I HAVE A 9 MONTH OLD MALE STANDARD POODLE

Question
I HAVE A 9 MONTH OLD STANDARD POODLE MALE - HE IS A VERY GOOD BOY IN THE HOUSE, IS CLEAN, REASONABLY OBEDIENT AND HAS A LOVELY NATURE.  HOWEVER - HE WILL NOT COME TO ME WHEN HE IS OFF HIS LEAD IN PUBLIC - HE WILL RUN AFTER ANYONE - ESPECIALLY CHILDREN - AND COMPETELY IGNORES ME.   HE IS NOT MY FIRST STANDARD POODLE - HE IS IN FACT MY FOURTH - BUT  HE SEEMS TO BE HARDER THAN THE OTHER DOGS TO TRAIN TO COME WHEN CALLED.  OTHER THAN THIS I HAVE NO PROBLEMS WITH HIM BUT HE DOES NEED HIS EXERCISE AND I AM FINDING IT VERY DIFFICULT TO GIVE HIM A RUN OFF THE LEAD ANYWHERE - HAVE YOU ANY SUGGESTIONS?  IS THIS PUBERTY?

Answer
I am afraid this may be just his individual nature.  He may do better when he is older.  This is not my best area.  Most of my experience is with dog guides which are NEVER allowed to run loose except in a fenced area.  When he gets too restless, our friend sometimes sends hers out to our house to run in our fenced yard without dogs.  Do you have dog parks in your area?  They are large fenced areas where people can safely play with their dogs.  The retired dog guide I have gets most of her exercise walking on leash.  Sometime I go to the state land along the river.  With little in the way of people and traffic, I can safely let her run loose.  Being a Lab, she loves a swim even when the water is cold.  Last summer I took my friends' 2 Goldens with me.  They all had a great time, but the Goldens were a mess afterwards.  In strange areas, dogs are much better about staying with you.

Did you know Poodles were originally bred as retrievers the same as Labs?  The word Poodle comes from the same root as our word puddle.  I had a link to a beautiful picture of a silver Poodle coming out of a pond with a Mallard in its mouth.  the link is gone now.  Poodles are prized as service dogs because they lack the dander that causes allergies.