7 months is when dogs start the independent phase in life. They are comfortable venturing away from their pack and home.
Work on a solid Leave It and recall. You need to catch him before he starts chasing otherwise neither command will do you any good as he is too focused on the fun of moving squeaky toys.
Put a boring treat such as hard dog food under your foot. (Wear a shoe). Make sure he sees you do this. Wait until he gives up trying to get the treat and either looks away or looks at you. When this happens say Leave It" and give him a yummy treat from your hand. (cheese, chicken, etc...) Do this a few times until he looks up at you as soon as you place the treat under your foot. Then start to place the treat down and keep your foot slightly above the treat while saying Leave it. If he goes for the treat put your foot down fast so he doesn't get it. Continue to work at this until you can set a treat down say Leave It and not use your foot at all, then drop a treat in front of him. Once you have accomplished all of this you should be able to walk by a treat on the ground with him on leash and say Leave It. Give him a yummy treat as soon as he looks away from the treat you are walking by. (keep enough distance so he cannot get the treat as you walk by. Close but not that close)
Then you can start using Leave It on other objects, such as your ducks. As soon as he looks at them say Leave It. If he looks away give him a treat. If he doesn't move further away from the ducks and try again.
Recall or come command:
Start off on a 6' leash. Let him get distracted and say his name followed by the recall command. I use the word Here. As soon as he turns to you, he has already made the right decision so start praising him in an excited voice. Praise all the way in. So with my dogs it is "Zelda Here! Good Puppy! Good Puppy! Good Puppy!" I also reel the leash in, I'm not pulling her in but I take up the extra so that she can't change her mind and leave. Once he gets to you make sure you touch his collar or harness while giving a treat. You want him to think that being touched is part of the command. That way it's easier to cach a loose dog as he expects to be handled. He won't duck away from your touch.
You can slowly work up longer distances then start to add in distractions such as someone offering food or squeaking a toy. If the distractions are too much for him make them less intense and try again.
Hope that helps!
