About Dog Day Afternoon

What it is

Dog Day Afternoon is a facility business at 305 E Market St in Leesburg that combines dog training with daycare, grooming, a boutique and an on-site bakery. It describes itself as locally owned and family-run, built "to meet the socialization and training needs of Northern Virginia's dogs".

How they train

The site calls the approach balanced: "top-notch dog training with balanced techniques to bring out the best in your pup". In practice that reads as reward-based teaching alongside correction of unwanted behavior – the Basic Obedience outline covers "Correcting bad behaviors like pulling, jumping, lunging, and barking" and frames the owner as the "calm, confident leader".

Programs and prices

Prices are published, which is unusual enough to be worth naming. Six-week group classes run $199 for one hour a week and cover Puppy Kindergarten, Basic and Intermediate Obedience, Intro to Rally, Canine Good Citizen and a Mixed Training class. Day School is $699 for ten days in school plus three hour-long sessions with you and your dog. Private lessons are $99/hr at the school or $125 in-home, with a package of three for $275.

Puppy Kindergarten takes puppies from eight weeks and covers housebreaking, teething, basic commands and leash manners. The Intermediate class is explicitly a route to further titles, preparing dogs "for the CGC or Therapy Dog evaluations". The site says its instructors are certified AKC CGC Evaluators and that CGC testing is offered at the facility.

Who teaches

Two trainers are named with full biographies. Olivia Hannon is described as specializing in rehabilitation, with her own rescue dog Winslow cited as the case that shaped her approach to reactivity and resource guarding. Deb Matthews "started teaching training classes in 2005" and runs the Puppy Kindergarten classes; she and her Shiloh Shepherds volunteer with the Loudoun County Volunteer Rescue Squad and a local pet therapy program. The business states membership of the International Association of Canine Professionals and the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.