Michael,
I have a dog who had/ has almost the exact same habit. He came from the pound at only 4 months, and is half border collie, half husky. His problem is a recall when there are other animals in sight, or occassionally when he is percieving the neighbor's dog's activities, even when I am not.
I took him to group obedience classes (in which I am proud to say he was a little star) and private obedience when he still needed work on this recall under these certain circumstances. I live in the country, in the woods, so when he goes he is out of my sight quickly and I am not fast enough to chase him anywhere. I got lots of great advice from people on this site and tried hope on a rope and other methods as well. I have found that I can yell my head off at him and the only affect is tired lungs! I laughed at myself when I came out from hiding behind a tree or walking in the other direction from where he was running, because frankly, he is not at that point at all concerned with me. He knows where he lives and has always come home on his own time. For safety and courtesy reasons (ie the road and the neighbours) this is not acceptable to me.
So . . . . the solution that I have used to date is keeping him on a long rope (always in my sight) and it has its flaws. My husband is not always as interested in the rope method, so occassionally Scout still goes for a jaunt, reinforcing how much fun it is to escape. Also, everytime I move around on the property I have to unclip his rope and move him to another tree.
The solution I am currently looking at is an invisible or underground electric fence. I know there are a number of people both for and against this on this web site and I can see the valid points of both opinions. However, compared to my dog's current level of freedom, I feel an electric fence will greatly improve his quality of life (and help my nerves too, as I am very concerned and stressed every time he escapes). I also understand that most dogs do not often get a shock from the fence. They learn its location, and the one I am looking at has an audio warning signal that I am fairly confident my dog would learn to recognise further enabling him to avoid a shock.
All that being said, not all invisible fences are created equally, and they are not cheap. The one I am looking at allows me to have a 30' wide shock zone (not including the warning area in front of it) and is based on a radio signal so the dogs collar does not have to be in any specific position for it to be effective. It also comes with a 3 month money back guarantee, to mitigate against the stories I have heard of dogs running through the fence and learning this option. Another benefit for my situation is that once the system is purchased, large amounts of the wire are relatively cheap, so I can give Scout a large area.
I am not saying this is the perfect solution, but I am hoping it is the one that works for us. All that being said, my dog is half husky, a breed notorious for their wander lust and independence from people. 90 days is not a long time and hopefully you will not have to go to these lengths to provide safety for your dog.
And in the end, whether it is my shortcoming as a trainer or the dog's that necessitates the fence doesn't matter as much as the fact that I can improve his quality of life with it.
All the best of luck with your challenge.
Jenny and Scout
