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!

11/11/2026

Welcome back Rip!

I always look forward to having Rip, a 2 year old cattle dog mix, stay with me when his owners go out of town. I did his initial board and train when he was 6 months old, and since then have been able to watch him mature and grow into such a fun, sweet and interesting young man!

He's always been very social with other dogs, but it's really cool now to see him develop some status and be able to give appropriate feedback to young rowdy dogs and set an example for more tempered interactions. His obedience also continues to improve with his owners' hard work and some check ins with me every now and then.

We've also been able to work together to address any problem behaviors that have cropped up along the way, like some apprehension about new people visiting this past year. It's nice to know a dog well enough that I can give tips or advice over the phone or through email without feeling like I'm just handing out blanket solutions.

Thanks for being one of my regulars Rip!

11/06/2026

Meet Kaiser!

Kaiser is a 1 1/2 year-old German Shepherd here for the three week board and train program while his owners are on vacation. They have done an excellent job with his obedience foundation, but like many people left out or didn't emphasize enough his socialization when he was younger. This has created a dog who almost has two personalities, one at home and one in public.

He's very confident, easy-going and happy to work here on the property, great with other dogs and also happy to get in the car and take a ride, it's when we step out of the car together that the shift happens and he becomes quite difficult to handle. Most of it seems to be generalized nervousness about new sights and sounds, but he also has some reactivity towards dogs mixed in, so that makes it doubly hard!

I think that this will be a longer journey with him once his owners get him back, but hopefully I can get him to a point where they can at least control him on leash in order to make practice sessions possible.

Socializing any puppy as early as possible and as broadly as possible is so important, but I think with certain breeds, German shepherds among them, you have to start by doing double what you think you should and then just increase the amount from there! We see so many of this breed in particular with reactivity and fear issues that probably could have been prevented with earlier intervention.

By socialization, I don't mean puppy playgroups or getting petted by a bunch of strangers necessarily, just exposure to new things, ideally on a daily basis. This should happen from the moment you bring your puppy home, don't sit around your house snuggling for even a week, as that window will close faster than you anticipate!

10/31/2026

Happy Halloween!

My dogs and I decided to reduce reuse and recycle for their Halloween costumes this year! Rather than buying something new, they were able to each pick out a few accessories and create their own looks. I told them since we didn't have a defined theme they would have to rely heavily on their acting and modeling abilities in order to pull it off!

I think that Adira dug especially deep to create her character😂

With the saved costume money, we were able to buy extra liver treats and candy as well!

10/30/2026

Meet Clover!

Clover is a 6 month old labradoodle here for two weeks of training. She's quite social with dogs and people, but can become frightened occasionally of new sights and sounds so I've been taking her to a lot of different places to practice leash walking, stays, and other simple obedience exercises.

The other two main areas where she needed work were jumping up on people and her recall, both of which have improved so much while she's been here. Clover lives in a family with children, so both of these are very important to managing her, especially when friends of the kids are visiting or things get rowdy around the house generally!

Her owners said that they would do their part with the kids while she was gone and when she came back, to get them on board with the training, which is so essential to long-term success.

Good luck Clover! 🍀🍀🍀

10/27/2026

Meet Buddy!
Buddy is an eight month old German Shepherd/German Shorthaired Pointer mix here for the three week board and train program.

The word that I would use to describe Buddy is persistent. He is dedicated to the work he performs, whether it's finding a lost ball in the tall grass, trying to win the friendship of the other dogs or, on the less appealing side, trying to gain access to what's behind a gate or door, pulling on the leash, and jumping on people😅

Many people use the word stubborn instead, but I find it helpful to think about a dog's genetics and purpose in order to cast a more objective or even positive light on why this type of dog is who he is. Both the working and sporting groups are designed to not give up, to keep tracking, retrieving, pointing, running and jumping over any obstacle in their way until the goal is achieved. The trouble with Buddy was that there wasn't usually a clear set goal in his home, so he was spreading these energies over the daily routine, bringing joy and chaos with him!

Now at almost two weeks into his stay here, I've managed to harness a good deal of his less pleasant habits and create more appropriate ones, he's walking on leash really nicely and also retrieving and dropping the ball more consistently, which should give his owners a much better outlet day-to-day.

Also, while exercises like quick sits and downs and quick stays have always been easy for him, now he's able to do longer ones that are more practical around the house and beneficial for toning down hyperactivity.

Buddy also has some traits that I did not have to work on at all. His sweet social nature, eagerness to learn, and enthusiasm for life are not traits that you can easily create, and luckily Buddy had them all from the get-go!

10/25/2026

We had an awesome group of regulars at class yesterday, which allowed things to move at a quick and safe pace, even with some explosions of reactivity mixed in!

A few of the dogs attending have the very challenging habit of doing exactly what they're supposed to right up until the point of reaction, so it can be hard to catch and stop the behavior before it happens. This group did a great job of watching each other's as well as their own dogs, and adjusting accordingly. This can make the difference between a dog lunging into contact with another dog versus into contact with its own leash, a quite meaningful distinction😅

If you'd like to come out and practice with a group of attuned and responsive dog owners, follow the link below for more information and registration!

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

10/20/2026

A bit of advice for anyone walking their dog, especially if you are off leash. It doesn't matter where you are, unless it's a designated dog park or daycare, you need to assume first that no one wants to meet your dog. Period.

I'm so tired of being the one having to go out of my way to avoid, refuse or ignore these people when I'm not interested in a fiasco with a stranger. We know you like your dog, and I'm sure some other people would love to have a messy and unproductive on leash/off leash interaction, but I promise they'll let you know!

I recently had a big tall grown man actually get verbally aggressive with me at the airport trail when I ignored his "he's friendly!" invitation and instead arced around to avoid him. He was so surprised and offended by my straightforward response that he started yelling at me, called me unfriendly and also accused me of some political leanings, don't know where that came from😂😭

This is my most recent extreme example of the problem, but it's widespread and so frequent I feel like a PSA is warranted. Many owners walking on leash will not feel comfortable telling you that they want you to get away from them, and it's on you to take the initiative, because you are the one with the off leash dog, NOT THEM!!

If you want to socialize off leash, there are so many good dog parks in the area specifically designated for that, with people and dogs that came there explicitly to play and make friends. Please use them.

If someone walking a dog on leash wants to engage with your off leash dog, you will know it. There will be clues, like them saying "Hey, let your dog run over here to mine!"

Or pigs flying above you, either one.

10/18/2026

Thanks to everyone who came out for group class yesterday! The perfect fall weather gave some of the dogs extra enthusiasm for reactivity😂, but they all slowly began to settle as we practiced, and by the time everyone was walking back to their cars they looked more like a friendly meetup group than a dog reactivity class!

Special thanks to the dogs that maintained composure throughout the hour. This is one of the reasons I love a mixed levels class with reactive and non reactive dogs alike, one acts as a training challenge for the intermediate dogs, while those dogs model neutrality and help to settle the whole group.

If you'd like to attend an upcoming class, and witness the transformation for yourself, follow the link below!

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

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!

Address

24914 27th Avenue NE
Arlington, WA
98223

Telephone

+14252440835

Website

http://evergreenschoolfordogs.com/

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