Ahhhh this sounds familiar!! My older Cocker forgets who I am once she can smell deer, rabbits and the such! She was so well behaved when she was little, so I didn't think twice when I let her off lead out in the country for the first time. After spending far too long trying to get her back I bought a 50ft piece of thin nylon cord from B&Q. I put knots in it every couple of feet and then tied the end to an old lead clip. It works a treat and is alot cheaper than shop bought training leads... And it is longer.

As for barking, I have 5 dogs (2 Newfoundlands, 2 Cockers and a GSD) non are allowed to bark. My dogs are so quiet that a delivery man told me I ought to get a dog like the one on the front of my house as I hadn't heard him knock.... I told him I had 5 dogs and his face was a picture!!! There are two things I do with mine when they are young if they start barking in the garden, 1, if they don't go quiet when told they are brought into the house and shut in for a few minutes then let out again. If they then start barking, even if they are doing it because they are playing, they get brought in again. And I do that until they get the message. They don't like getting shut in the kitchen, so they learn not to bark. The other thing I have done is use a plastic bottle (or drinks can with hole taped up), put gravel in, if the dogs bark I throw the bottle or can in their direction.... Also works very quickly!

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Galaxybears Newfoundlands, GSD's and Cocker Spaniels