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Watching the work
Can I watch training sessions?
Wanting to see the work is reasonable, and a program that never lets you see it should worry you. The real questions are when watching helps, when it changes what you are watching, and how to get the most from the sessions you do see.
Two answers
The go-home lesson is watching built into the program; observation mid-stay is agreed case by case
Every Dogtown board and train ends with you in the room. At the go-home lesson the trainer runs each skill with your dog while you watch the cue, the marker, the reward and the timing, then hands you the leash and coaches you through the same skills. Foundation ends with one such lesson. Advanced includes two scheduled coaching lessons, which splits the handover and leaves room to practice and gather questions in between; Gabby explains the spacing at the consult.
Watching in the middle of a stay is a separate matter, and no rule for it appears on this site. Whether you can observe, in person or by video, and on which days, is settled with Gabriella Pope at the consult and written into your plan. The daily update is the regular window in between; whether it carries photos, video or a written note is confirmed when you book, so if seeing your dog move matters to you, say so early.
- Go-home lesson: you watch, then you handle
- Foundation: one lesson; Advanced: two scheduled lessons
- Observation mid-stay: agreed at the consult
- Daily update format: confirmed at booking
The observer effect
Your presence changes the session, which is why the timing of any viewing matters
Dogs notice who is watching. In a 2013 PLOS ONE study by Horn, Huber and Range, dogs spent longer working at a puzzle apparatus when their owner was in the room than when the owner was absent, whether the owner sat silently or encouraged them, while an unfamiliar person in the room made no difference. The authors concluded that an owner's presence or absence can substantially change a dog's motivation, and with it the outcome of a test.
In a training stay that cuts both ways. Early in the week, an owner in view can pull a dog's attention away from the trainer and set up a hard goodbye afterward. Late in the stay the same pull is useful, because a dog that works well with you nearby is rehearsing the handover. That is why the go-home lesson sits at the end, and why any mid-stay viewing makes more sense in the second week of Advanced than in the first days of Foundation.
What to watch for
When you do watch, look at the dog as well as the result
A good session is easy to recognize once you know where to look. The dog's body should be loose, its tail at a natural height, its mouth soft, and it should keep taking food. Rewards should arrive often and within a second or so of the behavior, and difficulty should rise one step at a time. When the dog gets something wrong, the trainer makes the next step easier rather than correcting it. Sessions should be short and end while the dog still wants more.
Raise it straight away if you see a dog that freezes, turns away, licks its lips again and again or stops taking food, or a trainer who repeats a cue louder and louder. Dogtown's training is force-free, never a prong, choke or shock collar; the exact kit is chosen at the assessment. Anything you notice, encouraging or puzzling, is worth writing down for the go-home lesson.
- A loose body, a soft mouth, still taking food
- Frequent rewards, delivered quickly
- One step harder at a time, easier after a miss
- Short sessions that end on a success
- A flat collar or harness, never prong, choke or shock
Planning it
Plan the watching you want before the stay, and use the lessons fully
Tell us at the consult what you hope to see and why. A family that mainly wants reassurance may be best served by fuller daily updates; a family that wants to learn needs time on the leash, which the go-home lessons provide. Living close, in Rockport, Essex or Manchester-by-the-Sea, makes viewing easier to arrange but no easier on the dog. Ask whether the Pup Van, $10 each way in those towns and Gloucester, can handle the drop-off, so your first look at the training is the lesson itself.
Book the go-home lesson as an appointment you can stay for, inside a pick-up window such as 4 to 6:30 PM on a weekday or 12 to 1 PM on a Saturday, and bring everyone who will handle the dog. Read back through the updates the night before. Then watch the first run of each skill closely, because you are about to copy it. Our go-home lessons page covers what each lesson includes, and our board and train page sets out both programs.
- 01
Tell us at the consult what you want to see, and why
- 02
Agree the update format and any mid-stay viewing in writing
- 03
Book the go-home lesson for a time you can stay
- 04
Read the updates the night before the lesson
- 05
Watch each skill once, then take the leash and copy it
At Dogtown
Where you see the training
Every Dogtown board and train ends with coaching at 210 Eastern Ave, and the nights in between are spent in an overnight suite.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Can I watch through a webcam?
Can I watch my dog's evaluation?
Will watching mid-stay set my dog back?
Can other family members watch the go-home lesson?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Tell us what you want to see.
Send the training form and mention how you would like to follow the stay. We reply within one hour on business days and agree the details at the consult.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
