Welcome

Munch & Gracie's Canine Services has been working with families in the Portland, Oregon area since 2004. Our mission is to further educate and help build relationships between people and their canines; through positive reinforcement and operant training techniques. We look forward to meeting and working with you
What We Offer
- Puppy Pre School
- Basic Training For Beginners
- Basic Training II w/ Clicker
- AKC Canine Good Citizens
- Rally-Obedience 101
- Private Lessons
- Canine Massage
Announcements
- We have lots of changes here at Munch & Gracie's. The first of many changes is our curriculum; our classes have been completely reformatted. We have a really young puppy class now PUPPY PLAY SCHOOL for puppies ages 8 weeks to 4 months. Then we have a new BEGINNER classes. If you are a first time dog owner or first time training with Munch & Gracie's we recommend you attend one of following classes. These classes are based on building a good reliable relationship with your canine. We have our BEGINNING FOUNDATION class for PUPPIES ages 5 months to a year and our BEGINNING FOUNDATION class for BASIC'S ages one year and older. The last change is our INTERMEDIATE classes. First class is LETS KEEP GROWING, which takes you from the BEGINNING FOUNDATION class and grows you from your foundation to applying your knowledge in everyday life. The second INTERMEDIATE class is the AKC CANINE GOOD CITIZIENS class. This is will prepare you and your canine for the CANINE GOOD CITIZIENS test. And there is more but I'll save that for later.
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The Rose City Classic Dog Show in Portland, OR takes place in January -- this is our largest show. Loud, crazy, busy and distractive; a real challenge for most dogs. This show was the largest competition platform in which Tess has been in. And this year she had eight entries. I wasn't sure how she would do but I'm please with the results.
Each day we had two entries: A - for Advanced, and E - for Excellent. Tess and I needed to score of 70 for each to qualify for a leg. We need 10 legs to complete her last title for her Rally-Obedience RAE Title.
- Day one: A - scored 95 took 5th place (tied for third). E - scored 97 took 1st place.
- Day two: A - scored 94 took 3rd place. E - scored 98 took 1st place.
- Day three: A - scored 94 took 5th place. E - scored 94 took 3rd place (tied for 2nd place).
- Day four: A - scored 95 took 5th place. E - scored 96 took 2nd place (tied for 1st place).
- A tie is broken by the time on the stop watch.
- I am thrilled to announce that Tess and I took first place on Saturday at the Ridgefield Dog show in Vancouver, WA. And tied for first place on Sunday; in Rally-O Excellent A with scores of 92 & 97. Tess has now completed her third title for Rally-Obedience Excellent.
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The most important lesson I am asked to teach in class is "come". Our canines do not understand how to live in a human-based world so we need to protect them. Your recall is one of those tools to help you keep your canine safe. What makes a really good recall? Time, management, relationship and training. In our new classes we focus on all of these subjects and we work each week on building a strong foundation for you and your dog. Without a good relationship your dog may question, "Why should I come over to you? Can I trust you?" There are a couple of mistakes I see folks do when they teach come. First, they teach the dog to have a choice when they hear the word "come". Secondly, they yell and speak and groan and speak and yell the word "come" over and over and over again. When you do this your dog learns to either come when they have heard you haler three or four times; or the dog becomes completely confused on what the true meaning of the word is. To help your dog understand the meaning of the word and the urgency, we need to teach it correctly, with the correct delivery. Please join us in class this spring and learn how to build a strong foundation with your canine so your canine has a true sense of what you are saying.
Really Reliable Recall

From well-known trainer Leslie Nelson,
Really Reliable Recall - Train Your Dog To Come When Called... No Matter What offers easy to follow steps to train your dog to come when it really counts - in an emergency. Learn how to build trust and ensure safety. Once trained, the recall works immediately in any situation, no matter what your dog is doing. He doesn’t think, he doesn’t decide, he just comes to you. Contains chapters for difficult to train breeds and for trainers to use in class.