Hide n Seek

I am lucky enough to be able to walk with my dogs daily on wonderful trails where they romp off leash.   Both dogs check in frequently and have good recall (except when Riley finds a golf ball but that's another story).   I have noticed recently as the dogs have enjoyed more playing together that they aren't checking in quite so much and occasionally they just start running together and zoom down the trail around corners out of sight.  This is not acceptable behaviour for safety reasons.

Saturday we were hiking and they did this so I ducked off to the side of the trail out of sight.  When they came back to check in they found me quickly.  The next time I made a point to duck into a spot where I could hide quite well.  Stella came back first as usual and ran by a few times before stopping and heading straight to me.  The little miss definately has a good nose on her.  I then held her with me and Riley came zooming back to look for us and ran by.  He also has an amazing sense of smell but relies less on it when he is excitable so it is harder for him to seek me out.  I let him run up and down the trail for a few minutes looking for us before I called him to my position.    I did this one other time that day when they again got to far ahead.  After the third time both dogs were careful to keep a much better eye on my location. 

It might seem a bit mean to stress them out this way but it is important to me that they remember to stick close.  I think having the time to romp off leash and be dogs is a good trade off for this.  When we walked yesterday I only got one little chance to hide on them and they caught me before I could get into position.  I would say that means the message is being received :o).