8 weeks!
Dawn.

Since Vegas was 13 months old when i got him from rescue centre-i havent a clue what his recall was like previous to me and i'd love to say his first time off lead was perfect,but it wasnt...

He legged it over 200 yds (in open countryside though) after a rabbit and my throat was sore with all the yelling i was doing.

Is 100% perfect now though!

What seems to work for us is initially both of us going out with the pup and standing the length of the extending lead apart taking turns in calling the pup to us and huge amounts of praise and treats when they come. Also we make the dog focus on us by changing direction without warning, you look mad in the middle of the park keep walking backwards and forwards but hey it works. Also hiding behind trees and calling them, they tend to then pay more attention to where you are. Even if it is out of the corner of their eye.

My golden must be an exception to the rule then

He was off lead right from the start, where we lived at the time we had 6 acres and as I already had the other dog then he was only 5 months old, we assumed that he would stick to us, because of the other dog and generally puppies stick to you. Not Jack ! When we took Jack out in the fields for a walk. He was off ! No fear So he was on the lead all the time after that.

Still isnt afraid of anything But on the other hand, he is the most laid back and intelligent dog I have ever had.

blackie went off the lead on the first time we went out. we went to a small park where we could shut the gates in case he bolted but we have never really had a problem with recall as i play taught him at home with toys.

my big dog as an adult when i got him so recall was a challenge but with my pup i practiced the recall from 6 weeks so when he went out for his first walk he went off his lead ,i practice the recall about 5 to 6 times whilst out on a walk to keep both my dogs obediant

Poppy was off the lead in a safe enviroment at 6 mnths old .. her recall has always been great unless she is scared (usually bigger off lead dogs) then she will just run mindlessly.. a very scary lesson to learn.. for me .. and for her, as prior to one particular event, she was great with all comers .. now she is scared of other dogs, if she is offlead she will run until I recall her.. with come & up.. which basically means come here I'll save you.. which she understands on the lead she will strain and snarl until she feels "safe" again
Rachel

I can't do it. Our mate has Suki's brother and he got really hacked off at us that we wouldn't let her off lead but she just doesn't seem to be able to perfect the art of listening. We're maintaing recall in the garden and 99.9% of the time it's working but when we're out the slightest thing and she wants to go off after it.

There's no way I'm risking anything happening to her.

For some reason, I clicked 11-12 months in the poll. Well, it's early!

In fact, I'm with the peeps who have been walking their dogs offlead since the time vaccinations allowed 'em out. Certainly, generally speaking, pups don't want to wander far. Jake will now quite happily wander about on his business, ignoring other dogs unless he's particularly interested in playing.

The other day, we walked past some dogs that were on lead, barking and growling like mad. Jake totally blanked 'em. Good lad!

Exactly what we done to teach Loki his recall and that we were more exciting then anything else around, worked great for us!