When I am training a dog, I like the owner’s feedback along the way and later after the lessons are over.
Every lesson, and then the application of that lesson, even indirectly, affects the dog’s future responses. By monitoring any significant changes, I can fine tune what we do each time we meet. Furthermore, getting feedback after the lessons, even years later, is valuable. I’ve had many students contact me years later, even after that dog passed away from old age, to tell me how happy they were with what we did back then.
This is why I don’t like training dogs to fit a mold. No two dogs are the same, and good training will adjust as the dog develops and matures. For one dog, a situation might be very stimulating whereas for another dog it might be calming. One dog finds something threatening, and another doesn’t. One sees certain animals as being prey and others don’t care at all. In difficult cases, once you start unpacking the symptoms, deeper issues can be revealed that were not apparent at the start.
Owner feedback is essential. It isn’t all the trainer. Not only does the owner see things because they live with their dog, but they also influence what is going on beyond whatever has been going on with the lessons. For example, what if there was a scuffle between the owner’s dogs the previous few weeks? Or the owners had a big argument in front of the dogs? Or the dogs were almost to the point of going at it again, but the owner didn’t spot the buildup? Or the owner didn’t see how their kid or the neighbor next door did something to upset their dog? Any small details, even those that might seem irrelevant, can sometimes be invaluable clues that could modify subsequent lessons. Dog behavior is always a dynamic process that is a product of innumerable influences.
My recommendation is that dog owners seriously accept their responsibility to give feedback to the trainer… before, during and after any lessons. Short term and long term. You are then more likely to get a good result. Your trainer isn’t going to hound you to draw all of that out of you. Be cooperative, alert, and proactive. You won’t get the best results, or minimize risks, without giving sufficient feedback along the way.
Since the dogs I work with are going to be in the real world, these things can’t be put into some kind of a formula. They have to be perceived and communicated along the way. It is going to be a cooperative effort.
Plan accordingly.