Our Instructors
Averill & Frenzy
Averill Ring
Averill has taught dog training classes since 1985. She trained and exhibited Saint Bernards and Australian Shepherds in obedience and conformation from the early ’70s until 1997 or so. She has participated in many conferences, seminars, workshops and camps on dog behavior and training.
Agility became her passion since Ken and she saw a demo at the Philadelphia Kennel Club show in 1994.
She now teaches all levels of agility at Mountain View. She is committed to communicating fair treatment of the dogs who work so hard for us, and to sharing her enthusiasm for the sport of agility and the bond that is formed by training our dogs and playing with them in this sport.
She competes in agility with their Border Collies Jolt and Jig as well as Aussie Genie in USDAA trials. Jolt completed his USDAA ADCH in 2007 and now has his Silver LAA. Averill is now working in her new project, Zip, a lovely BC pup. When not playing with her dogs or teaching classes, Averill works as a web designer.
Holly Hammerle
Holly and Summit, Sheltie extraordinaire
Owned by dogs for 35 years and training in agility for 11. Holly trained her sheltie, Twister, through an MX, AXJ and a UACHX and competed with her in Advanced USDAA and in NADAC before retiring her due to an injury. Her second sheltie, Summit, is trained through an AX, MXJ and a UACH and is running in Novice USDAA, Novice NADAC. Holly has also handled several other shelties and corgis as well as Tess (the first St. Bernard to achieve an AKC Novice Agility title) through her AX and OAJ and a Novice NADAC Gamblers title. Holly has also titled dogs through CDX and UCD in Obedience. She’s now running her young Sheltie Scamp in agility trials, and training her puppy Journey.
Holly recently became a UKC certified agility judge. She also travels the area presenting workshops and seminars. Holly brings to agility a unique combination of 34 years of teaching PE and coaching that allows her to take agility techniques and break them into manageable parts and to provide drills that will work those specific skills. She works to challenge handler/dog teams to work ahead of their current skill level for constant improvement.
Cathy explaining the advantage of using toys as training rewards
Cathy Hughes
Cathy, one of the founders of Mountain View Dog Training, has been training dogs and caring for animals for more than 30 years. She was an animal health technician in Washington state for 15 years and it was then that she started behavior counseling for pet dog owners. Her first position training dogs was with a security company in 1971; since then she has apprenticed with trainers and instructors, a professional handler and two boarding/training kennels. In an effort to stay on top of all techniques, Cathy has attended countless continuing education courses, conferences, camps and seminars related to animal care, animal behavior, behavior modification, dog training and class instruction. She has trained dogs in obedience, agility, herding, tracking and protection. Her current menagerie consists of a Golden retriever, two Labrador retrievers, a BC/Aussie mix and a Malinois.
Patty Lane
Patty Lane commisserating with her dog
Patty saw her first agility trial in 1997 and began training with Annie, her red-headed ACD (Australian Cattle Dog), in 1998. That same year the Patty-Annie team flew to California for the ACD Nationals and their first trial. After earning her AX, AXJ, and NJP, Annie has retired from competition to focus full time on being Alpha Bitch of the world. Meanwhile Patty has participated in numerous agility seminars and workshops. Patty is now competing in agility with her Working Kelpie, Seeker, and Jack Russel terrier Kermit.
In the early years, Patty didn’t understand why ACDs were considered a non-traditional breed for agility. Once she began working on the toy motivation phase of their training she realized it’s not that they aren’t smart, motivated, or athletic enough, it’s that few handlers can survive their enthusiasm! At any given time, Patty may be sporting a few bruises from having “fun” with the girls. That said, Patty believes strongly that motivation and focus are extremely important and has developed many techniques for achieving this. She has put all of these skills to use with her Jack Russell Terrier pup, Kermit. Kermit is doing fabulously in his agility competition!
When not playing at agility or trick training, Patty and her dogs spend hours roaming through the woods and kayaking on lakes. Patty and Kermit do the kayaking, but the ACDs, Kelpie and the Catahoula do the swimming.
Sally Petty
Sally has had animals since *forever*. Started out training & competing with horses.
Sally started teaching dog training classes first in Vermont and now in VA since 1990. Before that she managed an animal shelter for 11 yrs in MA, gaining much experience from observing and working with dogs of many breeds and temperaments.
She started clicker training in 1991, and has attended many seminars, workshops and clicker expos, to keep current on new techniques and to improve her training skills.
Sally is very involved with therapy dog volunteering, having been a team with four of her Goldens since 1993. She became a Tester/Observer for Therapy Dogs Incorporated 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.
Sally is also an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator.
Sally is proudly owned by a Golden Retriever, 2 Aussies, a Tibetan Spaniel & a Chihuahua!
Ken Ring
Ken Ring of Mountain View and Border collie Jolt
Ken was dragged kicking and screaming into the world of dogs and dog training when he married Averill in 1986. He has trained and shown Aussies and Saints in obedience and agility, and trained their Saints to work (carting and weight-pulling). Sadly, there are no more Saint Bernards at Mountain View, the last one dying in 2007. Ken and his Aussie Badger (who has since moved on to chasing bunnies in the Great Beyond big bunny field) completed a UKC ACH and AKC AX, and Ken has been trialing quite successfully in UKC agility with their Border Collie Jolt (pictured with Ken). Jolt and Ken completed their UKC Grand Agility Championship in 2007. Ken is Mountain View’s master welder, and teaches UKC agility classes here.
Linda Vance
Linda Vance, our puppy kindergarten instructor, has been training dogs and caring for animals for more than 20 years. She received her Veterinary Technician training at Bel-Rea/Alameda East in Aurora, Colorado. (Yes, the same Alameda East featured on “Animal Planet”; go ahead, ask her about Drs. Taylor and Fitzpatrick.) After leaving Colorado, Linda worked at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Virginia Tech for ten years, and then for several years as office manager for a local veterinary hospital. During this time she also held leadership positions in the Virginia Association of Licensed Veterinary Technicians and was voted Veterinary Technician of the Year by her peers.
Linda teaches that dogs are happiest when the owners are able to communicate with them in a clear, unambiguous manner. After an unsuccessful response to traditional compulsion training, Linda discovered “clicker training” as a means of communicating, saw the positive results, and quickly became an advocate. She is a strong supporter of early training and, because her methods are so gentle, there is every reason to “get ‘em young and raise ‘em right.” She frequently attends training seminars and workshops to keep current and hone her skills. She has a wonderful sheltie named Libby, on whom she tests all her new ideas, and a Tibetan spaniel, Tuck, who makes a wonderful couch potato. He says, “after all, somebody’s gotta do it.”