Protection Sports Association

Obedience

 

PSA is a unique sport, and separates itself from other dog sports by having suited decoys on the field during obedience routines in the competition levels of PSA 1 – PSA 3.

In the PSA 1 level a decoy in a bite suit sits in a chair during the majority of the routine, and during a recall from a down position, will toss some distractions past the dog in a down before the handler recalls the dog to heel position.

In PSA 2, the decoys (multiple) will walk/jog around the dog/handler team and interact with the handler verbally, as well as provide food refusal and distraction during position changes, retrieves, and jumping exercises.The pattern

of the obedience in both PSA 1 and PSA 2 is known to the handler.In PSA 3 the obedience routine is drawn up by the judge as a surprise scenario.Skills such as heeling, retrieves, jumping exercises, climbing exercises, food refusal, position changes are known to the handler, but the order of the routine is unknown to the handler until the day of the trial.Heeling is judged strictly even under these distractions.

In PSA 3 the decoys on the field run, agitate, while the dog is heeling, staying, and doing motion exercises. It is an extremely challenging environment for handler and dog!   

 

Protection Sports Association

Protection                       

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In PSA Protection, the PDC and PSA 1 have a hidden sleeve bite during a car-jacking scenario, handler attacks, courage tests (the PSA 1 Courage test is our signature exercise), and in PSA 1 there are 5 possible surprise scenarios of which the judge picks one on trial day, randomly.

In PSA there can be hidden sleeve bites in all levels, mandatory in PDC and PSA 1.In PSA 3 there can be muzzle attacks as well.All other encounters are in full bite suits.

In PSA 2, there are 4 protection scenarios, 3 of which are known ahead of time to the competitors.There is a 2 decoy courage test, a fended off attack behind a vehicle, a call-off, and one surprise scenario is drawn up by the judge for trial day.

In PSA 3, guidelines are provided to the judges to make scenarios for a courage test, call-off, test of environmental stability, and a searching exercise or muzzle attack.Further guidelines within each scenario are also given, but these scenarios are not known to the handlers except in principle until the day of the trial.

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