Dog Training Intake Form: What to Ask New Clients (Free Template)

You knock on the door for a first session. The owner opens it and says, "Oh, I should mention, he bit my neighbor last spring."

That's information you needed a week ago. A good intake form gets it to you before you ever arrive, along with everything else that makes the first session useful instead of a long Q&A on the doorstep.

Here's what to ask, a template you can copy, and how to get clients to actually fill it in.

Why Use an Intake Form

• Safety. You know about bites, reactivity and health issues before you walk in.
• A better first session. You arrive with a plan instead of spending half the session on questions.
• A written record. What the owner told you is on file, in their words.
• A signed agreement. If the form ends with your client agreement, it's signed before you meet.
• A quick fit check. If a case is outside what you take on, you'll know before you book it.

What to Ask on a Dog Training Intake Form

Real trainer intake forms can be very thorough. One we looked at runs to more than 70 questions across housing, health, diet, routine, household, training history and bite history. You don't need that many, but these are the areas worth covering:

The owner and household

• Name, phone, email, address and the best way to reach them
• Who lives in the home, including children, and who will practice with the dog
• Other pets, and how the dog gets along with them
• Housing type, and whether there's a fenced yard

The dog

• Name, breed, age, sex, and whether they're spayed or neutered
• Where the dog came from (breeder, rescue, shelter) and how long they've had them
• A photo, so you recognize them

Health and vet

• Vet name and clinic, and permission to contact them
• Current health problems, medications, and anything you should avoid
• Vaccines and their expiry dates (here's what to require)
• How the dog does with handling, and whether they've ever worn a muzzle

Behavior and bite history

• The main concern, in their own words, and when it started
• A recent, specific example of the behavior
• What they've already tried
• Whether the dog has ever bitten a person or another animal, what happened, and whether medical care was needed

For bites, a useful tool is Dr. Ian Dunbar's Dog Bite Scale, published by the APDT. It grades a bite from Level 1 (aggressive behavior, no skin contact) to Level 6 based on the wound, which gives you a shared, objective way to describe what happened. It's meant for assessing the bite, not the whole dog.

Routine and training history

• Exercise, feeding, and where the dog sleeps and spends the day
• Favorite treats and toys (useful on day one)
• Previous training: classes, trainers, and the methods and equipment used
• What the dog already knows: sit, down, come, loose-leash walking

Goals and logistics

• The top three things they'd like to change, and what success looks like to them
• Availability, where sessions will happen, and anything you need to know to get there
• How they heard about you

Free Dog Training Intake Form Template

Copy this into your form builder. Mark the starred questions as required.

How to Get Clients to Actually Finish It

Only require what you need. Every required field is a chance for someone to give up. Keep the essentials required and let the rest be optional.

Make it work on a phone. Many people will open your link on their phone, often in a spare minute. A form that's painful on a small screen won't get finished.

Ask for specifics. "He's reactive" doesn't help you plan. "He lunges and barks at dogs across the street on walks" does. Asking for a recent example gets you there.

Send it before you book. Make the form the first step, and book the session once it's in. You'll walk in prepared, and the agreement is already signed.

Read it and follow up. If anything is concerning, especially bite history, call before the first session rather than finding out on the doorstep.

Get the agreement signed at the end. In the US, the federal ESIGN Act says a signature or contract can't be denied legal effect just because it's electronic. Rules vary elsewhere, and this isn't legal advice, so have a lawyer review your agreement.

How Pawmand Handles Intake for You

• Share one link. New clients fill in your intake form on their phone or computer.
• Each new client gets a full profile automatically, labeled as a lead. No copying details out of an email or a form tool, and leads don't count toward your plan's client limit.
• Your client agreement is e-signed at the end of the form, so it's signed before the first session.
• Owners can add their dog's vaccines, with expiry dates, right on the form.
• Everything lands in one profile per owner, with all their dogs: breed, age, health, behavior, bite history, routine and training goals.

From there, it's the same place you schedule sessions, write summaries and get paid. (More on getting your whole business into one place.)