I've mentioned elsewhere that, while he's been away, Bobby has got poor at recall and can't be walked off lead. Having had a little longer to observe his behaviour I'm convinced that his hunting instinct has kicked in, big time. He still knows and understands the "come" command, but the thrill of the chase, or even the prospect of the chase, far outweighs the reward of a few dog treats for an obedient recall.
At the moment, more than previous years for some reason, our easiest and preferred walking territory on Cleeve Hill is rife with rabbits. If Bobby is off lead and spots one, or picks up a scent, he will be gone.
As far as I know he has no working strain in him, although I can't be sure of that, but his hunting instinct seems very strong. I've read some interesting articles on gun dog websites today that suggest that this is typical and normal cocker behaviour, although more so in working strain, but I've seen few threads on this forum, and no recent ones, suggesting that other members have had this issue.
So I would be very interested to know whether other members have had this problem, and if so, how they dealt with it.