An Introduction to Protection Sports

Jerry Bradshaw Training Director, Tarheel Canine Training, Inc. www.tarheelcanine.com Executive Director, National Tactical Police Dog Association (NTPDA)

www.tacticalcanine.com Executive Director, Protection Sports Association (PSA) www.psak9.org Director of Judges, PSA Evaluator, NTPDA

Ben V. Lowenfels SchH 2 Arrow of Tigerpaws SchH 3 (22nd Place 1996 USA Nationals) Rocky BH, PPD 2, PSA 3 (2002 PSA 2 Nationals 2nd Place) Ricardo PH 1, PPD 2, PSA 3 (2003 PSA 3 National Champion) Hall of Fame Inductee, PSA with Rocky Holder of Schutzhund USA Bronze & Gold Sports medals

Protection Sports & their History 1889 First Police Dog School

Formed in Ghent, Belgium after demonstrations starting in 1880 by Edmund Moecheron and 3 Belgian Shepherds – Dax, Nic & Miss. Word spread across Europe.

Schutzhund (Germany) 1901 KNPV (Holland) 1907 Ring (Belgium & France) 1908 There are other national sports in

countries like Sweden, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic.

Schutzhund – A Three Phase Test Three levels SchH 1

through SchH 3 Requires a BH pre-test

(Obedience & Traffic Test) Tracking (Precise) Obedience (precise) Controlled Aggression

(Precise) Competition worldwide Known as IPO worldwide

KNPV – The Dutch Gladiator Sport KNPV is the Royal

Dutch Police Dog Association

Awards certificates in PH 1, PH 2, Object Guard and others.

Is a pre-test for all Dutch Police Dogs

Ring Sports – Finesse & Speed French Ring – Decoy

Vs. the Dog Belgian Ring –

Environmental Pressure

Mondio Ring – Ring Sport for the World

PSA – Next Generation Protection Sport

PSA Tests Obedience & Controlled Aggression

Scenario Based Evaluation

Balancing Precision and Power!

Protection Sports are more than Protection

Commonalities among Original Protection Sports

Early sports were designed to evaluate breeding suitability

Is the dog of sound temperament?

Is the dog trainable? Is the dog

courageous?

Personal Protection Sports include a civil aspect: Will he bite for real?

What is the genesis of Aggression?

Aggression…. Is a natural behavior. Is a combination of the

dog’s genetic makeup and conditioning.

Is scary to people who have never seen it up close.

Intent must be inferred from observed behaviors.

Behavioral Classifications of Canine Aggression Displacement

  Dominance

  Fear-Elicited

  Intra-Male

  Intra-Species

  Maternal

 

Object Possessive

  Pain-Elicited

  Predatory

  Territorial

Idiopathic (my addition).

  From the American Dog Trainer’s

Network website .

Drive Theory of Aggression Drives are inherent, genetically hard wired,

behavioral responses to certain stimuli (triggers).

Prey Drive (trigger is movement) Defense Drive (trigger is threat) Social Drive (trigger is infringement of social

position) “Fight Drive” (learned enjoyment of combat is a

trained response).

Aggression in Perspective

As pet trainers, we are usually thinking about mitigating aggression.

Protection trainers use aggression, and mold it using behavioral conditioning techniques.

Mostly, we are putting limits on the expression of the behavior once developed properly.

Building a Protection Sport (PSA) Surprise Scenario Driven Obedience: Precision with

Distraction Protection: Tests Nerve &

Control Environmental Distraction Decoy Distraction PDC, PSA 1 – PSA 3

PSA 1 Obedience Exercises Focused Heeling On & Off

leash Sit/Down Motion

Exercises Recall to Heel/Finish Long Down Group Heeling in Muzzle Decoy & Object

Distractions

PSA 1 Protection – Car Jack Scenario

Looking for civil aggression in the alert

Gunfire before & during the grip

PSA 1 Protection – Handler Attack

Distractions Allowed: Jugs with rocks. Gunfire Bottle curtain Barricade of cardboard boxes. Hula-hoops & streamers Small pom-poms Foam fingers or pool noodles Trash can lids (banged together on

entry) Streamers Toss a bucket of bottles upon entry. No Water Distractions

PSA 1 Protection – Surprise Scenario Attack on Motorist

(shown) Send Through Tunnel Transport with flight &

Test of Courage Re-directed Attack Attack with Balls

PSA 1 Protection – Courage Test

PSA 2 – Bridging the Gap Surprise Obedience

Routine 3 Pre-determined

Protection Routines: Dual Attack Call-Off Fended Attack 1 Surprise Scenario

PSA 3 Obedience Extreme Distraction Agility Off Leash Heeling Motion Exercises Recalls Directed Jumping Change of Position Retrieve Food Refusal Send out

PSA 3 Protection Four Surprise Scenarios Mandatory Exercises: Courage test Call-off Suggested Exercises: Remote transports Object guards Muzzle attacks Send to hold & bark. Simple area searches Multiple call-offs. Tests of nerve (heavy

environmental distraction).

Object Guard

Police Dog Certification USPCA NAPWDA IPWDA State Level Orgs POST WSPCA

National Tactical Police Dog Association (NTPDA)

Scenario Driven Patrol Certification: Felony Vehicle Stops Area Search Building Search Interview Tactical Obedience Narcotics, Explosives,

Human Remains Detection.

Summary All training methodologies represented Scenario driven sports/certifications on the

rise Rather than forcing dogs to be aggressive,

we mold quality genetics into complex sequences of behavior.

It is a lot of fun!

Question & Answer Thanks to Malinoishandler.com Thanks to Katrina Kardiasmenos for PSA

Pics. Thanks to Hillary Daly of TK9 for slide

show!