We got a Jack in Dec 07 aged 14months.

From a dog that didn't seem to know anything not even his name, we seem to have made great steps in training him. But can't get 100% recall
Thought we had cracked it after again going back to basics, when on tuesday he did a runner again. Sure Jack would have carried on going but he came to a fence & the scent he was following seemed to carry on the other side, this made him stop & he then listend to stop whistle. 3 months before this when he followed a scent it was across the local bypass, so he's a danger to himself & others

After today considering the use of a spray collar & reading some of the topics on here & reading the topic on Molly we have decided the money would be better spent on a trainer. So tomorrow i'm on the phone to a certain trainer ( not mentioning any names in case he doesn't answer )

Just wondering how Molly is doing now.

you sound like uve done a great job with him, recall unless trained to perfection from a young pup is extremely difficult to master. in the last few months ive seen even experienced field trial dogs throw a deffy now and again so i wouldnt be too hard on your accomplishments.

as uve trained the stop whistle why not use it as a reward to the dog not as a stop to him doing something he wants to do. ie sit the dog up blow the stop whistle and give him a retreive as a reward over a period of time your dog will realise that actually its fun to be around you so doesnt need to seek fun elsewhere.

im not a fan of spray collars and just try and remember the golden rule, if you cant enforce a command then dont give it and yes i know from personal experience its much easier said than done

my Molly?? if it is she's doing fine. just spent a week in Scotland and never lost her once, comes on the whistle, had a bit of a moment yesterday with Freya, in very heavy bunny sand dunes, but to be fir she was round and about at all times and when it came to coming off the beach, she sat for Freya while i put her lead on. Be warned its a long and slow process, but worth it in the end

Thanks Lizzy great to hear Molly is still doing what she & you have learnt

We don't expect miricles over night & expect plenty of work but sure it will be worth it in the end.
Understand that part of the problem is probably with us & we need a kick up the a### to put more work in.
We have come a long way with Jack, from a dog when we first let him off charged into a large thicket of brambles & it took us a good while to get him out & he seemed to have an obsession with them. We can now walk past no trouble
When Jack came to us he didn't seem to know his name & sit & wait forget it, in true untrained springer fashion he pulled like a train , which is now mostly under control
On a clear field without any rough i can get Jack to sit & wait, walk a good distance away or a full circle round him & call him to me no trouble. He will also wait to be sent for a retrieve & i can walk away throw a retrieve in one direction, walk in the other, call him to me & he will ignore the retrieve & come straight to me. But trying to walk with him, even when we keep calling him back & stop whistle. Every so often nose goes into overdrive & it's were is this scent taking me BYE & 2 fingers go up
The other day Jack went to do a dash from the back garden through the house to the front window, as he'd heard Bailey barking at a cat. He stopped & sat straight away at the sound of my voice. Think the voice could also be a problem, as when he does a runner outside there is probably unintentionally a diffrent tone, due to the fear of his near miss on the bypass & other dissapearing acts out of site.
I repeat we probably need a kick up the a###. Like a diet or exercise, with the best intention in the world you never give it 101% until you join a club or you have someone keeping a check on your progress

So next week we get that kick as Jack & lazy owners are booked in for 1st lesson Wish us Luck

Well we eventually arrived at Mike's yesterday, i say eventually as we set of giving us what we thought was plenty of time to arrive there on time & it seemed like everything was against us traffic wise as soon as we hit the motorway

Here goes the good news . Mike gave us a tips on how to get Jacks attention better should he ignore recall. We have to fully concentrate on Jacks heel work over the next fortnight to get his attention more focused on us & Mike's going to e-mail us a training schedule to follow. Mike told us Jack isn't as bad as we think & we need to learn to relax & make training fun, not as loud with the whistle. He doesn't think we will need to see him again, we will get there in the end & any problems give him a ring.

so i guess we must have done somethings right over the past months. Think it's just knocked our confidence & trust in Jack when he's done a runner
And Jack made the journey without being sick.