Evergreen School for Dogs

06/03/2026

Started a tik tok account for dog training tips. I will be posting some training videos here if you want to follow along.
In this video, I show you three different ways to train your dog to lie down.

Check out TommyDogTraining’s video.

06/01/2026

Thanks to everyone who came out to group class yesterday! The weather was perfect and the dogs were nearly there as well😀

We will be having another similar style class this Saturday, June 6th at 3pm. For more information and to sign up follow the link below. Register today to guarantee your spot, space is limited. Hope to see you there!

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

05/30/2026

Join us for group class tomorrow, May 31st at 3pm!
We still have a couple of spots open for a really fun class designed to get you and your dog ready for public outings! This is a drop in, mixed levels class and reactive dogs are welcome. For more information and to register follow the link below. Hope to see you there!

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

05/29/2026

Collect all three!

Sam the black lab mastiff mix rounded out my color palette this week and made a great third buddy for Moose and Murphy. He's only here for a few days due to some unexpected travel but I'm so happy to have him!

05/28/2026

Join us for a group class this Sunday, May 31st at 3pm. We'll be covering a range of topics and exercises designed to prepare you and your dog for public outings. This is a mixed levels, drop in class and reactive dogs are welcome! If you have questions or would like to register follow the link below.
Hope to see you and your dog there!

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

05/25/2026

I was doing a little off property long line work with Goose the other day, and some cows in an adjacent pasture caught his attention!

After two and a half weeks of near constant work on recall at home with horses, goats and dogs for distraction, as well as out and about with the long line, his response is so much better in general, but this particular scenario was just too much. I went from very relevant to completely invisible in a second, with little Goose completely locked in on the cows.

This is why it's so important to do at least some long line work before you transition your dog to off leash work or play in uncontrolled settings. You never really know how your dog will respond to a new stimulus in a new environment, and it sure is nice to find out about any holes in your dog's reliability while they're on a line versus taking off into the great unknown😬

Now I have one more combination in a long list of distractions to work around, and will be recommending continuing long line work for Goose when he returns home. On the plus side, most dogs start to really get excited about the appearance of the long line after a few sessions. It can signal more freedom than they normally have, and that you might be about to see something new together!

05/20/2026

Happy Birthday Iggy!

Iggy first came to Evergreen School for Dogs when he was just an awkward little 5 month old puppy, all legs and questions, and has developed since then into the most charming and handsome dog at any occasion!

And today is his second birthday!
I'll definitely be giving him some extra special treats this afternoon, and hopefully getting a few good birthday pics for his parents. I'd also like to highlight what their consistent and continued participation in training has done to make Iggy the well rounded and pleasant companion that he is.

Iggy was initially enrolled in some private lessons as a very young puppy, in order to get things like crate training on the right track and also address any problem behaviors and concerns that might come up. When he was old enough for a board and train his owners enrolled him in a weeklong stay and took a much needed vacation themselves. Raising a puppy well can be exhausting, after all!

After that they have been regular attendees at our group classes, working through the challenges of adolescence and settling with Iggy comfortably into adulthood. We've all been able to see him get so much better at ignoring other dogs on leash, maintaining stays when asked and walking with a loose leash. He's always been a friendly and enthusiastic dog, which many retriever owners can attest doesn't always make training easier, but his owners have kept striving for neutrality in public and it's beginning to really pay off.

When I've taken him out for walks this week it has not even seemed like work, and he's a board and train that I just want to hang out with whether we're working or not.

Iggy has been given a lifelong birthday gift through his owners' commitment to training, he will have more freedom and less conflict than most dogs ever will, because he has been given the structure and boundaries necessary to thrive.

Happy Big Two Iggs!

05/14/2026

Meet Goose!

Goose is a one year old Jack Russell Terrier here for the three week board and train program. While the Jack Russell often appears to look like an adorable plush toy version of an actual dog, they are one of the most tenacious and potentially difficult breeds to live with, especially if you are not experienced.

