My first dog, Molly, a severely displastic(at the time of purchase unknown to me) rottie, and hr need for "attitude adjustments" led me to Mondioring. In Molly's puppy hood, we first trained with an AKC obedience person and then helped with her classes for about a year and a half. At that point, we started having problems with Molly and other dogs. These problems led to us to another trainer and his "personal protection" NAPD style, training club. There, I met Kathy O'Brien, and got to decoy her malis, Bomber, Eureka, & Dynamite. Kathy, one of the original American "carriers", exposed me to six different types of dog protection sports and ultimately, the "incurable Mondio virus", which compelled me to get my Female Mali, O’Bre-on’s YSHA Rose, from Kathy.

While we support and applaud all types of dog training that produces happy well behaved dogs, we train just Mondioring, which we believe is the best foundation for ALL dogs, and is the most safe, interesting and fun, for the dogs and the handlers as well as being the most acceptable to the majority of public and their attitudes. I know of no better answer to our problems with dogs- aggression, boredom, obedience, socialization and public opinion, etc. In addition to making Mondio with my own and friend's dogs, I have helped Kathy socialize and imprinting puppies (mondio pre-school:).

I have produced three Mondioring/French Ring Seminars with French Trainer/Decoy, Daniel Boulais, and nine Mondioring/Police Dog Seminars with Rene Sagarra, Security Dog Trainer and 1998 World Mondioring Vice-Champion, and have supported several trials in the US. In the last few years, I‘ve been to Switzerland six times to train with Rene Sagarra and his Security Dogs team.. I was support person/team chief for US World Mondioring Team in Switzerland in 2000, & Italy in 2001, and was on the “cheering squad at the 2003 Championships in Lyss, Switzerland. While I lived in the Bay Area, we did five years of monthly Mondioring demo at the historic Nike Missile Site in Marin, CA, and occasionally at other various park fairs and block parties. When we train or demo, we sometimes use the audience as part of the demo for distractions, throwing the food for food refusal and even sometimes they help hold/be the obstacle that the dog must jump over in the face attack with obstacle. We handed out mondio info and let the dog's socialize with the audience after they worked. It was great to experience people's amazed reactions when they saw the dogs were friendly just after protection work. On March 9, 2003, I was certified as a Level 1 (club level) Trial Decoy. In April 2004, Ysha and I played her first Mondioring I trial in Lenzburg, Switzerland where we earned 189 points and placed 3 rd of 12 and have continued to have good times with Ysha including holding the Champion Title from USA's First NationalI Championship 2007 and have had some of the best trial results of any USA Mondioringer in Europe and currently have the highest scoring USA MR3 bitch. I created and maintain www.californiamondioring.org, and www.clubmondio.info, my newer site. In Jan 2003, my husband and I bought a rural property in Northern California, just east of the small town of Corning. After a year of “dual occupancy”, we gave up city life and have in our yard, built a nice training field, the location of Club Mondio’s first trial – OPEN HOUSE – Nov 2005 and BIRTHDAY PARTY - OCT 2007. For the last three years, in addition to offering accupressure massage sessions and private lessons in dog training, I have volunteered with the City of Corning Shelter through Second Chance Pet Rescue doing rescue transport, dog care, temperament testing and dog training, .

I take my dogs out in the world as much as I can, and hope that we are good ambassadors for dogs in general and their breeds in specific, as well as our sport and training methods and ideals – the highest being that the dog can stay by the handler’s side as much as possible. For me, having dogs in my life is a “thread” to the continually thinning connection to nature and natural living. Only by responsible and humane handling can we continue this connection. I wish the best to all dogs and their handlers.

-Sharon