The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The good were the bluebells in the woods along The Tamar Trails.
The bad was Oscar spotting 2 black labs on a lower track and racing off to play with them. I am putting him on his lead whenever I see another dog to train him that he does not approach every dog he sees! But I had not spotted these two.Well  he was too big and bouncy and he scared the younger one and he woud not come back to me! I felt  ashamed, humiliated and stressed! I know he is just playing, but it looks like terrorising when the other dog doesn't want to play due to his sheer size and energy! I was on tenterhooks the rest of the walk and he was on/off/on/off the lead! So this wasn't Oscar being bad but my lack of control over him made me feel bad!
The ugly were the ant nests! I had seen piles of pine needles along one part of the track and just thought it was forest management. Well today I realised the piles were moving! Huge black ants with a red lower body section just all over the piles! I was taking photos when I realised Oscar was wriggling out of his harness. I thought he was being impatient and told him off before realising the ants were swarming up his legs! Nasty!
After dropping Oscar at home I went for my blood test and managed to talk myself out of the stress over Oscar,  that  he is too big and strong for me, that he is going to hurt another dog or me! My answer and plan is a) more training and the teaching of the word "Stop", starting with the walks when he is on a lead and happily pottering along paths! b) natural maturity as he ages c) the snip! d) buying a new harness with a bespoke handle to hold him securely when he gets overexcited! It takes all my strength and attention just to hold him back that I don't give him clear commands to desist! Possibly e) seeing a dog trainer for 1.1 sessions to show me how to train him! I did watch some really good videos on YouTube in the afterenoon about how to understand and train a dog, which were reassuring! He is a lovely dog with a great temperament and he has picked up certain commands so is easy to train, he returns to me on verbal command and now with the whistle, but he is also obstinate and young and an adolescent! I have not yet got the recall when other dogs are involved, although he has learnt not to chase after them when I let him off the lead once they have passed us! It's easy to forget how far he has come - he just needs to go a bit further!