"Not all the dogs necessarily run off. That is breed and training related."

Too true. With breed being more important than people realise. Herding breeds tend not to run off in general as they are always waiting for instruction from the shepherd. But my Pyries are much more independant and have been bred to wander off and check things out on their own (guarding the flock against bears and wolves) as the shepherd may have been miles away. Its next to impossible to train them not to do this as they have been doing it for a couple of thousand years now. At least if its nothing interesting the boys will come back on their own but my [censored] has no sense of direction and gets lost trying to get back! Needless to say she never gets let off her lead unless in an enclosed area.

I've had other dogs who didnt actually have a lead. They never needed one.