How to become a helper - Page 1

I live in the twin cities area and would love to learn how to become a helper. I'm not affiliated with any clubs, nor have I ever been. I'm also not super familiar with any of the protection sports. But, I feel like when I do become apart of a club, I want to be able to offer something to them as well as learn from them. Is there anyone in the twin cities, or mid-west that would be willing to teach me? I'm going to start looking for seminars in the area and what not. Any and alla dvice is greatly appreciated. I just ask that you keep it respectful. Thank you in advance.

Start visiting some training clubs. Find a decoy who's  work you like and volunteer to get in a suit or put on a sleeve. Decide if you want to do Schutzhund/IPO/sleeve decoy work or Ring sport suit work. Be dependable and loyal. Nothing decoy trainers hate more then someone that doesn't show up or learns the basics and then wants to start his own club or thinks he's God's gift to the sport. Decoy work is about the dogs. If you think it's about you and how bad or tough you are? Take up another sport.
Good Luck.

Thomas Barriano
Dubheasa Germania (11/05/99-08/11/08) SchH III M R Brevet AKC WD III AWD 1 STP 1 CD WAC TT
Ascomannis Jago (06/20/03) SchH III AKC WD III AWD I TT WAC
Belatucadrus (08/14/05) DS BH TT MR I
Flannchadh von der Bavarianburg (5/21/08) TT IPO I STP I

I have no intentions of trying to do it to prove how bad or tough I am. I am wanting to learn to do it because I think it'd make me a better trainer for my own dogs.

The last thing you mentioned is the most important. By doing helperswork you learn what a dog, that attacks you or after searching for you in the end finds you, shows in his behaviour. 
If you come to the Netherlands sometimes in future you are always welcome at my KNPV-club where my clubmembers and I can learn you some full suit helperswork in the training of become policedog.
greetings
Willem van Aken

Being a decoy is definitely a great way to learn to read dogs and work dogs.  As a handler it certainly gives you a better perspective of what your dog is doing, thinking and why.  You have the added benefit of seeing, reading and understanding the dog from both perspectives.  It is certainly not about ego as it is all about making the dog better and good helpers check their ego at the door.  Decoying is a blast, a great workout and really interesting from a training and behavioral aspect.  

I would say to find a club that you like, agree with their training methods and go and watch for a couple of training sessions then see if you can join.  Many clubs are always looking for new decoys but may be apprehensive because so many people say they want to do it then leave, quit or can't physically do it.  You can learn the mechanics, routine and techniques to be a trial helper pretty quickly.  Being a training decoy and actually working dogs on you own takes a lot more time, years in fact.  

Clubs really do appreciate members that come down and really want to help out as opposed to those that show up work their dogs, beat up the helper and leave.  I would say to have patience, lots of patience and be prepared for clubs to not want to let you jump right into a suit or put on a sleeve.  Clubs will often bring out retired dogs to "teach" new helpers.  Many members will not want an inexperienced or novice helper working their dog.  It is serious business and dogs can get hurt or jammed and careers can be over.  More commonly poor helper work ingrains bad behaviors in dogs and handlers and it is a deep hole to dig out of.  So be patient, have thick skin and don't be offended when someone says "I don't want him working my dog."  Usually those are the dogs that you don't want to work anyway because the handler will blame all of the dogs preexisting genetic and training problems on you for the rest of the dogs life; although you only worked the dog for 5 minutes.  

Best of luck,

Jim

Also find some good handlers who can talk you through things.  I think some new helpers can learn a lot from handlers who know what they need and are willing to talk a helper through it.  I'm trying to find someone local to help me with a few things and I know exactly what I need done and am open to a new decoy but I can't find a guy that isn't trying to run his own show.  Honestly at this point I'm probably better off finding someone brand new who isn't trying to boss *me* around.  It's *my* dog and I know what I want to work on, what I like, etc.  I would not put myself in the "good handler" category yet but it just gets to the point...be willing to listen to the handlers so you are on the same page.  If you don't agree then you have the option to bow out and not work the dog (and likewise if they don't like how the dog is worked they might take the dog away and not work on you again).  Sometimes I see a helper tell the newbie helper do this do that and it's still contrary to what I as the owner/handler want for my dog.

VKGSD's,
With all the work you put into your dogs and all of your accomplishments, I'd consider you to be an excellent handler.  You make some great points and it certainly can be a fine line to walk.  When decoying I always the ask the handler what they want to do with their dog especially if it is a dog I haven't worked before or a handler I don't know.  I like a brief description of the dog and it's level of training and what the handler wants to work on before the dog enters the field.  In that conversation I can get an idea of the handler's experience and knowledge.  Then I will decide what I think is the best way to proceed, my pet peeve is "well let's try it and see how it goes" or "let's see what happens."  

I do SchH every weekend with a small group of friends and work their dogs.  We have been working together for a while and I am open to suggestions or comments.   Some are working their first dog and rely on me to guide them which is fine.  I recently let another guy start coming down with a puppy and he shows up once a month or so.  He showed up the other day with his 8 month old puppy that is really big and told me that he wanted to work his dog on the sleeve.  I hadn't seen the dog in a while and assumed he was training with some one else, which is fine.  I told him the dog isn't ready for a sleeve and the owner said he was.  I brought out a sleeve and the dog was absolutely not ready for it, back to the tug then the wedge.  I must say the handler really annoyed me and I politely pointed out that although his dog weighs 80 lbs he is not precocious enough for a sleeve just yet.  

For a new helper or an experienced helper, I absolutely agree to listen to an experienced handler and take into account what they say about their dog.    After all they know their dog best and what they have been doing with the dog and their goals.  

Yeah, I've kind of set that on the back burner until I find more contacts and involved people in my area. I've got a guy in my area I'm going to soon be working with. I need some pointers on the dog I've currently got. And we've also talked about him helping me out when I get my puppy. He's got a ringsport field on his property and runs the club he's a part of. So, I've got the people, just not the trust yet. If that makes sense. It's all in the works though. I'm not rushing anything. And thick skin....having worked construction and being in the army, I've learned how to have thick skin...(Although, I don't think it's ever been any other way for me. lol)

Thanks though, everyone for the pointers. I believe I am on the right track. Thus far anyway

Slamdunc, you're right it's a very fine line.  On one hand I won't work my dogs on a helper I don't trust or a helper who isn't my style or doesn't approach protection training from the same perspective and on the other hand, the bottom line is the dog belongs to me and I do try to have an idea of the end goal and what I am looking to accomplish in that session (or sometimes a series of sessions) and if the helper has his own agenda then we're wasting my time (and usually my money!!).  I don't see anything wrong with a newbie handler relying on the helper for guidance but if you are a newbie and at any point something feels "off" do not be afraid to step in and stop.  Likewise if you are a helper being asked to work a dog that just doesn't have "it" please do the DOG a favor and stop.  I've seen some dogs being worked way beyond what they can handle and it just makes me cringe, it's not fair for the dog, he has no voice other than his body language (which is unfortunately being ignored) and his handler.