IPG or PSA - Page 1

I’d like to get feedback from those familiar with both sports.

I do IGP, and have done intermittently for many years but also did a bit of Ring Sport many years ago. Ring is not in the same category as PSA but is a suit sport. If you have access to both sports, and are trying to decide which one would be best for you and your dog, then I would suggest going to both clubs, observe and talk to people to help you make a decision.

The one big difference in elements between the disciplines is that PSA does not have the tracking like IGP does, and this may be more attractive to you, especially if you're in a place where tracking fields are not very accessible. One person on my website is doing PSA with his dog, and from his writings, it is apparent that A LOT of control work is necessary to pass, along with a dog that has solid nerve. There are no set patterns to a PSA trial, and many unusual 'obstacles' that the dog has to go through or will get challenged with during a bite. Also, there are instances when multiple decoys will be on the field, enticing your dog to be disobedient and break away from you, hence the stringent control needed on your dog and very good obedience work.

I would like to be able to do both IGP and PSA, but there are no PSA groups in my area (the closest is more than 6 hrs drive away). I think with the right dog, it's possible to do multiple disciplines - I did this with a Mal that I had many years ago - we did schutzhund, Ring, and police K9 profiles (I was volunteering as a helper/quarry with my local PD to help train their new K9 handlers/dogs). I trained her with different languages for the different disciplines, and used different equipment (collars, leashes) to differentiate.

As I said, you may find that one sport is more suitable for you and your dog, depending on the character of your dog, but that's something that only you can decide with some personal exposure to both.

One of the reasons PSA was created was to have a sport that didn’t require tracking because the way it is done and judged in IGP makes it more of an obedience exercise than operational nose work. Both are sports and are not good indicators of potential police or military dogs. My bias is that IGP has become so far removed from its original purpose. The environmental stressors, distractions and control required in PSA are so much more intense than IGP. PSA is primarily a Mal sport and as in IGP, there are breeders who breed dogs strictly to excel in both sport which has a negative impact on real life working ability. Probably most Mals in PSA are so prey driven that their compulsive drive carries them through the stress of the environmental issues. IMO, one of the biggest issues in working line GSDs is nerves which is why only one GSD has ever obtained a PSA 3. The training for PSA has to be much smarter with building a foundation that will likely lead to success at the higher levels, where in IGP, I think that is much less true.

To many Dog Sports are a Social Event...One where you train your dog with a group of like minded people...
In most Dog Sport Groups there are a couple kind of people...Those that are serious dog trainers and take their training seriously...The others are there to socialize...Mind you they're interested in dog training but not really wanting to work as hard as it takes to be successful...
So what I'd suggest is to visit some of the groups/clubs that you're interested in and see if you like the training and more importantly the people/the members of the group...

~Bob~

The ideal is to have both.  Training needs to fun and competent.  Finding really good training is as difficult as finding a good dog.

Thanks for the input!

I trained and titled three dogs in both sports. A good dog can do either or both if trained right. It takes a better handler for IGP and upper levels of PSA. IGP is more precise and anal with points....although PSA has been advancing in that direction as the quality of competition improves. Still I like that the entry PSA-PDC allows for a young dog on the ornery side to still compete not requiring much secondary obedience, and easier for a novice handler too.

GSDfan - good to see you posting again. Still training?

There are some that train for PSA shooting for serious precision which makes control and the odds of success at the higher levels greater. A “good dog” becomes more subjective in PSA because there is more stress to work through. A lot of very high drive Mals pass largely due to extreme prey and the compulsive drive that goes with it so they might not actually be civil dogs.

by apple on 24 July 2020 - 18:07

The environmental stressors, distractions and control required in PSA are so much more intense than IGP. PSA is primarily a Mal sport and as in IGP, there are breeders who breed dogs strictly to excel in both sport which has a negative impact on real life working ability. Probably most Mals in PSA are so prey driven that their compulsive drive carries them through the stress of the environmental issues. IMO, one of the biggest issues in working line GSDs is nerves which is why only one GSD has ever obtained a PSA 3. The training for PSA has to be much smarter with building a foundation that will likely lead to success at the higher levels, where in IGP, I think that is much less true.

Since Siberian Huskies are so prey driven, does this mean with the right trainer/handler, they could/might do well in PSA?