About Mountain View Dog Training

What they do

Mountain View Dog Training is a class school rather than a board-and-train operation, and it has been one since the 1990s. It "was established in the 1990s by Averill & Ken Ring and Cathy Hughes", and provides canine obedience and agility training in Warrenton and Amissville.

The class ladder is published in full. Foundation classes are AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy, Puppy Kindergarten and Family Dog, aimed at a dog "who is welcome in your community." From there, Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog Prep, then Obedience Bridge as preparation for competition. At the competitive end sit Competitive Obedience at all levels and Rally Obedience at all levels in both AKC and USDAA, plus agility at every level. Special classes rotate — the site names past runs of Shy Dogs, Treibball and Canine Parkour, and a Tricks class tied to the AKC trick titles. There is also a Body Awareness class.

The method, stated plainly

This is the only trainer in this catchment that names what it will not do. The training is force-free: "we do not use painful devices such as shock, prong or choke collars, which can temporarily reduce behaviors." Instead of punishing unwanted behavior, the stated method teaches an alternative behavior and rewards it — every time while the dog is learning, then randomly once it is established. Rewards are defined broadly, covering food, social interaction including play, and life rewards. Consequences exist but are described as withholding the reward or, for a learned behavior, issuing a time out.

If method is your deciding factor, that position is unambiguous, and it is the opposite end of the local spectrum from the e-collar programs elsewhere in this metro.

The instructors

Averill Ring "has taught dog training classes since 1985", showed Saint Bernards and Australian Shepherds in obedience and conformation, and moved to agility after seeing a demonstration at a 1994 kennel club show. She now teaches all levels of agility. Sally Petty has taught dog training classes since 1990, having previously managed an animal shelter for eleven years, and "started clicker training in 1991". She is an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator, became a Tester/Observer for Therapy Dogs Incorporated — now the Alliance of Therapy Dogs — in 1994, and is "the founder of Waggin' Hearts Therapy Dogs group & Books & Barks Reading Partners Program, a local therapy dog group based in Rappahannock County." Competitive obedience classes are taught by Patrice Leipham.

Facilities, and one caveat

The outdoor site at 766 Viewtown Road, Amissville is "fully fenced, grass-covered arena" measuring approximately 140 x 140', with equipment the site describes as competition ready, and obedience classes have been taught outdoors there since April 2021. On indoor space of their own the site says simply: "None for now." Foundation agility is described elsewhere on the site as running indoors at a separate venue.

A note on currency

The site's footer carries a 2017 copyright and its most recent dated content is from 2021, so the current class schedule and fees should be confirmed directly.