What to do when they don't come back

[Harveypops]

It hasn't happened yet, but I'm nervously waiting the day when Harvey decides to ignore me and run off to chase something/someone. He's getting older and is going to test the boundaries at some point.

My  question to you all is what do I do when the inevitable happens?

He's whistled trained and I take a mixed bag of sausage, cheese and other treats with me. The sausage and cheese are treats he only gets when doing training outside. I never give them as tit bits or training treats indoors and they are his favourite.

I know there's probably not an exact answer on what to do, but I'd like to have some sort of idea. He's not my little pupster anymore, and I need to except I'm not the apple of his eye and centre of his universe anymore and he may one day make a run for it 

[SkyeSue]

Christina, I don't have much in the way of advice, but it sounds like you have done everything you can to ensure Harvey has a reliable recall and you've taught him stop whistle. I don't know what else you can do except reinforcing these commands at every opportunity and hope for the best 

[Ian B]

Misty occasionally legs it into the distance if she's following a scent and short of detonating a small nuclear device there is no practical way to break her focus.
On the instance of her legging it we stop walking and wait for her to return, she knows where she left us and only gets lost if we go looking for her. We do whistle for her but I suspect that's just comfort behavior on our part to be honest.
I have achieved some success in recalling her by getting our other dog to "speak" for a treat, when he barks "give me the damn livercake before the spaniel gets back" she can't resist and usually appears moments later in a flat run.

[Harveypops]

Christina, I don't have much in the way of advice, but it sounds like you have done everything you can to ensure Harvey has a reliable recall and you've taught him stop whistle. I don't know what else you can do except reinforcing these commands at every opportunity and hope for the best 

I feel like he's a ticking time bomb waiting to explode into the adolescent stage.  

Today was the first day that he's been off lead in 2 weeks and the only place I could take him today was a park which opened onto a road. I was so scared that he wouldn't come back. Thankfully his holiday has only made him forget how to walk on a lead.

I wouldn't know what to do if he made a run for it. Natural response would be to run after him, but then would that be turning it into a game? When I do finally get him back what should I do?  

Misty occasionally legs it into the distance if she's following a scent and short of detonating a small nuclear device there is no practical way to break her focus.
On the instance of her legging it we stop walking and wait for her to return, she knows where she left us and only gets lost if we go looking for her. We do whistle for her but I suspect that's just comfort behavior on our part to be honest.
I have achieved some success in recalling her by getting our other dog to "speak" for a treat, when he barks "give me the damn livercake before the spaniel gets back" she can't resist and usually appears moments later in a flat run.

I've finally found a valid reason to get another cocker (apart f :Drom wanting one!).

[Helen]

all you can do is reinforce the recall commands he already knows, and to stop him before he starts or gets too far away - there is a natural 'range' each dog has and once they're beyond that it is very very hard to call them back 

We had it quite easy looking back at Jarv's adolescence but I think the trick is never to become complacent and never to stop training - because they are cockers and not robots you do need to remind them that you are there keeping an eye on them 

what I would do if he ran off is to whistle him and start running in the opposite direction acting like an over enthusiastic village idiot so you're more exciting than what he's chasing - and praise him like mad when he comes back.  If he's squeaky toy mad keep one on you to get his attention and use that for some 'fun' recall and reward for him 

[Harveypops]

I like the idea of not letting him stray too far. We're lucky that he stays close anyway, but I'm happy to reinforce that. Acting the village idiot is a natural talent for me 

[Sarah.H]

Cry 

My tip would be as soon as he starts (if he starts  ) to ignore you then to get him on a long line. Once the behaviour of running off or chasing has been learned its sooo much harder to stop so you want to make sure he doesn't get that chance while going through adolescence.

[Ellie]

Daisy's recall has never been very reliable.  

