Service Dogs Of America is a dog sport that was developed in the United States in 2001 to offer training titles which could meet the needs of professionals concerning various types of service dog training such as protection and search and rescue.
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History Of SDA
In spring of 2001, the SDA affiliated with the UKC to incorporate protection dog criteria and evaluation into the UKC's portfolio of hunting and working dog competitive designations. In 2002 and 2003, the founders presented live demonstrations of prospective titles to the UKC Premiers.
The first official trial was held in October, 2004 in Tennessee. There were approximately 80 entries in an event which lasted three days. Other events hosted by the SDA included training seminars by Gary Hanrahan and other protection dog trainers.
In May 2004, SDA signed a 10-year contract with UKC. For five years, SDA conducted Dog Sport trials, demonstrations and non-title competitions at the UKC Premier dog show in Kalamazoo, Michigan. On June 16, 2009 the UKC ended affiliation with the SDA and discontinued licensing Dog Sport Trials.
After the termination of UKC's Involvement, SDA continued to hold trials, add clubs and members in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, Tennessee and Wisconsin. Efforts to develop a search and rescue (SAR) title were also initiated, which further boosted enrollment.
In February 2010 The SDA Registry Went Online to automate the clerical work associated with the club and to take the place of UKC's involvement With SDA.