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It is right that heelwork, along with all the other basics, is easier to train and better instilled if concentrated on during in the early months, this is the phase that Eric refers to where the young puppy learns to learn. At 16 months the dog is maturing and will now have a degree independence and a resistance to situations he doesnt see as in his own best interests, thus making your job now more difficult. You must now be clear about what behaviour is correct and what is not, deciding the best way to achieve this and maintain a good relationship is often walking a very fine line.

Achieving a good relationship, a bond, is at the root of mutual cooperation and without it we struggle, training and working together is the best way to build it so you really need to set out a programme of training that will achieve your aims and create a quality teacher/pupil relationship.

At 16 months your dog needs to have exercise, you dont say in your post whether he retrieves, if he does then this is the best way to exercise him both mentally and physically and under control. Build up the distance for memory retrieves until he will comfortably go back 250 yards, doing this in the course of you training will give him the exercise he needs.

For walking to heel and the recall have a look at the FAQ section, there is something on both subjects. I would not support the use of a choke chain, it does very little to help, can cause injury and is not necessary, a slip lead is all you need but you could try a half check lead, this has some use as it does make a noise when tugged but will not cause any injury.

I personally would not turn into the dog too often as this type of action can cause the dog to keep a distance from you which is opposite to what you are trying to achieve. Neither am I a great fan of the check cord but as Eric and Bill says, at your dogs age, it may be of use in initially getting your message across. Use it purely to stop your dog moving further away from you, your training must be what gets your dogs cooperation. Your current use of the check cord is giving mixed messages to your dog, you walk him at heel for a while and then allow him to go off hunting, all whilst still on the cord, this has to be confusing for your dog.

Getting overly physical with correcting a dog, ie. dragging and shaking etc., is not always successful or recommended especially if the dog does not know what is expected of him, sometimes it appears to be working when the dog is actually acting out of fear, this will ultimately breakdown and perpetuate even stronger corrections, eventually reflecting in mediocre performances, a dangerous downwards spiral. Any form of correction has to take into account the dog's temperament and needs to be clearly thought out, failing to do this could result in creating even more problems.

You must also bear in mind when you say the dog knows the basics this is only true when he responds correctly wherever he is, whatever you teach him has to be generalised to other locations, situations and against distractions. As an illustration, sit may only mean sit in the places you taught it to the dog.

Take a step back and evaluate where you are in your training and structure a routine of progression (the broadsheets give you that) and how you are going to approach it, take your dog out once or twice a day for training, allowing him any freedom for hunting or free running will undoubtedly be counterproductive. Make sure your dog knows how to respond to a situation/your commands before you start reinforcing or correcting it, and also ensure your are absolutely clear in your commands and body language - keep it simple.

Jeff