Rascal wrote:When she bogs off what triggers that?
I think that she was running off because whilst I was ill and recovering (which was a couple of months) the only excercise and training she got was from my family who could only walk her on lead, so she was never allowed to burn off some of that energy they all have. Before I was ill I could let her off the lead and she would retrieve and recall to me within reason so to be fair I was expecting to pick up where I left off. This obviously didn't happen. So when I was able to take her back out the first time I let her off she just legged it and didn't come back to me for about 2 hours. My mistake was to believe that if I persisted with this she would eventually learn that if she came back it didn't mean the end of "her" fun. Now that I have been to some training sessions I can see some progress especially when working with the long line.
So much so that this weekend I took a deep breath (and kept some sneaky treats in my pocket) and let her off. I sent her for some retrieves which I managed to get her to bring back to me without too much "negotiation" which is a massive improvement on recent efforts. We did this Saturday and Sunday which gave me the confidence to allow her some time off lead when I walked her yesterday and this morning.
I'm not saying that everything is perfect but hopefully it is a small step in the right direction.
Thanks all for your suggestions which I am grateful for, I just regret that at the moment I seem to be asking all the questions here and not really able to contribute anything (other than our first photo).
Andrew wrote:I think illness and bonding need to be taken into consideration before you even think about "training" with the potential of a bog off dog you should bond rather than train, once your happyish that the bonding is happening then start to train, you have a retriever so in theory it will retrieve, in practice it will run in first, night time does give you an advantage in that the dog may rely on sound rather than sight. however that isn't always the case. do not think because you cannot see that the dog cannot.
Hi Andrew, As my post above I'm not sure it was the bonding that was the issue (I think this is pretty good but I suppose someone looking in from the outside may be able to provide a better idea) but more to do with what she has been allowed to do. At 10 months I would have expected her to come to me when called and carry out some basic retrieves, as I say I think she is just having to learn a bit later than I would have originally hoped due my my own circumstances.
Brev wrote:
I think that she was running off because whilst I was ill and recovering (which was a couple of months) the only excercise and training she got was from my family who could only walk her on lead,
Not wishing to put a “spanner in the works” so to speak Dave but was she I wonder?
Hi Rascal, not sure what you mean. Do you mean was she running off because she needed to burn off energy or was she running off because she wasn't getting excercise from the family?
I'm with you now. I can only go by what they said as I was house bound, however given how long they were out for and how long it took me to get her back when she ran off I can only assume that they were telling the truth.
(and kept some sneaky treats in my pocket) and let her off. I sent her for some retrieves which I managed to get her to bring back to me without too much "negotiation" which is a massive improvement on recent efforts. We did this Saturday and Sunday which gave me the confidence to allow her some time off lead when I walked her yesterday and this morning. 
