Jumping dogs
The Epagneul Breton from puppyhood has a tendency to jump up on people, they do this to seek acceptance and companionship from humans as they yearn to be close and affectionate to humans. This tendency can be curved with positive teachings and correct handling of the dog, we have seen success with our method with young to adult dogs.
The Epagneul Breton is a game player, to correct such behavior a handler must keep the dog out of its natural game playing mentality. If the correction is too harsh the dog will develop an increased fear effecting future teaching, if it is too gentle the dog will continue the undesirable behavior and if the dog sees the correction as a game you will now have to correct both a taught and natural negative trait.
Examples
Incorrect
The dog jumps up and it gets a knee to the chest, the dog will think 1 of 2 things, the handler is playing a game or the handler is being too harsh causing pain and fear. Rarely have I seen a happy medium with this method, it is an example of a poorly executed teaching to the dog.
Correct
When the dog jumps up a handler needs only to make them uncomfortable for correction, the handler places his/her hand gently over the dogs eyes and base of the muzzle with gentle or no downward pressure. The dog will by default regain all four legs on the ground where it’s secure. This technique can be used with a proactive hand signal/gesture to remind the dog to stay down as its approaching. Remember to put the dog in a position to succeed, reward after the desired result is achieved and keep a calm mind. Start the teaching after initial excitement has settled and work toward the desired goal.
We will be posting videos of these and other techniques on our Epagneul Breton Life Facebook page after the 2018 hunting season.