How I Use my Digital Planner to Train My Puppy
So you just got a new dog you’re super excited and you have a digital planner! I am in exactly the same boat as you right now and this is how I’ve used my digital planner to start training my dog and to keep track of her progress.
Digital planning can apply to nearly everything, so when my partner and I adopted a rescue puppy a few weeks ago, I was eager to put my digital planner to the test and see how I could use it in conjunction with training a puppy. Here’s what I’ve found out!
GOAL SETTING
I use goal setting in the same exact way I do for myself, except I tailor it for my dog.
Identify what you’d like your puppy to learn:
It was really helpful in the beginning to identify what I wanted our puppy to learn first. For me, this is what we first started on:
Learning her name
Sit
Down
Potty (outside)
Recall (coming to me when I call her name)
There’s other stuff I worked on as well during this timeframe such as:
getting her comfortable having her paws touched,
lifting her tail,
putting my fingers in her mouth,
working on her bite inhibition,
touching her ears,
touching between her toes,
touching her toenails.
Having her be comfortable in the car.
Have loud noises around her (vacuum, blow dryer, blender, dryer, construction
But this stuff wasn’t the main focus and I considered it to be supplemental training.
Plan for Learning
This is where I use my goal-setting sheet. Since I have identified 5 goals (learn her name, sit, down, potty, and recall) I was able to fill out the sheet and start making a plan for her.
Create a Basic Schedule
In tandem with the goal-setting sheet, I also like to create a basic schedule for my dog. I’ve used a variety of different pages for this, but in the past week, I’ve enjoyed using the dayview page.
Note: I will create a whole different section in my digital planner just for my dog, That way all the info is in the same place and I can stay within her section when I am working with her. I will typically add duplicate pages and then move them into a new section.
Develop A Routine
This is the point where I’ll start to do the action. I use my basic schedule to start the training process. If the schedule is something I like time-wise, I will make it into a routine by using the routine page.
Progress Tracking:
It’s helpful for me to keep track of my dog’s progress. I can see if there are any commonalities between her challenges and also celebrate her growth.
Make Adjustments as Necessary
Be open to pivoting, adjusting, and being flexible Based on your dog’s needs
Photo Album
I’ve also started using the photo album section just to have her own photos. I love photos and puppies stay small for such a little amount of time. It feels like a long time while it’s happening, but I know it’s not. I want to have photos of this timeline of us adopting her and her joining our family and all of that. Her ears have also changed so much since we adopted her. I really wish I took more pictures of her ears when we first got her.
Journal Section
The journal section is used to write notes about how the day went, how the morning went, and how things are going in general. I like to write about how her temperament is changing, what scares her, what she’s a little apprehensive about, what treats she likes, etc. Just general notations on her that I’ve noticed, such as:
how fast/slow she eats
when she has to go to the bathroom
any temperment notes
her activity level throughout the day
when she gets tired
how long she can hold her bladder
what treats she’s had for the day
What treats she likes ( I like to make a ranking list)
How long it takes her to settle down in her crate
how long her energy spurts last for
What (if anything) causes her to be more nippy?
Calendar
I like to have 2 calendars one for myself and the other for my dog. I add things like:
vaccination schedule
socialization activities (once fully vaccinated)
puppy class(es)
sensory walks
hiking adventures
Eventually, I think I will consolidate my 2 calendars into one, but for now this is a system that is working well for my dog and me.
In conclusion, there’s a variety of ways you can use your digital planner to train your dog or to use in tandem with training your dog. Digital planning is such a great tool that can be integrated into many different aspects of your life all you need to do is have a little creativity in how you use it!
