Hello,
I have an eight month old Beagle-and when he was a tiny pup we would let him off the lead, he was fine and I am naturally a bit of a worrier. I used to take him for walks alone and put the lead on no problem. I would walk him to a walk area let him off lead - or let him out the front (fully grassed) and he'd come in fine.

Once, the bins were out for the bin men on the corner of our house/street, and he sniffed it while walking (on lead) when we opened front door- a few days later- he shot off to the end of the street- it shocked me so much! I called him back and went on- I had to chase him and grab him.... I used to run the other way and he would chase me, but if I do this now- he chases me and as soon as I go to get him he runs LOL!

So now I have lost my confidence with letting him off, and he has been lead walking for around a month- we took him to a gated puppy run and there was another pup there so putting him back on the was no problem.

I realise it is my fault and my problem for losing my confidence-so please dont waste your time in saying 'well its your fault' I want advice on what I can do about it - I love taking him for a walk- but at times, when he is of lead anything is more interesting than me!

PS. Treats dont work on walks- he doesnt care lol

Have you got a friend with a well trained dog you could walk with for a while? Then you could let them off when you are at a 'safe' place - perhaps an enclosed field or recreation ground. Practise recall with the pair of them. Your pup will probably come back with the other dog, then you could make a big fuss of him and offer a high-value treat like liver or sausage to both of them. Make them sit before you give it.

Also you could go to obedience classes. Most classes these days teach recall amongst plenty of distractions (other dogs, people, noise etc) so that would probably help. Good luck!

you could purchase a long line and practice recall with this. i done this with my ridgeback when he was younger. i bought a 30 foot one, would take him to a safe location, and let him have a run around, every so often i would call him, and if he didnt come immediately, would pick up the lead and slowly reel him in, when he got to me i would say my command and reward him. he soon caught on, but he is very food orientated. now his recall is beautiful, almost 100% except for when there another dog about, he gets very excited then and it will take me several attempts to get him back then, working on this!

Ahhh   Your dog has turned into a teenager ;)   It's not your fault it happens to most of them ;)
Mine did the same at 7 months, only it happened while we were at an unfenced field (the usual round here)  she spied a man in the distance and shot off, I called - nothing, I called and ran - nothing :(  I was terrified I'd never see her again or she's be hit by a car :(   eventually she got fed up as the man didn't want anything to do with her and just shoo'd her away, but by then she was a 1/4 mile away in a street     Luckily she ran back on the field and wanted to find me (I almost fainted with relief when she eventually came back)    Once she was on lead I made a BIG FUSS (even tho at that point I wanted to do anything but)  and then 10 mins later I tied her to a lamppost and went and hid from her about 10 yards away - no-one else around at this point.  After a few mins she was frantic ;)  so I went back and got her.    I wanted her to know that she really wanted to be with me ;)   

Like you tho I've kept her on lead for the last few weeks as I was terrified she'd go again.  Yesterday I let her off with my others and she was fine but no-one about ;) 

We'll be back to training in tandem and running her between me and son for the next few months (one holding her and the other calling ;) ) until she's had a season and is over the KEVIN stage ;)

In your position I'd have him on a long line and take him out hungry ;)  that way he'll be more interested in the chicken/cheese/ sausage you have for him ;)

Also, don't forget he's a BEAGLE :) in other words a scent hound, most of whom become selectively deaf if there's an enticing scent to follow. You may have to face the fact that his recall will never be 100% reliable.

My two youngsters 7 and 8 months have always been walked loose, mind you it's been easy as they have always followed the 3 older girls anyway, having said that when we entered demon teenage years things changed. A crow flying in the sky was more interesting than me and I could be heard yelling my head off to get them back.

