Evergreen School for Dogs

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Arlington, WA
Evergreen School for Dogs

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Welcome to our page. We offer dog training services that specialize in problem solving, obedience training, and aggressive behavior.

We offer private lessons, boarding and training, and training classes. Hello and Welcome to our page. We offer dog training services to Seattle and surrounding areas. Evergreen School for Dogs is owned by professional dog trainers Tommy Grammer and Corday Rice. We specialize in training for the companion dog. Visit our website for information on all of our dog training services we currently offer: www.evergreenschoolfordogs.com. Or drop us an email at [email protected]. We look forward to working with you and your dog!

10/13/2026

Welcome back Murphy!

You might remember Murphy from a post here last April, when he was just 8 months old. His owners and I were working to get him off unnecessary medications like trazadone and back to some balanced training with fun and consequences. I had also dissuaded them from an early neuter since he actually lacked confidence and needed some more time for his testosterone to do its job!

He's now 14 months old and you can see from his beautiful more rounded head that he's had more time to develop properly. Murphy has also developed mentally, he's come so far in his training, his ability to be left alone comfortably, and his overall ease moving through life. This hasn't happened by accident, his owners have done such an amazing job implementing the structure and exercises necessary for change.

Now rather than trying to baby him out of tough situations, he is asked to go to place, walk calmly by their side with a loose leash, do a down stay, etc. They are also planning to wean him off of his remaining medication, fluoxetine.

And Murphy also learned to swim this summer! Along with his steadily improving retrieve this should make for an awesome exercise routine for him in the warmer months, another essential piece of the training puzzle.

I've enjoyed working with Murphy and his owners so much, and hopefully he'll come stay with me again from time to time, now that he's so much easier to deal with😅!

10/10/2026

Another helpful trick for walking multiple dogs, when they all need to be on 6 foot leads, is to use leashes that are a few different widths and materials. Here I have Adira on a cotton web 1/2 inch, Meadow on a leather 5/8 inch, and Wyatt on a leather 1/4 inch lead. This allows me to quickly differentiate between leashes in my hand when I need to make a length adjustment or a correction for pulling. You certainly don't want to be accidentally correcting the dog that is not pulling, and this helps me find the right leash immediately. I also always prefer a lighter lead for a smaller dog, and a bit heavier lead for a large dog. Hope you can use this tip!

10/07/2026

Walking three dogs at once can be challenging, especially when they're all different ages and speeds! I like to use a few different options at once to make everyone comfortable and manageable. Penny the toy poodle is speedy and also working on her recall, so I have her on a long line. Meadow is still resting from her leg injury do she's kept on a 6ft lead, and Wyatt the Frenchie is very reliable at recall but also very pokey so I've allowed him off leash to take his time and then catch up! Learning to maneuver the long line is probably the trickiest part of the walk, but it also opens up some freedom and opportunity to practice that you might not have had without it!

10/04/2026

Thanks to everyone who came out for group class yesterday! The weather was perfect and we had a large but noticeably quiet group of dogs😊 Always nice to see a mix of new and returning attendees working at all different levels. If you'd like to attend a similar class on 10/17, or anytime in the future, follow the link below for more information, to sign up or to get on our mailing list for upcoming dates!

https://www.evergreenschoolfordogs.com/group-training-class

10/02/2026

Try to look out for any and all training opportunities while on your walks! This doe and her young frequent this field and are fairly habituated to people and dogs, so make great subjects to practice neutrality. It may not look like much, but Penny especially was very prey driven when she arrived, and Libby reactive on walks generally, so this is quite an accomplishment for both of them😀

09/29/2026

Penny Tries A New Tactic!

Often when I'm trying to eliminate an unwanted behavior, like jumping up in Penny's case, I will train a replacement behavior in the hopes that this will become their new default. Most of the time I teach an automatic down that I can choose to reward with verbal praise, petting or a food reward. I can also just ignore it once it has become ingrained and I begin to cultivate fewer attention seeking behaviors in general.

Often though along the way the dog will come up with her own replacement behavior, as you see here with Penny. She had stopped jumping up on my legs whenever I sat down and was now experimenting with the armrest, as if to say "How about this? Acceptable??"

