Why Every Dog Owner Needs a Dog Training Journal

Dog training can feel overwhelming at the best of times, but a dog training journal may be the solution that you didn’t know you needed. By being able to keep track of your progress, reflect on daily wins and challenges, and identify patterns in your dog’s behaviour, journaling can make your training journey more efficient, organised and so much less stressful.

When I first started using a dog training journal to track my reactive dog Jasper’s progress, I quickly saw the benefits. Although it took me a while to become (and stay) consistent-it did hlp me make better decisions, and start celebrating the small wins that I normally end up overlooking. Journaling became a powerful tool in transforming our journey, and I’m excited to share how it can do the same for you too!

Why A Dog Training Journal Is Essential

Owning a dog training journal can completely change the game in terms of progress when it comes to dog training. With consistency, journaling becomes much more powerful than simple note-taking. Whether you’re addressing unwanted behaviours, setting new goals, or trying to reduce overwhelm, a dog training journal helps you feel in control by providing the clarity and structure you need to succeed. It keeps you organised, helps you track patterns, and allows you to identify what’s working—and what isn’t.

Key Features You Should Be Looking for in a Dog Training Journal

When choosing a dog training journal, it’s important to look for features that will help you stay organised, track progress, and gain clarity. Here are some essential features to consider:

  • Goal Tracking: A journal should allow you to set and monitor both short-term and long-term goals.


  • Daily Planning: Look for tools to organise your dog’s routine and activities for each day.


  • Progress Tracking: The ability to track wins, setbacks, and behaviours over time is vital for seeing improvement.


  • Reflection Prompts: Prompts for daily, weekly, or monthly reflections can help you process what’s working and what’s not.

The Power of Reflection

Reflection is one of the most powerful tools in dog training (and in life). It’s not just about writing down what happened—it’s about learning from your experiences.


Taking time to reflect on your sessions, days, and months can help you grow as a trainer and make better decisions for your dog. While you may not always notice progress in your day-to-day training, looking back at the end of the month often reveals how far you’ve come. Even incremental improvements, like fewer reactions or quicker recovery times, show that your efforts are working.


Reflection also helps you process setbacks without getting stuck in them. By writing about what went wrong, you can identify what to do differently next time—and let go of the frustration.

The Benefits of Journaling for Dog Owners

  • Organisation at Your Fingertips
    A dog training journal helps you stay organised by keeping everything in one place. No more scrambling to find a misplaced notebook or sifting through scattered notes. With a journal, everything is clearly laid out—from your dog’s daily routine and enrichment activities to tracking their triggers and progress. This level of organisation saves time and ensures nothing important slips through the cracks.


  • Feel in Control and Reduce Overwhelm
    Training a dog can feel chaotic, especially if they’re reactive or anxious. A journal provides structure, helping you feel more in control of your journey. With everything planned and accessible, you’ll feel less overwhelmed by the growing list of things you must do and more focused on taking small, consistent steps toward progress. It’s a powerful way to turn what feels like chaos into something manageable.


  • Track Progress and Celebrate Wins
    It’s easy to forget the small victories when you’re caught up in the challenges of training. By logging your dog’s behaviours, triggers, and wins, you can see how far you’ve come on your journey. Journaling makes those small wins visible, and over time you’ll start to notice them more often, giving you more reasons to celebrate and stay motivated.


  • Reflection and Growth
    Journaling isn’t just about keeping records; it’s an opportunity to reflect and learn from your experiences. It allows you to process challenges, adjust your training methods, and grow alongside your dog in both skill and confidence. Over time, you’ll develop a deeper understanding of your dog’s needs, which strengthens your relationship and builds trust.


  • Better Decision-Making
    By regularly recording and reviewing data, a dog training journal helps you identify patterns and trends in your dog’s behaviour. This insight empowers you to make better decisions, whether it’s adjusting their routine, introducing new activities, or addressing specific triggers and issues. Having this clarity ensures you’re always moving in the right direction.


  • Great for Challenging Dogs
    If you’re working with a reactive, anxious, or challenging dog, journaling is a game-changer. It allows you to break down big challenges into smaller, actionable steps and track your progress along the way. You can discover what your dog enjoys and what they dislike, making it easier to tailor your approach. This practice keeps you consistent and motivated, even when things feel tough.


  • Allows You to See the Bigger Picture
    When you’re constantly focused on daily tasks, it’s easy to lose sight of the overall progress you and your dog have been making. A journal allows you to zoom out and see the bigger picture, giving you perspective on how much you’ve achieved over time. It’s a reminder that progress, no matter how small, adds up and that both you and your dog are growing every day.


  • You Become More Observant of Your Dog
    Journaling naturally makes you more mindful of your dog’s behaviour, routines, body language, and needs. As you write things down, you’ll start noticing subtle changes or patterns that you might have missed otherwise. You can even tell when your dog is overstimulated, cranky, or simply tired—helping you respond more effectively.


  • Letting Go of Setbacks
    Training doesn’t always go perfectly, and setbacks are part of the process. Journaling provides a healthy outlet to process and let go of these moments. Writing down what happened allows you to reflect, learn, and move on without dwelling on it. It helps you reset for the rest of the day—or even the week!


