What's the diff between SDA and PSA?

[cledford]

I've got an adult showline male who was always strong in protection. We finally gotten a good diagnosis on a sport related injury and I'd like to return him to work, but want to skip the walls/a-frame. I'd also prefer to skip tracking with him. He was started in Austria with force so that is how he was finished. He does track, but I feel no need to keep it up with him. I've got a dedicated SchH dog so this is for fun. No need to pressure him. I know in SDA tracking is a seperate event.

So, mainly I'm looking for a sport where I can simply do protection or OB on the flat with him. I'd like to know the differences between the 2 sports. Also, there is a PSA club starting up nearby. My main worry is dealing with a bnch of yahoos with out of control dogs who are too lazy or unable to train dogs for real and only want to do bitework for the excitement. My male is titled and I'm looking for something he can do and enjoy as his injury came from jumping.

Thanks,

Calvin

[Chris Wild]

Not very knowledgeable about PSA, but as far as SDA goes there would be very limited work in obedience/protection you could do that would not require jumps and a-frame. FO, PA and P1 would be it. Once you get past that, there's lots of jumping. The P2, P3, PD1 and PD2 all require the dog to go over an a-frame as well as 3 other jumps. Though the jumps are a bit lower than the SchH jump.

I don't think any area of life is completely devoid of the said "yahoos" but I've met dozens of SDA folks thus far from all over the country and haven't met a yahoo yet.... though that doesn't mean they don't exist somewhere.

As far as learning the difference between the two, looking up the websites of both and reading the rules would be the best place to start. Then of course visiting clubs in the area since there's only so much you can get a feel for just reading rules.

[Chris Wild]

As far as tracking, if you want to give scent work a try while avoiding his tracking baggage, you may find the article search titles in SDA worthwhile. There are article search titles offered through the SchH organizations as well.

[cledford]

You guys getting involved is helping dispell the yahoo fears I've just gotten pretty particular about who I train with even in Schutzhund and don't want to deal with a bunch of people who are wackjobs. The occasional one is to be expected. Given some of the riff-raff I've come across recently in SchH I guess I'm a little worried about groups that focus only on the bitework. For this reason, I like that SDA requires OB with each title.

Are the P1 & P2 equal to SchH1/2?

[Chris Wild]

Originally Posted By: cledford
Are the P1 & P2 equal to SchH1/2?

Nope.

P2 is roughly equivalent to the SchH1 in terms of what is required in obedience and protection, and SDA considers it their breeding title (so sort of designed to be equivalent to SchH1).

PD1 would also be roughly equivalent to SchH1.

P1 is a more basic title and would fall short of SchH1 in terms of what's required of both dog and handler.

Lots of good info on SDA has been posted here in a couple recent threads about it. Good read that might help answer some questions.

[Chris Wild]

Calvin,

Unlike SchH, SDA has adjustible jump heights based on the size of the dog, so as not to preclude dogs from participation based on their size. There may be a provision for lowering the jumps for dogs past a certain age, or with a documented injury that would make full height jumping unwise. Would be worth asking about.

SDA is a very new organization, and as such is still working on improving and clarifying many aspects. The SDA Powers That Be have a lot of hands-on involvement and are very approachable and willing to take feedback from the membership and those interested in getting involved with regards to ways to improve. So if such a provision doesn't exist, I'm sure they'd be willing to consider possibly making one.

[BlackPuppy]

I just heard today that the UKC is canceling all SDA after 2009.

http://members3.boardhost.com/dogspo...246377497.html

[Chris Wild]

Well, that's some disturbing news I hadn't heard.

[dOg]

Looking over the PSA website, psak9.org hard to tell if the organization is growing or contracting or if the site is just a bit stale.

But hard to tell a book by it's cover, or an organization from
it's website.

Visiting both would be a faster way to know if both are within reach.

[Betty]

I had heard a rumor to that effect but was hoping it was wrong. Ironically I had heard lack of growth was one of the main reasons.

I'm ignoring the situation for now and will wait and see what happens.