Sharon Larson,  IACP CDT, CDTA, PDTI

Head Trainer and Owner

Sharon Larson has been a student of animal behavior for years. She started her career in animal health care in 1979 as a kennel person. She was a Search & Rescue dog handler for ten years. She attended WI School of Professional Pet Grooming to become a professional pet groomer in 1986 after receiving bachelor degrees in wildlife management & biology from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Sharon leads parallel lives working in both wildlife biology and animal health care. This unique combination of handling wild animals and domestic animals gives her tremendous problem-solving abilities. Handling tens of thousands of dogs for procedures sometimes involving sharp equipment and sometimes unwilling participants teaches important skills. Handling injured or orphan wildlife such as bear, deer, eagles, or otter for example, most definitely teaches problem solving outside the box.
She has been training dogs professionally since 2003 and holds dog training certifications from several organizations. Sharon is a professional member of and certified by the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP) and 2006 IACP President's Award Recipient. She served on the board of directors and as regional representative for Leonberger Rescue, Inc from 2002-2006. She and her therapy dog, Ky, started a literacy program in the local school district. She is  a former Delta Society Pet Partner's Team Evaluator and a former Pet Tech™ pet first aid instructor.
Sharon is a Canine Kinaesthetic™ bodywork specialist 
She continues her love for wildlife as an advanced permitted wildlife rehabilitator. After 13 years helping her husband at an area rehab place, they  started their own wildlife rehabilitation non-profit in 2011, Wild Instincts, Inc.