I am not sure whether you saw my earlier post or not Talassie, but have you contacted the breeders about the problems you are having?

No it really doesn't help build a relationship.[/B]

Not sure how old she is etc but I'd invest in a really good one to one trainer or even a reputable behaviourist to spend some time with you and see if you can do anything about the problems
I have seen several trainers over the past year. The first one was apdt and advised me to keep her on a lead and away from other dogs on the basis that she would get addicted to playing with dogs. I am now thinking this was not good advice and may have fuelled her desire to be with other dogs.
It is certainly disheartening when you feel a dog won't recall and prefers to play with other dogs etc and when you've really worked hard to improve matters with no result. However itmay be that you are making some basic errrors which are causing the problem to emerge.

One thing many peeps do is to not really allow play or call back the dogs straight away. They as you rightly say are rewarded for being with the other dogs. What I always recommend is to allow play if there is no chance at getting the dog back and then when the dog is tired, that is when you then call your dog, who is usually glad to come back for a tasty reward or toy. You have to find out what motivates the dog, that's really important! It's not always what we think it might be, for some dogs it's something daft like Cheerios for example! Most dogs it's more likely to be roast chicken or liver.
She seems to have an endless capacity for playing with other dogs. After an hour when the other dogs are tired and walking quietly she is running round and round them. And when they are being put on the lead she is hovering several feet away out of range.

Over time, the dog can if necessary be recalled earlier and this is just the tip of the training iceberg, but if attempts are made to recall when the dog is not listening, it is doubtful any dog would come back There are many other tips as well!

Sorry Kirsty, I did mean to reply. I have mentioned the recall problem to Karen a few times but she has not made any suggestions. To be fair I didn't really say how stressful it all was as I hoped at that time to be able to resolve it.
I think looking back I was given the wrong advice on which pup to take. Karen recommended the most outgoing bouncy pup which would not have been my choice. But I made the decision to follow her advice because I thought that a confident pup would be less likely to be a fear biter. I do regret my decision now. I am a quiet person and I am sure I would have been happier with a quieter pup. However it is easy to see what went wrong with hindsight and not so easy at the time.
I would be interested to hear why you think the problem is unlikely to be resolved.

It sounds to me as though there is a relationship problem between you. Tala doesn't find you as interesting as others dogs, doesn't respect you and you have lost all confidence in yourself and in Tala. It is a sad situation, but not one that cannot be repaired IMO.

Thanks for the reply Irena.

Regarding the highlighted sentence ... I am not sure what you mean? I do think the problem can be resolved, but I also believe it comes down to how much you actually *want* it to work, ie it sounds to me like a relationship breakdown. I have always had the impression (and please forgive me if I am way off mark) that you don't has as good a relationship with Tala as with your previous GSD bitch and so the partnership is falling short of what you were hoping for?

[I]

How far away is your friend who breeds the GSDs? You say she lives on a farm - ie has land? If so, could you arrange to go over there regularly and exercise Tala off lead with her dogs and practice recall training over there.

It is a sad situation, but not one that cannot be repaired IMO.

I was trying to say it is sad, but the situation can be improved/repaired. Sorry, it does sound a tad confusing in the other post!

As I think I said, for me, it all comes down to how much you really want it to work and believe it can work. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, the bond with a particular dog just isn't there.