Is it safe to assume that most proper working dogs are just trained by their owners then?
Well I haven't done a survey, (though maybe BASC did one a while ago?) but I think it likely that the vast majority of working dogs are trained by the owner alone, perhaps with the help of a book or two.
A lot of people only seek help when they get stuck with a bad problem (which would have been easier to prevent than cure) or if they want to get into competing.
Pippa