off lead recall dilemma

Right.... Kodas 5 months and were lucky to have loads of fields and woods to wander which we love and shes been off lead since ive had her (10 weeks) Kodas recall has been brill except for when dogs and people are around then it all goes out the window with excitement so im like hawkeye looking for distant distractions to keep clear of ,Its always been "Koda Come" hand down and she comes i treat her for recall and make a fuss.. its been excelent fair play to her shes been good....Now... she doesnt like going out if its dark,cold,windy,or raining (and living in Wales its normaly all at the same time ) last weekend tho i let her off as usual in the woods and was doing great.... til it started raining.then she started trotting off a bit faster than usual towards home, i called as usual and she bolted.. really went for it too and wouldnt stop so i had to run to try to keep her in sight.. that wasnt for long.. she took herself home!! and was sitting on the doorstep waiting for me.. Now im doing more road work this week plusilemm she havnt been off lead either in case she does it again..

Yes Moo won't move in the rain and given half a chance would peg it home, took her out in my break today, I looked like a drowned rat going back to work, all she did was dig her heals in and not move! Waste of time tbh.

Bu if we walk somewhere away from home, where she can't dash back she puts up with the rain! Just takes her digging in her paws to get moving!

Ahh that's a tough one...try taking her to a park that's fenced in? or get some toys out to distract her? For example when I get the football out that's all my pup focuses on and If you can teach her to play fetch than she won't run off and she will pay more attention to you taking her mind off the weather.

also take a different route,she's more likely to stick with you If she's not sure where she is also she won't run off home.

I identify with you Steve. Kuchar's recall is great so long as no other dogs or people are in sight, and then deafness strikes and treats, balls etc can't compete.

And although Kuch doesn't mind the dark, wind or cold, he hates rain. The only difference here is that if he was off-lead and wanted to go home I'm not sure he'd find it - more probably he'd go off exploring.

So - Kuch is now on a lead. Short when it's dark, and an extendable lead when light (except near or along roads of course).

Steve, we are not alone - many pups on this site are the same, more or less, except mine is madder than most.

The long training lead may be a way to go if you want to keep her close to you, but then she can have a run too. Tricky one good luck.

we had the same trouble when we first got Miley her recall was none existent at all its took us months and a 50 foot training lead but she is nearly there now. She will come back every time but when she is ready, if there are distractions she waitys to see whats going on then comes back. Like you when we first let her off lead (which now i realise was way too early) she would bolt off home which meant crossing 2 roads and a bridge. So now its the training lead for her till she obeys well. Still going to be a nervous time though when we do let her off again. Probably wont be till the summer so we know the come here has firmly sunk in

I'd get a long line until you're 100% sure that she'll come back even when there are distractions (people, dogs, rain!). Let the line trail, but always make sure the end is in easy reach, and every so often give her a call. If she doesn't repond first time then reel her in!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-ft-Long-Dog-TRAINING-Lead-LARGE-in-Various-Colours-/130506236996?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Dogs&var=&hash=item1e62c72444

ordered a long leash and give that a try i think... took her out with the kids earlier completely different route and she was being a bit stubborn after a while so was glad the kids come as a high pitched Koda Koda off them and shes there think she just getting her own mind and pushing her luck at times (just like the kids ) so long leash for a bit til she recalls everytime plus i know i got her if she decides different ....