WHAT MONDIO RING IS?

 The Mondioring ( International Ringsport ) program was developed by many delegates from Europe and America,
in the hope that it would be the rallying point of the national programs which already exists,
and that it would be a rewarding union for all the handlers who work with their dogs, whether they are inexperienced or experienced.
In the United States Mondioring is overseen by the USMRA (United States Mondio Ring Assoc) in Canada it is overseen by the CRA (Canadian Ring Assoc.)

Mondioring is meant to be:

1. Entertaining to the spectators
2. A game of progressive difficulties for the participants
3. A match for the passionate dog handlers.


Practicing Mondioring requires:

1. A place with different equipment
2. One or two decoys, protected by a costume, who will be partners for the dogs
3. Their dog handler
4. The judges who are meant to judge from the Mondioring regulation. This regulation includes each exercise, the points to be achieved, and the deductions from these when faults are made.
5. A dog to perform as chien en blanc ("practice dog") at each level


So it is to be understood by everyone, the Mondioring program must :

1. Concisely describe the exercises
2. Easy to practice
3. Clear in it's judgment


Each time an exceptional occasion may occur, or insufficient rules are noticed, the judges must never forget the basic thoughts, which motivated the founders when they made the program,. Above all they must respect the regulations and prohibit any misused interpretation that may harm the dogs. The purpose of the Mondioring regulation must attach importance to:

1. Proficiency of the dogs
2. The quality of their education
3. The ability of the dog handler
4. And above all the inborn character of the dogs.


The program is composed of three sections which is followed in the prescribed order:

1. Obedience
2. Jumps
3. Protection

The order of the exercises of each section are drawn by lots at the beginning of each trial and will be the same for every competitor at each level.

NOTE: The Mondioring regulation is to be translated in many languages: nuances and approximations may be different from one translation to another and effect how good the rules may be. In case of disagreements the regulation in French applies.


EXERCISES :

When competing in Mondio Ring, the dog has no collar or leash on at any time except during the heel on leash. No food rewards or physical corrections are allowed at any time while competing. Points for an exercise will be lost for multiple commands, incorrect commands, or failure of the dog or handler to perform the exercise correctly. There is a 1 second leeway on the outs before the dog is penalized for being slow to out. Control is emphasized from the moment the dog/handler team walks onto the field, until they leave at the end.
Mondio Ring consists of a number of exercises. A Dog competing at MRIII will be able to do the following:

Heel off leash
In a pattern determined by the judge with multiple stops and starts, left and right turns The handler also might be required to pick things up, carry things, go through various obstacles, etc.

Long Sit/Down
Done with the handler out of sight, the dog stays in a pre-drawn position 1 min during distractions. These distractions could be decoys arguing, throwing a ball, running circles, loud noises, etc. The distractions must be at least 5m away.

Food Refusal
Dog is thrown 2 pieces of food (usually meat or cheese). Dog must not eat the food, and if it is "accidentally" thrown into dogs mouth, he must immediately spit it out. The field is also baited with 6 pieces of food, in strategic locations (i.e. by blinds, jumps, area dog runs over during send away, etc.) The throwing of the food can be done in various ways, such as off a plate the thrower pretends to be eating from or in another manner that might fool the dog into thinking this isn't a food refusal.

High Jump
Dog jumps a hurdle on command, then does a return jump on command and comes to a heel position by the handler

Palisade
Dog jumps and climbs over a wooden wall which has a sloped backside, so there is no jump straight down to the ground.

Long Jump
Dog jumps a pvc/metal "key" long jump on the ground

Positions
The dog is told to sit, stand and down in a pre-drawn order. the handler is 15m away. points are lost for creeping forward during the positions, or failure to perform a position The main requirement here is that the handler have a direct line of sight to the dog, however the dog might be on uneven ground, next to strange objects, etc.

Thrown Retrieves
The handler throws the item at least 5m, on command the dog retrieves the item and presents it to the handler. the retrieve object can be almost anything not metal or glass, or dangerous to the dog with a max weight of 1kg.

Scent Discrimination
At the beginning of the competition the handler is given a small dowel, 10x2x2cm. During this exercise they place it on the ground 30m from the dog. After placement 4 other dowels are placed in the same area, then the handler sends the dog to find the correct dowel and retrieve it.

Send Away
The dog is told to run in a straight line away from the handler until called, then it returns to the handler, distance is 40m

Face Attack
The dog is told to attack a decoy who is facing him about 50m away behaving in a menacing fashion using a stick, with out/recall. There are also obstacles between the dog and decoy that the dog must go over or through (not around).

Face Attack with accessories
The dog is told to attack a decoy who is facing him about 50m away behaving in a menacing fashion using various items. These could be a hoola hoop, caution tape, cones, anything that might impress the dog but wouldn't hurt them. There are also obstacles between the dog and decoy that the dog must go over or through (not around).

Fleeing Attack
The dog is told to attack a decoy who is running away, with out/recall after the bite/fight. The decoy fires a gun when they are bit.

Defense of Handler
There are two decoys during this that mill around the field, argue with people, jump up and down, etc. Pretty much anything they can think of to cause the dog to bite to early, or bite the wrong decoy. The handler might also be told to do various things such as walk to a certain point and pick an item up then carry it somewhere else and put it down or lay down on a stretcher that the decoys are carrying. At some point one decoy will come up and shake hands with the handler, this is the decoy who will ultimately attack the handler. They leave after shaking hands and the decoys can continue to mill around or one might go hide. Eventually the decoy will come back and attack the handler, usually while the other decoy is trying to keep the dogs attention or even lure them away from the handler. The dog must bite the attacking decoy and fight them until commanded to out, then after a brief guarding period recall to the hander.

Search, Hold, and Bark with Escort
The dog finds the decoy who is hidden somewhere on the field, not neccessarily in a blind, and barks to indicate the decoy has been found. The handler approachs and commands the decoy to come out of the blind. After exiting the blind the decoy is escorted around the field by the dog, with multiple attempts made to escape.

Stopped Attack
This is done exactly like the fleeing attack, however, when the dog is about 1/2 way down the field a flag will be held up. Depending on the color of the flag (red or green) this will be the stopped attack or not, and the handler must recall the dog before it bites. More points are earned the closer the dog is to the decoy when it is recalled.

Guard of Object
The dog is told to guard an object, and the handler goes to a place out of sight. The handler does not participate in any way again, until it is time to retrieve his dog. The decoys try three times to steal the object, and the dog stops the decoy each time by biting. As soon as the decoy begins to move away from the object, the dog lets go to remain close to the object he is guarding. During one of these attempts the decoy can carry an object to confuse the dog as to which object it is guarding, or attempt to prevent the dog from biting. Points are lost for biting to soon, allowing the decoy to move or completely steal the object, guarding the wrong object (allowing the other one to be stolen), being drug away from the object, etc.

The Points per level and the length and height of the jumps attached on gallery photo