Originally Posted by
Labradorks
It sounds like she is doing well, especially for an 8 month old puppy. What is the problem? What are your fears? Where do you want to be able to let her off leash where you feel you cannot let her off now? Based on your post, I don't know why on earth you'd consider spending a few thousand on a boot camp (that may or may not work) or use an e-collar?
I do recall work starting from day one, with treats. Start in the house, move outside of the house, etc., slowly building up. The dog is always safe, always with a long line, always a party and treats. I have dozens of recall, feed, party, release to every one recall, leash and leave the fun stuff. I also train them to stay close this way, by calling them back every so often before they get beyond a certain distance (that distance is up to you). As puppies I also work on the collar grab, so recall, grab collar, feed, praise, release. I cannot tell you how many times getting my dogs in close and being able to grab their collars without spooking them or having them duck away has come in handy.
I'm very aware of my environment, always looking for dogs, kids, bicyclists, horses, runners, wildlife of any kind. Whenever possible, I want to see them before my dogs do and then call them in before they have a chance to make a wrong choice. While I have successfully called my dogs off of all of these things, including deer, I know that the chances of getting them back before they run off or get hurt are not 100%. So, I set them up for success as best I can and I never trust them completely. For example, I took the dogs to the mountain yesterday. They were on leash coming out of the car, even though they didn't have to be. But, I did not know the environment, and I did know they'd be excited (and not thinking 100% straight) so I wanted to make sure it was safe before allowing them, all excited, off leash. The first thing Linus did was try to jump on a snowbank which was actually a snow covered guard rail with a small cliff ending on the road below. The guard rail was about five feet away (same length as the leash) and even with an e-collar, I would not have been able to get to the remote fast enough to stop him, it happened so fast. So, manage your environment the best you can and do your best to know what you are dealing with before letting the dog off leash.
My dogs are 3 and 6 and are well trained, yet I still carry cookies in my pockets when we are out and about and I still feed them when they come back. Is that not an option for you? I know some people are against it, but I don't understand why it's such a big deal to have a baggie with treats on you to help ensure your dog's safety. I keep a plastic container in the car full of Charlie Bears or Cheerios for this purpose. When they were younger, I used higher value treats like freeze-dried liver or even small meatballs. The recall is the single most important command, IMHO, that you can teach your dog.
It's also normal for the dog to be a little crazy for a few minutes at first. I typically don't let the dogs off until I am at a place where they can get their yayas out for a few minutes and if I don't think they'll listen, I don't ask because I don't want them to develop bad habits. Especially when learning, if you feel certain the dog won't come back, don't ask him to, just walk up and get him. If we go to a place where there are other dogs (we have these huge off-leash fields where people walk for hours and dogs are off-leash, sort of like a giant dog park), my expectations are somewhat low, so I focus on keeping them close and when they find dogs to play with, I walk over and supervise. I don't call them off when they are in the middle of playing because I know they are focusing on that at the moment. It's like calling someone out of a football game when they are running to score a touch down and expecting them to just stop what they are doing and come to you. You either need to wait until they are done or go and grab them yourself.
I have high expectations, but like humans and children, they have their limits. The expectations we place on our dogs -- being 100% compliant at all times or else you go to bootcamp or get an e-collar -- are ridiculous. I've done it too and probably still do even though I try not to. An 8 month old is still a puppy and one going through adolescence at that. You do the best you can, commit, be consistent, train, be fair, build a relationship, manage your environment AND your expectations and then give your dog only the freedom that they can handle. Then, after doing all of this, if you have problems that compromise the dog's safety, start looking for a plan B.