But I have found her weakness, it's her nosy-ness and her terror of missing out on something.  If all else fails, I exclaim 'ooooohhhh, what's this?' and focus in on a blade of grass or whatever.  Inevitably, 2 seconds later there is a nosy beak at my side wanting to get in on the action.  Then I get the lead on her before she knows what's hit her.  She falls for it everytime    .

[Karma]

Up until very recently I carried a squeaky toy with me everywhere Honey went... if I was in the slightest bit doubtful she would respond to a recall, I used the toy instead...

I think we were fortunate in this respect, Honey never really lost her recall, and I'm as confident as anyone can be that I can recall her from any situation, but I think a lot of that is because I never set her up to fail and never recalled her when I thought she wouldn't obey! 

If Honey is distracted at a distance I make sure I get her attention before recalling (a high pitched "Honey, Honey, Honey" tends to do the trick now) - and the whole running away acting like a loon is a good way of achieving that!!!    Have been known to find a blade of grass really interesting too, but that's normally when she's picked up something she shouldn't!! 

[supergirl]

I keep waiting for something to happen with Roly (he'll be a year old next week), but I don't think that I could lose him if I tried.  Our walks generally involve me keeping an eye on Misha, as she tends to wander off, and Roly keeping an eye on where I am.

It sounds as if Harvey has a solid recall which is half the battle, just keep reinforcing - You might find it will never happen.  I've only had a couple of incidents with Roly, both very minor and involving running after other dogs, but that seems to have stopped.

[Han]

I have nothing to add to all the good advice given, but this:

Daisy's recall has never been very reliable.  

But I have found her weakness, it's her nosy-ness and her terror of missing out on something.  If all else fails, I exclaim 'ooooohhhh, what's this?' and focus in on a blade of grass or whatever.  Inevitably, 2 seconds later there is a nosy beak at my side wanting to get in on the action.  Then I get the lead on her before she knows what's hit her.  She falls for it everytime    .

and this:

when he barks "give me the damn livercake before the spaniel gets back" she can't resist and usually appears moments later in a flat run.

really made me 

[PennyB]

all you can do is reinforce the recall commands he already knows, and to stop him before he starts or gets too far away - there is a natural 'range' each dog has and once they're beyond that it is very very hard to call them back 

This is where a lot of problems are with owners letting them get beyond this range - when Wilf went through this phase he was either on a long line or we played games as part of the walk to keep him engaged with me and close by.

[supergirl]

all you can do is reinforce the recall commands he already knows, and to stop him before he starts or gets too far away - there is a natural 'range' each dog has and once they're beyond that it is very very hard to call them back 

This is where a lot of problems are with owners letting them get beyond this range - when Wilf went through this phase he was either on a long line or we played games as part of the walk to keep him engaged with me and close by.

This is why I have to keep an eye on Misha, once the nose is to the ground (especially in wooded areas), she seems to forget about everything else.  When she realises that she has lost us, she go into flight mode back to the car which can sometimes be a couple of miles away.  So now as soon as she is out of sight I will give a couple of whistles just so that she can find us again - usually have to wait a few minutes.  Thankfully her recall seems to be good.

[bluegirl]

With mine, I've let them off from day one and I recalled them time and time again to get it as reliable as I could. Penny and Bronte don't go too far, Phoebe and Logan have always gone that bit further but have always managed to get them back (without treats, as I don't reward with treats).
I learned their triggers for wanting to go further and didn't really find that they suddenly decided one day to bog off, more a case of always watching for the triggers and recalling before they see it.
I agree with Helen that when they do go, you really need to seem more exciting than what they are running to and playing the fool is a good way to recapture their attention but will make you look daft.

[Helen]

'this way' is one of the best commands you can teach them...when you're out walking as soon as they're about 20 - 30 feet max in front call 'this way' turn sharply and head in another direction...I would say a majority of dogs will run back to you to go the direction that you are and it's one of the best things they can learn   

They'll soon catch on and if they are the type who's recall consists of a 'fly pass' this one is a good way to move them in a 'safer'  direction