I was just wondering if people could tell me how the various dog sports in the USA are travelling in regards to growth and popularity.
How are the numbers and growth of the following sports?
1. PSA
2. French Ring
3. American Street Ring
4. K9 Pro sports
5. Mondio Ring
6. NVBK Ring
Which ones do people think will get bigger and which ones will die?
Thx

Hopefulle American Street Ring will give them all a kick in the a-- haha

Of course this is just anectodal, and the focus of our own training is SchH sport. But just in casual conversations with the participants here, American Street Ring is mentioned more often than the other sports on your list.

If PSA and ASR work on really getting some RESPECT then they'll take off. In general, the only reason I think SchH is still so popular is because people aren't aware of the alternatives. Now, keep in mind that there are people that love SchH as a sport, so they're not who I'm talking about. But I think a LOT of people are training in SchH because they aren't aware that there is actually a sport that offers the protection scenarios and obedience challenges of PSA and ASR.

SchH clubs are vastly easier to find up here. There are ZERO PSA or ASR clubs, and even finding someone who does general protection training and can SORT OF be molded to help you go for PSA/ASR titles is hard to find. SchH clubs on the other hand? There are about 5 that are driving distance.

I think that many people who have actually gone out and viewed a PSA or ASR trial are disappointed with the way they're run. They're smaller organizations, so they're more casual than SchH which is worldwide and governed accordingly. In some cases, it can appear that judging is more subjective and lax, and of course seeing all the same people out on the field isn't necessarily POSITIVE.

All in all I think PSA and ASR both have potential if the organizations play their cards right, Pro Sports is dead/dying, and the other ringsports, while popular in pockets of north america, are generally more popular (naturally) overseas.

Thats one thing I have noticed when watching PSA videos is that there doesn't seem to be much organisation with the trials. You see the decoy engadge the dog and then the judge will yell at the helper directions and even people in the background yelling instructions. I guess its a new sport and the routine may not be set properly. PSA seemed to go through a growth period. Has it cooled down now?
I would have throught that maybe NVBK ring would have been getting more popular. It doesn't appear to be so.

 Quote: Jennifer Ruzsa

I think that many people who have actually gone out and viewed a PSA or ASR trial are disappointed with the way they're run. They're smaller organizations, so they're more casual than SchH which is worldwide and governed accordingly. In some cases, it can appear that judging is more subjective and lax, and of course seeing all the same people out on the field isn't necessarily POSITIVE.

IMO... K9 Pro Sports is weak, I have been far from impressed by what I've seen of it. French Ring & Mondio aren't very widespread but would be my choice out of the list you provided, more organized, more precision training, more recognized. Unless something's changed, PSA is bigger and more known than ASR, ASR seems to be almost exclusive to the south-east/east coast and is still a very young sport. I don't care much for PSA, ASR isn't bad but lacks any real organization and effort to expand beyond the southeast/eastcoast.

I can only say that we(schutzhund club) have trained next to PSA 's field and they act like they are bad a..es, and some of them look like they came out of prison.They have 2 women that do their bite work and look to me as if they want to be man, soo I don't have a real good picture in my head of the PSA.NOT saying all are like that but others I have seen from videos look a bit like the one we have here.
The problem with some of these sports are sometimes organized by people who either have a huge ego, or know close to nothing on the sport they support.I don't know what it takes or credentials to start your own K9 club cause I nver had interest to start my own but maybe we should have stricter regulations.I would like to have as many sports as possible to offer different avenues to people who want to learn and compete in a K9 sport.Some sports attract to wrong kind of handlers.

Chris,

SchH is by far the biggest and most organized dogsport in America.

PSA has a relatively large following, but there is a wide range of people in the organization and I've heard the trials described as a 'three ring circus'.

French and Mondio Ring are well organized, but small and clustered in certain parts of the country.

I'm not even sure K9 ProSports is still around.

NVBK is small, but organized as they are recognized (and officially part of) the NVBK in Belgium. I'd really like to see this catch on in America as it is such a great selection test.

ASR is small as well, but seems good. I hope to attend one of there trials this spring to see for myself. It is limited almost exclusively to the southeast US, but is gaining interest elsewhere.

The main problem with PSA/ASR is that there is a HUGE group of people that feel it all started because these dudes couldn't cut it in SchH. This may or may not be true. I've seen high-scoring obedience on the PSA field that would have NOT equated to a pass on a SchH field. At the same time, I've seen obedience on a PSA field that, even with all the distractions on the field, would put some high-scoring SchH 3 routines to shame.

My opinion is that if MORE people who were recognized as successful in SchH, but wanted to add an element of realism to their training, would join the ranks of PSA, they could clean it up. What the sport needs is some SERIOUS people who are extremely well known in the SchH and organized ringsport world as well. Without that, it will be hard for PSA to shake the somewhat negative image they have.

I think the challenge is because the sport itself is in its current state, the SchH folks who WOULD otherwise enjoy an element of realism brush it off. There is a severe shortage of trainers/handlers who can genuinely respect the QUALITY of SchH and THEN want to take it one step further and apply that same quality to a sport like PSA.

There's a huge divide between SchH and the "street" protection sports that I believe is unfortunate. The SchH folks view the PSA/ASR folks as thugs, and the PSA/ASR folks view SchH as a worthless sport. If that gap was closed by just a FEW influential members of the SchH camp, then we wouldn't have nearly the problem we have.

I can see how this division happens between the ScH and ring/street people. I personally feel that sports such as NVBK and KNPV offer a more "practical" obedience, where as SchH has gone from practical to precision. Schutzhund has gone from a test of the dog to a test of the trainer in some ways, and other programs such as NVBK try to keep it as a test of the dog. I remember that not long ago the SV was considering taking out the courage test from Schutzhund.
I see that alot of people have gone to PSA and ASR because they have breeds which would be looked down on in SchH, such as pitbulls and bulldogs etc.
Do people see PSA growing more or has it reached it's peak?
I would like to see also NVBK grow as I like the additude of them.

 Quote: jennifer ruzsa

The main problem with PSA/ASR is that there is a HUGE group of people that feel it all started because these dudes couldn't cut it in SchH. This may or may not be true. I've seen high-scoring obedience on the PSA field that would have NOT equated to a pass on a SchH field. At the same time, I've seen obedience on a PSA field that, even with all the distractions on the field, would put some high-scoring SchH 3 routines to shame.

My opinion is that if MORE people who were recognized as successful in SchH, but wanted to add an element of realism to their training, would join the ranks of PSA, they could clean it up. What the sport needs is some SERIOUS people who are extremely well known in the SchH and organized ringsport world as well. Without that, it will be hard for PSA to shake the somewhat negative image they have.

I think the challenge is because the sport itself is in its current state, the SchH folks who WOULD otherwise enjoy an element of realism brush it off. There is a severe shortage of trainers/handlers who can genuinely respect the QUALITY of SchH and THEN want to take it one step further and apply that same quality to a sport like PSA.

There's a huge divide between SchH and the "street" protection sports that I believe is unfortunate. The SchH folks view the PSA/ASR folks as thugs, and the PSA/ASR folks view SchH as a worthless sport. If that gap was closed by just a FEW influential members of the SchH camp, then we wouldn't have nearly the problem we have.