I recommend keeping a log or journal for everyone working with their dogs. This really helps you keep track of where you have been and how the training is progressing. This is really helpful with serious behavior problems and complex dogs. Find things to measure and keep track of the facts. For example for a dog that is afraid of passing people on rollerblades, you could count the number of rollerbladers that pass in an outing, whether your dog barked or made other sounds and for how long, and how long after the rollerblader passed did the dog take food. What was the number of rollerbladers on outing?
For example with my current dog, it used to be he would refuse even the best food when people passed on trail, then he would take food reluctantly if it had been 15 minutes since somebody passed, then two minutes, then thirty seconds, then he would instantly eat as single quiet person passed. Put as much detail as possible into your notes. This will also let you identify what elements seems to trigger your dog’s behavior such as, turns out your dog only barks when someone wears a hat. That really helps you fine tune and identify the different triggers for your dog’s behavior. It may help you decide to go a less populated since the number of people seems too much at this point or maybe the behavior is worse when you are walking with a friend or maybe it is better.
This is true for basic training as well. It will make a difference in your training. If you are working a sit stay for example keep track of the facts such as Ricky did a 90 second sit stay in kitchen with only you in room, then Ricky did 3 minute sit stay in kitchen with only you in the room, etc.
If you need to, just use quick hand in notebook or jot short hand notes on calendar. Keep these records to get an idea of how things have progressed over time.