So I got myself a small tupperware type pot put tit bits in it and practised in the house rattling it when I was in one room and as soon as they came to me they got goodies. Then we did it in the garden,  I also smeared the pockets of my dog walking coat with meat juices and cheese rubbings and the knees of my yucky jeans. I'm a classy lady !!
Then we tried it out in the fields, as usual they spied a crow and off they go, I rattle the pot and they're back within seconds. The significance of the stinky coat and jeans is that they are the girls favourite clothing as the only time they see it is when we're going walking which means the goodie pot is coming out.

> Also, don't forget he's a BEAGLE :-) in other words a scent hound, most of whom become selectively deaf if there's an enticing scent to follow. You may have to face the fact that his recall will never be 100% reliable.

I was just about to post this myself too :-)

A friend who had obedience collies working classes b and c bought a beagle pup a few years ago. She was adamant that any dog could be trained and that her beagle would be off lead, and perfectly under control, all the time. I met her down the country park the other week, sitting on a bench looking really peeved, collies lying at her feet - no beagle in sight. I'm sorry, but I couldn't help laughing...seems Benson now regularly disappears for up to an hour at a time when on the trail of squirrels, rabbits, whatever!

I recommend you find somewhere secure to let him run off lead, and keep him on an extending lead elsewhere, or take a good book on walks with you ;-)

Been there and done that, start from basics with a long lead and praise him and reward him when he returns.
Whistler is great now BUT every morning if I let him off to walk to the car he is off down the road, never does it from the office just from home. So its on the lead into the car, then off lead for the walk back onto go to the car again. Its a pain but back to basics and reinforce the come!!!!

Ditto cockers, collie brilliant, my cocker off, nose on the ground, bum in the air deaf as a post!!!!!!!
Comes back to me as if to say "did you want me" when he's ready typical man..

Nice one I will try that Whistler can hear "cheese" wispered in a locked room at 20 paces...

There are some thoughts and tips on improving your recall here.

As for treats not working are they high value. Don't expect him to give up on a rabbit trail for a dry biscuit. It's got to be something good; I usually use meat for recall; sausages, chicken, meatballs. Be imaginative, maybe marmite toast is his best treat. Or, a favorite toy/game with you if he's not food oriented.

He is a Beagle so you have a difficult breed for recall. I'd get a harness and long line for him so he can snuffle about with some freedom - but not too much freedom! He'll get used to pleasing himself.

Thank you all for your advice- I am going to try the rattling with treats- but the special treats like an egg or chicken.

We took him to a pen area for dogs yesterday - he came back to us everytime - we just kept changing direction so he had to - he even sat by the gate when we were about to go and put them lead on!
He is an incredibly well behaved dog- but the only problem is- there arent gates every hundred metres on walks or Id be fine- lol
Im gonna keep with the pen now, and see how it goes- I think Im just gonna have to take the plunge lol

thank you all
xx

We have a dog that likes to check his boundaries first - literally.  If you are in a park or enclosed field it can be helpful to keep your dog on the lead (flexi can help here) whilst you walk the perimeter.  If there are going to be good scents they will be concentrated in these areas so you can let him snuffle a bit but without the risk of going too far.  You will also learn where the danger points are, such as very strong smells, gaps in the hedge, holes in the fences etc.  Once you let him off the lead you can do all the things previously suggested with your high value treats and rattle box to keep him away from those areas.

Have you thought about laying a scent trail for him?  Practise at home and in the garden first to see what works best but playing hide and seek will allow him to do what comes naturally but at least you will be in control of where he goes and what he looks for.  Cheese in a sock might help or bits of your dirty laundry if you can bear it!!

I suggest you also use a whistle for recall - it's easier to penetrate that concentrated mind with a sharper sound, and a whistle can never sound cross or frustrated.  If you can anticipate his nose down, bum up shuffle you stand a good chance of distracting him before he gets going.  Good luck

Yes when we go in the forest we take a whistle at least the dogs can find us again out of shouting range.
Its fun watching the cocker flush out pheasants they fly off sounding like a bag of spanners with a cocker following after  tail wagging and Im sure he's smiling - beaut.