Six free dog training schedule templates in Word. One is a plain training log for any dog, and the rest are built around the specific jobs that need tracking day by day: house-training, working toward a goal, practising around distractions, training in bad weather, and grooming. Print one, keep it where you will see it, and fill it in as you go.
Free dog training schedule templates
Click any template to download it. No account, no email address, no watermark.
Dog Training Schedule Template – Basic Plan
The general training log. Sessions down the page with space for the command practised, how long you spent and how it went. Start here if you are not sure which you need.
- File type: MS Word (ZIP)
- File size: 123 KB
- Best for: everyday training
Dog Training Schedule Template – Potty Training
A toilet log for house-training a puppy: times out, what happened, and where the accidents occurred. The pattern that emerges after a few days is what tells you when to take them out.
- File type: MS Word (ZIP)
- File size: 115 KB
- Best for: house-training a puppy
Dog Training Schedule Template – Goals Plan
Works backwards from one goal, such as a reliable recall, breaking it into the steps and weeks it will take rather than treating every session as unconnected practice.
- File type: MS Word (ZIP)
- File size: 114 KB
- Best for: working toward one skill
Dog Training Schedule Template – Distractions
Tracks the same command across harder and harder settings, from the kitchen to the garden to a busy park, which is the step most people skip when a dog only obeys at home.
- File type: MS Word (ZIP)
- File size: 117 KB
- Best for: proofing commands outdoors
Dog Training Schedule Template – Weather Based Training
Pairs each session with an indoor alternative, so a wet week does not become a week of no training at all. Useful if you live somewhere with a real winter.
- File type: MS Word (ZIP)
- File size: 89 KB
- Best for: training through bad weather
Dog Training Schedule Template – Weekly Grooming
A grooming rota rather than a training log, covering brushing, bathing, ears, teeth and nails, each on its own interval so the less frequent jobs are not forgotten.
- File type: MS Word (ZIP)
- File size: 95 KB
- Best for: grooming routines
Which dog training template should you pick?
Pick by the problem you are actually trying to solve this month, not by the dog’s age. A nine-year-old rescue learning to be left alone and an eight-week-old puppy need the same kind of log.
| What you are working on | Use |
|---|---|
| General training, no specific goal | Basic Plan |
| House-training a puppy or new dog | Potty Training |
| One skill you want reliable | Goals Plan |
| A dog who listens at home but not outside | Distractions |
| Keeping training going in winter | Weather Based Training |
| Brushing, bathing, nails and teeth | Weekly Grooming |
Two of these together cover most situations. A new puppy usually needs the potty log plus the basic plan; an adolescent dog who has stopped listening on walks needs the goals plan plus distractions. There is no benefit to running more than two at once, because the thing that makes a training log work is that you actually fill it in.
How to use a dog training schedule
- Unzip the file and open it in Word. Google Docs, LibreOffice Writer and Apple Pages open it too.
- Keep sessions short. Several five-minute sessions across a day generally work better than one long one, particularly with puppies, whose attention runs out long before yours does.
- Write down what you did immediately, not in the evening. “Three out of five recalls in the garden” is useful; “went okay” four hours later is not.
- Note what went wrong as well as what went right. The failures are where the pattern is: a command that works indoors and fails outdoors is telling you to go back a step, not to repeat the same session harder.
- Print it and put it somewhere physical, by the lead or on the fridge. A log in an app you have to open is a log you will stop filling in by Thursday.
- Review it weekly. The point of writing it down is to notice the trend, which is invisible day to day and obvious across two weeks.
Common questions
How long should a training session be?
Short and frequent beats long and occasional, especially for puppies. A few minutes at a time, several times a day, keeps the dog engaged and ends the session before they lose interest. If your dog is wandering off mid-session, the session was already too long.
What should I write in the notes column?
Be specific about what happened rather than how it felt. Record how many times out of how many attempts the dog responded, where you were, and what else was going on. That turns the log into something you can compare week to week instead of a diary.
How long does house-training usually take?
It varies a great deal by dog, and setbacks are normal rather than a sign something has gone wrong. What the log is for is spotting the pattern in your own dog’s timings, which is more useful than any general figure, because it tells you when to take them out before an accident rather than after.
My dog’s behavior has changed suddenly. Is that a training problem?
Not necessarily, and it is worth ruling out the other explanation first. A sudden change in behavior, toileting habits or tolerance for handling can be a sign of pain or illness, so speak to your vet before treating it as something to train out. A training log is genuinely useful here, because the dates and details in it give your vet something concrete to work from.
Can I use these templates in my business?
Yes. Trainers, groomers, kennels and rescues can edit, brand, print and hand these out to clients at no cost. You may not resell the template files or republish them as your own download library.
