he is very good. he's very quiet and unassuming in the house and garden, and will just lie down and chill out. he has a mad blast round the garden every now and then, but otherwise his behaviour is great. he's great with my other springer girl too. i've just started clicker training with him and he's picking it up very quickly. he can do all sorts of tricks now! he's doing really well training and agility classes too.

my problem is he becomes a totally different dog outside. its as if every walk is his first and last one. its 100% per hour everywhere! which i dont mind, but when he came to me his recall was non-existent and his manners on the lead were terrible, so he's on a long line all the time. i get pulled around all over most of the time. i have tried to take him to 'boring' places to try and keep him calm, but it doesn't make any difference. i am always practising recall at home and round the garden which he responds to immediately (by whistle), but outside is a different matter. i blow the whistle, jump up and down, shake his treat box, sometimes he comes, sometimes not! at the moment i feel i'm never gonna be able to let him off his lead and let him have a real good run. i just think he'll just rocket off into the distance! so, do i perserve with him, or do i hand him back to the rescue centre and see if someone with more experience can help him? i love him to bits but sometimes walking him is more of a chore than a joy (he gets walked at least 2 hours daily, plus all the training that i do with him). and i cannot take him to the places that i used to enjoy with my other springer because he'd just pull me all over because there would be too much to see and smell and i just think it would blow his mind! sorry to go on......

hi GSDLover,

i've just purchased a mikki harness off ebay, so i'll see how he goes on with that! think i'm just gonna start from scratch with the lead training and recall training. see how he gets on. went to our obedience class last night and he behaved wonderfully!

Hi Springergirl It may take a long time and a lot of hard work to get a good recall, with practise and as his trust in you grows it may improve but on the other hand he may never have a good recall, but that doesn't mean he can't go for walks and enjoy his life with you .

Are his manners on the lead still bad? If so I would tackle that problem first and I would do so when out with him alone and on a normal lead not a line so he gets used to control.

If Sam were mine I would plod away slowly at the recall and although it is a good thing to have it isn't everything, I would try to accept and enjoy Sam as he is with all his many good attributes ....If you return him to the rescue are you sure someone will take him on who can do a better job or love him more than you do?

I doubt anyone else will do more for him than you have Springergirl, it sounds as if you have come a long way with him already, he could be a lot worse off if returned to the rescue and re homed again