| About
John Mallon  Click the
links or scroll down to learn more about John.
Biography Llama
“Political” Experience Llama
“Practical” Experience Show
Me the Science Publish
or Perish Biography
 With over 40 years experience in the training
of horses, dogs, and birds, John has devoted himself exclusively
to all aspects of the llama and alpaca industry since 1981.
A
popular featured speaker at regional, national, and international
venues, and a longtime consultant with an international list of
clients, John has averaged 50 to 60 clinics a year since 1994.
The
enthusiastic response to the Mallon
Method has made it hard for him to cut down on “road time”
in order to spend more time with his llamas, dogs, cats, and cutting horses on his 28 acre ranch
in the beautiful back country of San Diego County, California.
Recently John has moved his ranch to the beautiful CHINO VALLEY, AZ.
“Every
handler gets the animal s/he deserves.” Back
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Llama
“Political” Experience
 Believing that if you’re not part
of the solution, you’re part of the problem, John has tried
to give back to the llama and alpaca community some of his time and energy.
John
has been a member of the ILA since 1981, attending its very first
conference (and a majority of them since then). He served on the
Show and Sale Committee, the Jamboree Committee, and was the chairman
of the Events Committee. For his efforts on their behalf, he was
awarded the industry’s first Pushmi-Pullyu Award.
In
1983, John was cofounder of the Northern Rockies Chapter,
ILA.
In
1985, over concern for llamas’ and alpacas’ welfare
at shows and sales, he co-founded the (ALSA) Alpaca and
Llama Show Association.
 John was the performance judge at its
first show and schooled apprentice performance judges for the
next couple of years.
After
moving to southern California, John CO-founded the Llama Association
of Southern California (LASC). He served as its founding president
with a second term, and served on its Ethics Committee. John, also started shows in southern
California and managed numerous shows in the region. John is currently
serving on the Australian Llama Association Committee to establish
the Code of Practice for the Keeping of Llamas in Australia. .
 As a member of over a dozen camelid organizations
(see list below), John has spoken to and conducted clinics at
their conferences and received their newsletters. Thus, he keeps
abreast of regional problems and concerns and their solutions,
as they evolve. Overview of the industry at a local, national,
and international level has allowed John to assist large and small
groups, just starting up, to avoid many of the pitfalls.
John is proud to hold memberships in the following organizations:
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ILA
LANA
AOBA
ALSA
GALA
LAMAS
MBLA
ALAA
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ORVLA
OKLA
RMLA
SCLA
SSLA
LASC
MLA
NRC
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ALABAMA
LLAMA LOVERS
AUSTRALIAN LLAMA ASSN.
AMERICAN QUARTER HORSE ASSN.
THE ANIMAL BEHAVIOR SOCIETY
CALIFORNIA REINING HORSE ASSOCIATION
PACIFIC COAST CUTTING HORSE ASSOCIATION
CANADIAN LLAMA ASSOCIATION
LAA
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“Practical” Experience  John feels fortunate that his life
has allowed him to dedicate each and every day to practically every
aspect of the llama and alpaca industry.
John
purchased his first llamas in 1981, designing and
building a ranch from raw ground in Northern Idaho. He expanded
the herd and the facility until late 1984 when he moved everyone
south 1700 miles to southern California. Here they once again cleared
land, designed and built a state-of-the-art barn and fenced and
cross-fenced over 28 acres. He has helped many other llama and
alpaca owners design new or retrofit existing facilities around
the country.
 John has been conducting clinics since
1985 in over 40 states, as well as Canada, Australia, and Great
Britain. He has judged some of the largest shows since 1986 —
the ’88 ILA Jamboree, the ’88 and ’89 Houston Livestock
Show, the ’89 Austin, TX Show, the ’89 Fort Worth, TX
Show, the ’91 California State Fair, the ’92 Virginia
State Fair, the ’94 Yorkton Livestock Exposition, Canada, and
in ’97 the first Australian Llama Association’s schooling
llama show in Australia. John organized the first ALSA show west
of the Mississippi in 1988 and was the top money winner at the ’89
ILA Jamboree. YES, he knows about shows and showing.
John
has managed llama herds of as many as 50+ head, with
6 or more breeding studs doing outside breedings.
Whew
— he’s been busy!! 
“Be
careful not to mistake misunderstanding for misbehavior.” 
Back
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Me the Science  John Mallon has an extensive personal
library containing books concerning all aspects of behavior, and
the way animals learn, by authors acknowledged in their respective
fields. (Several veterinarians have remarked on the depth of its
scope.) John has a good personal and professional relationship with
the top camelid vets from coast to coast.
In
1995, he was the only non-veterinarian invited to speak and attend
at Tufts University Veterinarian Workshop. In
1997, Dr. Eric Sharpnack published findings comparing blood taken
at weaning from llamas handled according to the Mallon Method and
llamas not. It showed a dramatic decrease in measurable stress levels
in those llamas handled. Thus, science holds what John had observed
since 1989 — there IS a demonstrable difference between those
cria handled correctly and extensively at birth to those left alone
or trained at a later date. Back
to top Publish
or Perish  John was the author of the Mallon
Method column found in Llamas Magazine, along with the popular
“Paddock Pointers,” which ran from 1986 to 2000. He also
wrote a regular column in Lama Link, and is a regular contributor
to the Australasian Llama News, the Canadian Llama News,
and the Camelids Chronicle (magazine of the British Llama
and Alpaca Association). John co-authored the original ALSA handbook
and contributed to the Australian Llama Associations’ Industry
Standards. He also has contributed articles to many regional llama and alpaca
association newsletters, as well as Alpaca Magazine and Cutting
Horse News.
“Don’t
let those eyelashes fool you —
even
a 300 lb. cotton ball can hurt you.”
 Happy Trails!
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