Border terrier recall problem

Hi, my border terrier is 15 months now. Her recall was very good when she was a pup but as she has gotten older and her prey drive is kicking in, she is getting very unreliable.
I think I am just not interesting enough for her tbh.
I have tried getting excited and really praising her when she comes, I have tried squeeky balls, I have tried a toy on a piece of string as a lure, I have tried running off on the other direction, and I have tried a whistle. Now we have her back on her training line and still trying. On the training line the recall is quite good but not 100%, off the training line the recall is about 30%.
Thing is we are learning agility, I'd also like to do flyball at some point. She loves the agility training but I worry that if we should ever compete that she will take off. Actually I worry about her taking off anyway as I dont want to lose her period.
I have spoken to many people who have or have had BT's and many of them say that I will NEVER have recall with her but I know it can be achieved, somehow.
I always refer to her as my work in progress
Any help or suggestions would be gratefully recieved. Thankyou in advance.

I have borders as well and find they are very slow to grow up compared to some breeds. At 15 months I suspect she is going through her teenage phase! If she was good at recall as a baby I think she will come back to it in time but she may be nearer 3 before that happens. That has been my experience anyway.

Hi Elaine these Videos by the Dogs Trust may be of help to you..
Getting a dog to come to you and recall..
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xd1v4s_dog-training-made-easy-coming-back_animalsundefined

Getting a recall outside..

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xeqodk_dog-training-made-easy-come-back_animalsundefined

You haven't mentioned trying food-is she food motivated?
My Kerry Blue has a high prey drive but he can be recalled off rabbits (and even cats when one has appeared suddenly in the middle of the field!) with a high-value treat.

I think it is a bit of a cop-out when people blame the breed, though some breeds are more shall we say "challenging"!

We meet someone regularly on the heath with a Border terrier and his dog never came back when it was called. Husband tried to explain to him how we trained Parker but he said it was a Border terrier thing-that they didn't come back when they were called! If that was the case I wondered why he would risk letting it off lead but never mind! He must have done something right as it is much better now than it used to be so perhaps it was an age thing as I think this one was about the same age as yours.

It's very frustrating. I have a Labrador and trust me, I've watched him ignore the 'come' command and instead go hurtling off into the distance...

I kept him on leash for quite a long time, while reinforcing, or trying to, the 'come' command at home, always giving a treat when he came to me.

One thing people have suggested to me: withold a meal and instead take that kibble or whatever you feed to the park/field/etc. When he comes first time - he gets a bit. When he doesn't - he doesn't get anything!

If he's hungry it's a great motivator....!

When you're at home do you practise recall a lot? Any time your dog comes towards you - even if you have not called - praise him for it.

You could also keep him on a very long line. If so, I advise tying knots in it, it makes it easier to step on or grab hold of if you need to reel your dog in!

I had exactly the same problem with Skye. When she came to us she very quickly learned the recall and was brilliant! Once she settled in her confidence grew and her recall slipped backwards. I was given some advice to take a squeaky toy with me when I took her out and if I needed her to come back to me I just squeezed the toy. It has been marvellous. Skye can turn tail on a sixpence when she hears that squeak. I've walked her through sheep, past school kids coming out, cows etc etc and kept her from diving off with the promise of this squeaky toy.....she only has eyes for me and this rubber toy!!

Just to pick up on the bit in bold. I have had borders and have never had any problems with recall, so don't give up hope

You don't mention if you have used food rewards for her? The thing is she sound like she is going through that 'teenage' phase where it seems all your hard work has been for nothing. It will get better with patience and perseverance

First of all thankyou all for your replies and thanx for the video links.
I have tried food rewards too but we are currently working through some food issues with her at the moment, so I have to be careful what I feed. With holding a meal might be a workable one though as she is currently on 4 feeds per day because of her food/tummy issue.
I suspect you are probably right about the teenage thing as we are begining to see some big changes in her of late. She is alot less excitable and hyper active than she was so perhaps she is begining to mellow a little.
Thanx again for restoring some faith that recall is acheivable as too many negative comments do begin to bog you down after a while. I'll keep on working at it.

Please don't give up on her ElaineP and don't believe it is a BT thing. I have a BT who was just as bad as yours at 15 months but by the time she was two her recall was excellent. When she did her KC good citizen test the examiner said she wished she had a dog who reacted to the recall command as quickly as mine! On our walks if she is in front she constantly looks back to make sure I'm still coming. Food was the answer she'll do anything for a treat.

Thought I'd give you all a wee bit of an update. Have been working on Raynes recall, some days seemed better than others.
It was my birthday yesterday and I went out to see Raynes breeder and her dogs. We went for a walk in a small woodland up by her place. She kinda bullied me into letting Rayne off leed to run with her dogs. I was reluctant to say the least and it wasnt a very comfortable or relaxing walk for me if truth be told. I was very fearful of taking my eyes off my dog and therefore I couldnt really relax and get involved in the conversation that Raynes breeder and her friend were having.
However, I found that Rayne, although she went a little further ahead than I would have liked, was regularly looking back at me and if called would run back in my direction but not always right to me. I began to relax a little and just as I turned to say something to her breeder she took off
It felt like ages, I began calling her and squeeking a ball and just as panic was begining to set in she apeared again. Like I said it felt like ages but in reality it was only about 5 minutes or so.
I currently feed her small meals frequently as she has some tummy issues and I had some of her kibble in my pocket. After her zooming around I reckoned she may have been a bit hungry and produced some of the kibble which she devoured. After that she didnt go too far at all and came right back to me every time I called. I didnt feed every time but did praise and play a little with her even when she came back to me without calling on her.
Fingers crossed we are making progress again, I think I have the bigger problem now, the problem of letting go.....