the temperatures in the shade are 45c. There are no dog parks and the only dogs nearby are feral dogs that growl at him despite wanting to make friends :-D. During the summer he has to get most of his exercise in the garden - its not ideal but his life is significantly better than 99% of the dogs here.
Anyway, we are flying him to the UK in November and we're so excited to be able to see him running through green fields, swimming in the sea, and maybe making some friends at the park. The only problem is that he is not very good on the lead, he gets overexcited when he gets to go outside for walks, not his fault as its due to the limitations above. Do you have any tips on improving this? Also, while his recall is very good when he is at the bottom of the garden I will need to improve his recall before he can be allowed off lead - the excitement will mean he ignores me.