Puppy and older dog jumping playpen gate

Question
We have a cocker spaniel who is 5 months old and a beagle who is 7. The little one has started to jump the play pen gate and encourages the beagle to do it. What can we do about it, as I am blind and both dogs will try to escape if they are not contained?

Answer
A strong aversive can be used and will definitely work on the Beagle, who is only following the younger dog.  Whether or not the younger dog will respond depends on the dog's temperament, something I can't determine from here.  This aversive must be conditioned (to the younger dog ONLY) and done VERY CAREFULLY.  YOU cannot do it, as it requires a sighted person.  Get a few empty cans of soda; put five pennies in each one, crimp all cans in the middle (so pennies cannot fall out.)  Put the Beagle in another room as far from the training event as possible (another floor, if you have one.)  Using tiny pieces of cheese, toss a piece onto the floor away from the Cocker.  When she goes to get it, SHAKE one of the cans.  OBSERVE HER carefully.  IF THE SHAKE ALONE STOPS HER, pick up the cheese, wait 30 seconds, drop it again, SHAKE the can.  If the SHAKE ALONE works, she will (in the third trial) back away from the cheese and refuse to go toward ANY piece of cheese you drop in the next few minutes.  IF THE SHAKE ALONE DOES NOT WORK THE FIRST TIME, the second time THROW THE CAN ACROSS THE ROOM--NOT AT THE DOG!!-- so it makes a VERY loud noise.  If the dog STOPS going for the cheese, go pick it up, and 30 seconds later repeat, but this time JUST SHAKE THE CAN.  If the SHAKE stops her the second time in this trial, use it once more, then stop.  IF THE THROW does NOT STOP HER, if she continues to go toward the cheese, REPEAT with TWO CANS: drop cheese, dog goes toward it, throw one can after the other as loudly as possible.  You WILL see a reaction at this point.  Repeat the exercise but ONLY SHAKE a can.  The obvious work here is:
1.  Introducing the aversive (the can) in a low threshold with minimal impact (just the SHAKE itself for the first trial, followed by minimal shake the second, for a dog with a very soft temperament)
2.  Introducing the aversive (the can) in a higher threshold with a greater impact (THROW one can, followed by SHAKE the second trial, for a dog with average temperament.)
3.  Introducing the aversive (the can) in a very high threshold with a severe impact (THROW two cans, followed by THROWN can the second trial, SHAKE the third, for a dog with strong temperament.)

THE OBJECT is NOT to scare the dog to death.  The object is to obtain a conditioned response to the PRESENCE and SOUND of the can.  This must be done VERY CAREFULLY.  It's far better to err on the side of caution than to frighten the dog.  Once the dog has obtained the conditioned response, a few hours later test it.  Throw another food object (different from the first) and, when the dog goes for it (IF SHE DOES, some dogs will never do it again), SHAKE the can MINIMALLY.  She should respond by backing off.  If she does not, recondition the entire experience again the next day, but this is quite rare.  At five months, she should easily obtain a response without a full blown can throwing fiesta!

Ok, so now your cocker is conditioned to the can.  Suspend several from the top of the threshold OVER the TOP of the baby gate (using yarn or lightweight rope, or even tape which won't require making holes in the cans.)  Every time the cocker attempts to move the gate, or even puts her paws on it, the cans will MOVE and make a sound.  This will definitely stop her, at least for a while, and possibly long enough for her to forget this behavior (although escape is highly self rewarding.)  Be VERY CAREFUL not to injure the basic confidence of this puppy.  If she finds it necessary to escape in this manner, she may not be getting sufficient interaction with humans, nor enough exercise.  In this case, it's YOUR FAULT, so don't punish her for it, correct YOUR behavior.  Any further help required, please don't hesitate to repost.