The first year of life is an assessment of the natural genetic traits a dog possesses, it’s conformity, health, character and temperament. This assessment is crucial in identifying the teaching approach instituted into the dog as it matures and how much training the dog will need to meet goals and expectations in the second year.
A handler should work with the dog to identify and score the qualities for these natural traits, it’s best if there are other young specimens available for comparison.
-nose sensitivity
-gait
-ranging
-stamina
-water work
-biddability
-mentality
-intelligence
-style
-aggressive tendencies
-retrieving
-running
-head carriage
-heat conditioning
-gunfire conditioning
-quartering
-check back
Working traits are broken down in steps, for example.
Retrieving
-search
-grab/hold
-carry
*retrieving to hand shall not be considered a natural genetic trait, it shall be judged as biddability.
Once identified the handler can work with the dog in these steps with positive reinforcement to accomplish the ultimate goal, pressure should be applied after confidence is achieved in each step.
Draw out traits with the use of toys, noisemakers, balls and treats to bring out game playing and then move to birds, use similar mannerisms for association when making the transition. This is an important step as it balances the dogs mind with hunting and gameplay, if there is no association and the dog believes hunting is other than gameplay it will hunt for itself making training difficult in future lessons. This technique is a test of mentality and is the first of many similar techniques used to finish the dog on wild birds.
The ideal Epagneul Breton will Identify the association and move onto gameplay in the field.
Especially in terms of reproduction, if after 12 months old the dog doesn’t meet YOUR minimum standards in these traits, conformity standards and/or health screenings part with the dog and begin over. It is the knowledge, experience, standards and honesty of the breeder/handler that differentiate between the quality of the dogs being produced.