  • Discover What Is Working and What Isn’t
    By documenting your training journey, you can clearly see what methods, activities, or routines are working—and which ones aren’t. This makes it easier to refine your approach and focus on strategies that bring results. Over time, you’ll create a training plan perfectly matched to your dog’s unique needs.

My Journey with Dog Journaling

It wasn't until a few months into managing Jasper's reactivity that I discovered the transformative power of a dog training journal. Before embracing this practice, I often felt overwhelmed by his behavioural issues and our slow progress. I found myself repeating the same mistakes, struggling to achieve our training goals, and living in a constant state of stress and frustration—which, in turn, affected Jasper.

The introduction of a dog training journal brought a newfound clarity to our journey. By consistently documenting our daily experiences—celebrating wins, noting setbacks, recording reactions, and highlighting Jasper's likes and dislikes—I noticed a significant reduction in my overwhelm. Reflecting on these entries at the end of each month allowed me to see the bigger picture of our progress and make a game plan for the next month. I realized that with consistent and intentional effort, we were making strides, even if they seemed subtle day-to-day.


Initially, I maintained a physical journal, which was beneficial. However, as months passed, managing multiple notebooks and ring binders became stressful. The process started to feel overwhelming again, and I sometimes missed recording important details. Recognizing the need for a more efficient system, I went on to make a digital dog training journal to make life easier. This shift was a game-changer, allowing me to reduce paper clutter and make timely notes due to accessibility, enhancing the consistency and effectiveness of my journaling practice.


While traditional journaling offers structure and insight, adopting a digital format can further streamline the process, making it more accessible and less overwhelming. Embracing a dog training journal practice, especially a digital one, can significantly enhance your training journey, providing clarity for you and your dog.

Introducing the Notion Dog Training Journal

I created the Notion Dog Training Journal initially for myself, tweaking and refining it until it became something I was truly happy with. My goal was to design a tool that not only organised everything about my dog Jasper’s training journey but also made it easy and motivating to track progress.


What really made this journal stand out for me was how visually appealing and intuitive it is. It motivated me to track progress daily, and the ease of jotting down notes or capturing those "lightbulb moments" in real time was a game-changer.


Unlike traditional notebooks, which often felt chaotic, this digital journal allows me to seamlessly stay consistent without adding to the overwhelm.


The dashboard alone is a powerful feature—it provides an instant overview of daily habits, progress, and even your top priorities for training. Just opening it gives you clarity and motivation to keep pushing forward, even on challenging days.

What the Notion Dog Training Journal Includes:

This journal is specifically designed for dog owners, especially those with reactive, anxious, or challenging dogs. It helps you stay organised, track patterns, and focus on what truly matters in your training journey.


Features You’ll Love:

  • Goal Tracker: Set short- and long-term goals and monitor progress step by step.
  • Daily Planner: Organise your dog’s daily routine—morning, afternoon, and evening.
  • Triggers & Behaviours Tracker: Identify patterns, manage triggers, and note unwanted behaviours for a clear plan of action.
  • Favourite Activities Section: Log your dog’s favourite enrichment activities and tailor your day to their needs.
  • Reflections Journal: Use daily, weekly, and monthly prompts to reflect on progress, challenges, and wins.
  • Sleep Tracker: We should know how important sleep is. A sleep tracker will help you improve sleep whilst you monitor your dog’s rest to ensure their behaviour improves with better sleep.

Why You Should Start Journaling Today

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed or stuck in your training journey, journaling could be the solution you’ve been searching for. A dog training journal isn’t just about recording details—it’s about creating clarity, building consistency, and making progress easier to see.


When you journal, you give yourself the chance to track wins, reflect on challenges, and make better decisions based on patterns and trends. It keeps you focused, reduces overwhelm, and helps you stay motivated even on tough days.

Starting your own journal could completely transform the way you train your dog. And if you’re not sure where to begin, my Notion Dog Training Journal is a ready-made solution designed to simplify the process for you.

Why This Journal is Perfect for Reactive and Anxious Dogs

Managing a reactive or anxious dog comes with its own unique challenges, and this journal simplifies the process. It gives you clarity, helps you see the bigger picture, and keeps you consistent in tracking progress. You’ll no longer feel like you’re drowning in details—everything is laid out in one organised space.


Not only does it make your life easier, but it also strengthens your connection with your dog by ensuring their needs are met and progress is celebrated. With this digital journal, you’ll have the confidence and structure to tackle even the toughest training challenges.

Final Thoughts

A dog training journal has the power to make your life easier, reduce the overwhelm that often comes with training, and help you track progress and goals with clarity. By having everything in one place—from daily plans to reflections—you’ll feel more organised and in control of your journey.


When I started journaling with Jasper, I was overwhelmed, frustrated, and unsure if I was making any progress. But with consistent journaling, everything changed. It helped me reflect, adapt, and celebrate the small wins I would have otherwise overlooked. Over time, the progress Jasper and I made was incredible—not just in his behaviour, but in the bond we built and the trust that grew between us as life and training became a lot less frustrating.


Building a consistent journaling habit will not only keep you focused but also help you grow as a trainer every day. Those small, intentional efforts add up. Before you know it, the progress you and your dog make will be remarkable.


Journaling isn’t just a tool; it’s a game-changer. Start today, and you’ll see the difference it can make in your training journey.