Well, considering my iffy employment situation and how beautiful the weather was today, I decided to take them out (one at a time) on an expanding leash to give them some practice coming back to me on command. The results were quite mixed. River, who tends to be more headstrong, kept barreling to the extent of the leash at every opportunity. Starbuck obviously wanted to do the same, but was much better behaved. Unfortunately, she seemed almost scared of me after any correction, which is not the optimal situation.
Still, it was nice to get to explore a bit with the dogs today. They certainly enjoyed the change of scenery. I look forward to the time when I can let them run free, confident that they will come back when I call. I think all of us will enjoy our walks more then.