Even though I won't reward this particular move in any way, I love to see the dog thinking and trying to figure out workarounds! It lets me know that they've begun to realize that the old behavior doesn't gain attention anymore, and also just how clever they can be😊

So if you're working on eliminating an annoying habit and your dog replaces it with something else, take heart, they're absorbing the information and working to do what dogs do best, make it work for them!

09/27/2026

Another post about equipment changes, just because it comes up so often in my work and is such an important part of the training puzzle!

Newton had been doing pretty well on a plastic pinch collar, but in certain environments like the outlet mall or a narrow sidewalk he would become more insensitive to it and I wouldn't have enough control over his head to keep him from lunging at people. Newton is still young, impulsive and mouthy, and while he's not trying to really bite anyone, it is still inappropriate and also frightening to some people.

His adjustment to a Walk n Train head collar was pretty fast and gave me the ability to keep him in our own space while passing people and dogs closely. Now I alternate its use with the plastic pinch depending on where we are and how he's doing that day. It's also equipment that's small enough to carry in a jacket pocket or small training bag, so I can make quick “costume changes” midway through a walk if I need to.

The right equipment, good quality and fitted properly, chosen for the specific situation, can make all of the difference in a dog’s behavior. Lately for some reason, a number of people, usually not knowing that I'm a trainer, have “informed” me about wrapping a leash around the dog’s belly and back through the collar to form a cinching harness. This is a very old and crude hack, and while it may get you by and back home if you're unprepared, it shouldn't be used for any length of time. My guess at it's reemergence as a solution is social media, and it's another example of why getting advice from a real trainer in person if possible is always a better choice than scrolling for miracles!

09/23/2026

Libby and Penny practiced all day long!!
What do ya'll think?!

09/21/2026

Meet Libby!

Libby wanted her profile pic to represent her interests and who she is as a doodle, and we couldn't decide between playing, playing in the water or playing in the dirt with another dog, so here's the aftermath of all three!

Libby is a 10 month old Bernedoodle here for the 3 week board and train program, and she's actually well on her way to becoming a polite little lady, despite appearances! Libby needed special focus on leash walking, recall and jumping up, all three of which have steadily improved over her first week here.

There is nothing to improve upon in her personality though, she is friendly to all and generally quite easy tor a doodle of her age.
Her owner had started with a few private lessons when she was very young, and her continued practice on exercises like place stay have established a good foundation to build on.

This week I will be working more on neutral pass bys, sit and down stays in public, and continuing to add distractions to her recall.

As a side note, if you have a young dog that enjoys digging like Libby does, here is an old school hack. After you scoop your yard, place a small amount of your dog's p**p in the newly dug holes. You can leave it uncovered for the day and then remove it, or bury it an inch or so. It may not keep your pup from starting new holes, but should at least stop their current "project"!

09/19/2026

Meet Penny!

Penny is a 1 1/2 year old toy poodle here for 4 weeks of training and among other things, we're working on walking over grates!

Penny needed a lot of leash walking practice in general, she was pulling, darting and weaving constantly, but even after this had gotten better in general it all flew out the window when we encountered any sort of grate, drain cover or other metal surface. I've used a combination of treats, light leash pressure and repetition repetition repetition, and after just a few dedicated practice sessions she's walking over them almost casually!

I did have a little hiccup when she realized that certain grates will jiggle and make noise, so she decided to start hopping clear over them just in case. This was indeed a lot better than trying to pull us both into the street to avoid them, which is what she was doing before, but I still wanted to iron it back out. So I took a few steps backwards in the process, bringing out treats again and slowing way down, and was able to go back to walking over as before.

I promise you this is not glamorous work! Stooping down to lure a skittish toy dog over drains in the street probably looks as bizarre as it feels, but there's no replacement for getting out there and actually doing the very specific work needed to fix a problem. Luckily Penny is one of the brightest and quickest learners I've had in a while, so it hasn't taken long, practicing in the right way, to get her walking politely over any surface😀

Address

24914 27th Avenue NE
Arlington, WA
98223

Telephone

+14252440835

Website

http://evergreenschoolfordogs.com/

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