There's a reason you will often see these guys accompanying horses and riders in their daily routine, the only animals that can properly manage JRT's are horses, and the people that can manage horses! Essentially a ratter, they are bred to work independently and kill when necessary, and are not a lap dog by any means. With proper guidance they can excel in obedience and make really fun and exciting companions, but will do poorly if not given enough structure and exercise.

Goose arrived a week ago exhibiting a list of behaviors including jumping, nipping, separation anxiety, leash pulling, inappropriate interactions with other dogs, and general chaos making! With a very structured routine, lots of exercise and obedience sessions throughout the day, he has started to settle down a little and learn some new ways to move about in this world. My hope is that I have enough time to solidify some of his new good habits before he goes home, and also that his owners will take the opportunity for a fresh start with this precious killing machine🥰

There are plenty of breeds specifically designed as lap dogs, so if that's what you want, the terrier group as a whole isn't always the best place to look. Always research and remember what your purebred dog was designed to do, and consider what that might mean for a life with them.

05/11/2026

When you are working with any dog, whether in a training session or just an everyday interaction, you should always be ready to change your plan.

Yesterday as I got ready to bathe Maggie for her pick up, I suddenly remembered how difficult this task had been the last time I attempted it. Or she reminded me, I should say! As we approached the raised bathing tub she immediately shot to the end of the leash in panic and attempted to leave the scene entirely. She wasn't just pulling away or resisting, but more frantically trying to escape at all costs.

I decided in the moment to skip the bath and instead just do a little work with desensitization to the sight and sound of water and the setup itself. Maybe if I made a little progress today I could build on it during Maggies's next visit.

I had a martingale collar and 6 foot lead on, and plenty of cheese for reward, so began just by spraying the hose on the ground, allowing Maggie to avoid it but not leave the 6 foot circle around it, and to come in for a treat when she was willing. After a few minutes of running that circle she started to slow down and consider other options.

She began to stop and watch the water rather than just blindly circling and to come in for a treat when it was "safe" to do so. I was then able to move the water closer without escalating her fear, and then to gently wet her legs. Before either of us knew it Maggie was getting a full bath, though a fairly quick one, right there on the ground, and without any conflict.

By abandoning my goal of bathing her properly in the tub and doing it my way, and instead just taking it slow and seeing where we got, I was able to get the bath done and set Maggie up for an easier experience the next time.

Of course this isn't always or even usually the right move, we don't want to be folding every time our dog protests. But sometimes it can be really helpful to just change your course a little and try something different!

05/04/2026

Welcome Back Fritz and Bruno!

These two brothers are back for a weeklong training refresher while one of their owners is out of town. We have plenty to celebrate about their progress, their reactivity on leash and general obedience off leash is so much better than it was a year ago, but there are always new hurdles to overcome and existing issues to improve, especially in a complicated household dynamic.

Not only are Fritz and Bruno littermates, which always brings a special challenge, their owners, like so many other couples, sometimes have very different approaches to handling and training, This can make it tricky to pinpoint what is helping their progress and what may delaying it. Rather than choosing sides or pointing fingers in this type of situation, I try to encourage clients to find some middle ground where they can both be consistently on the same page and make it easier for the dogs to make good choices.

It's been my experience that if rules and expectations vary too much within a household, dogs will often begin to ignore most of what both owners ask of them. The humans in the equation are making too many contradictory requests and reactions, and their potential influence on the dogs declines overall.

Even if both people give up a little of what they believe is right in order to be consistent, it will still be a better outcome than the alternative, total irrelevance!

If this sounds familiar to you and your family, I recommend sitting down and making a short list of rules and expectations that everyone can agree on. If disagreements persist about specific scenarios, it's always nice to have a neutral but knowledgeable third party (like a dog trainer), to help mediate. You can set up a lesson for you and your partner or family, even if it's more of a therapy session than a dog training session, that's often half of our job anyway!