Dog Training Client Intake Form Template

What is a client intake form and when do you use it?

A client intake form is the questionnaire a new client completes before their first session. It replaces the scattered back-and-forth of emails and calls with one structured record, so you understand the dog, the household, and the goal before you ever meet.

Send it the moment a client books, and make it a required step in your onboarding workflow. A good intake form saves time, surfaces safety issues early (like a bite history), and helps you tailor the very first session.

What should a dog training intake form include?

Group your questions so they're quick to answer: owner details, dog details, health and safety, behavior and history, household and routine, and goals. Ask only what you'll actually use — long forms get abandoned.

The full intake form template

Copy the block below into your form builder, document, or Pawtner digital training form and edit to fit your services.

DOG TRAINING CLIENT INTAKE FORM

— Owner / Handler —
Full name:
Phone:
Email:
Address (for in-home sessions):
Best way and time to reach you:
Who else will handle the dog?

— Dog Details —
Dog's name:
Breed (or best guess):
Age / date of birth:
Sex: [ ] Male  [ ] Female   Spayed/neutered? [ ] Yes [ ] No
Weight:
How long have you had this dog?
Where did the dog come from? (breeder, shelter, rescue, other)

— Health & Safety —
Veterinarian name & clinic:
Up to date on vaccinations? [ ] Yes [ ] No
Any medical conditions, injuries, or medications?
Any allergies or food restrictions?
Has the dog ever bitten a person or another animal? [ ] Yes [ ] No
  If yes, please describe what happened:
Does the dog have resource-guarding or handling sensitivities?

— Behavior & History —
What behaviors would you like to work on? (rank top 3)
When did these behaviors start?
What triggers the behavior? (people, dogs, noises, being alone, etc.)
What have you already tried, and what happened?
Has the dog had prior training? (classes, private, board & train)
What equipment do you currently use? (collar, harness, crate, etc.)

— Household & Routine —
Who lives in the home? (adults, children & ages, other pets)
Typical daily schedule / how long is the dog alone?
Where does the dog sleep and eat?
What food and treats do you use?
How much daily exercise and enrichment does the dog get?

— Goals —
What does success look like for you in 4–8 weeks?
Any deadlines or events driving this? (new baby, move, travel)
Preferred training days/times:
How did you hear about us?

By submitting this form, I confirm the information above is accurate to the
best of my knowledge.
Signature: ______________________   Date: ____________

How do you walk through each section?

Each block of the form has a job. Understanding what each section is for helps you decide what to keep, cut, or expand.

Owner / Handler. This is more than contact details. Asking who else will handle the dog tells you whether you're coaching one person or a whole household — a huge factor in consistency. Capturing the best time and channel to reach someone prevents the reschedule spiral that eats your calendar.

Dog Details. Breed guesses, age, and source shape your expectations without stereotyping. A ten-week-old puppy from a breeder and a four-year-old rescue with an unknown history call for very different first sessions, even if the presenting complaint is identical.

Health & Safety. Treat this as the most important block. Vaccination status, medical conditions, and — above all — bite and resource-guarding history drive handler safety and case planning. Never let a client skip these fields; make them required.

Behavior & History. Ranking the top three concerns forces prioritization so you don't try to fix everything at once. The "what have you already tried" question is gold: it tells you what has failed, what tools are in the house, and how much unlearning you may need to do.

Household & Routine. Exercise, enrichment, feeding, and alone-time answers often reveal that a "behavior problem" is really an unmet-needs problem. You'll solve more cases by reading this section carefully than by drilling obedience.

Goals. Success framed in the client's words, plus any deadline (a new baby, a move, travel), lets you set a realistic plan and revisit it at every check-in.

How do you customize it for your niche?

Add fields specific to your niche and remove anything you won't act on — long forms get abandoned. Use the table below as a starting point.

If you run virtual sessions, add questions about the client's space, camera setup, and internet up front so your first video call isn't spent troubleshooting.

Keep it digital. When intake lives in a tool like Pawtner, the answers flow straight into the client record, so you're not re-typing details before every session.

What are the most common intake mistakes?

• Making the form too long. Every extra field lowers completion. Ask only what changes your plan.
• Sending it too late. Intake sent the night before is useless. Send it at booking and make it a required step before session one.
• Ignoring the safety answers. A bite-history flag should trigger a review before you ever meet the dog — not a surprise at the door.
• Collecting data you never read. If nobody looks at "where did the dog sleep," delete the question.
• Storing answers in your inbox. Scattered emails mean you re-hunt details before every session. Keep answers in the client record.
• Never revisiting goals. Pull the goals section up at each progress check-in so you can show measurable movement.

How do you turn intake answers into a first session?

Read the form the day before and write a one-line plan: the primary goal, the safety flag to watch, and the first exercise you'll teach. If the intake shows a bite history, plan management and distance work first. This five-minute review separates a prepared trainer from one who improvises at the door.

Note: This template is a general starting point for gathering client information, not legal advice. If you collect health or personal data, review your local privacy requirements and add any consents your jurisdiction requires.

Action checklist

• Send the intake form automatically the moment a client books.
• Make it a required step before session one.
• Flag safety answers (bite history, guarding) for review before you meet.
• Trim fields you won't use so the form stays short.
• Store answers in the client record, not a scattered inbox.
• Revisit the goals section at each progress check-in.