Andrea Rosebrock 
If you have a dog that listens and obeys well when he is on-lead but not so much when he is off-lead, here’s a few training tips from Daniel Stevens, writer of the great dog training book, SitStayFetch – Dog Training To Stop Your Dog Behavioral Problems!
The fact that your dog responds well when he is on the leash and not at all when he is off the leash suggests to me that he is not focusing enough on you and your commands when you give them. It is a priority that you are able to reinforce your commands when you give them, otherwise he will run roughshod over your commands. Now this is easier said than done, however you can try the following technique in an attempt to overcome the problem.
I would continue with the on-leash training sessions for now. I would ask you to consider where these training sessions take place. If he performs well on-leash at your home then take him to a dog park or somewhere where there are more distractions, but keep him on-leash. If you can, slowly build up the amount of distractions that are around during your training sessions. When you are satisfied that he will respond (on-leash) to you under a variety of distracting situations then try him off-leash at your home or the place that he responds to on-leash training the best. This place should have minimal distractions, by that I mean there are no other people, dogs or other animals in the vicinity.
If you are only training him in the relative quiet of your own home then if you let him off leash or put him in a new environment then it is not surprising that he responds poorly.
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For more information and training tips, check out SitStayFetch – Dog Training To Stop Your Dog Behavioral Problems!
Interesting. My boy behaves perfectly on-leash. But off-leash? He looks at me as if I have two heads. I gotta check out Sit Stay Fetch.
AIR, there’s not too many things I recommend but this one that I do wholeheartedly!! It addresses so many things from the basic and beyond. I’ve been extremely pleased with the information I received. If you do check it out, I would love to hear what you thought of it, so far I have gotten only the most positive feedback from people who have gotten it.
Deanna