# Looking to Train in Europe as French/Mondio Ring Decoy



## Joshua McGrotty (Apr 15, 2013)

I was hoping I could get some help and direction here

I live in Scotland and dog sport is next to non existant. There are some IPO clubs but they're a fair distance away and I wasn't a big fan of some of the 'corrections' I witnessed at my nearest club which I wont get into, but basically there is nowhere to train.

I have more of an interest in Ring as I feel its a more complete sport and interests me more than IPO. 

I have been thinking about it for a while and have decided I am going to make a push. I'm looking at flying over to mainland Europe once or twice a month from Scotland for a weekend each time purely to train and learn how to become a decoy and a helper in Ringsport with the view to bringing the knowledge to Scotland and indeed anyone else in the UK who would be interested in training.

Does anyone have any good starting points for me or could anyone point me in the direction of any trainers or clubs who would be a good place to start and learn? Ideally they would train for a good length of time on both a Saturday and Sunday as I want to learn as much as possible. 

If anyone could help me it would be very much appreciated. Its something Im really passionate about and Im trying to bring it to Scotland and the UK.


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## maggie fraser (May 30, 2008)

Whereabouts in Scotland are you Joshua?


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## Joshua McGrotty (Apr 15, 2013)

Im on the west coast maggie, just outside Glasgow.


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## Paul Cipparone (Feb 13, 2011)

Contact Tiago , he is on the island of Madiera / Portugal , he is training Mondio with a group i did a seminar for . I'm looking to go back inFeb/ March for another seminar.
Paul C.


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## Joshua McGrotty (Apr 15, 2013)

Ideally im looking for somewhere in the continent - France, Belgium, Netherlands, around that area. It is a quick flight to there and is easy to get to, I dont think somewhere like Madeira is a simple one way flight for me unfortunately


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## Matt Vandart (Nov 28, 2012)

There's mondio in Hampshire


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## Joshua McGrotty (Apr 15, 2013)

Could you give me some details of the club in Hampshire??


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## David Winners (Apr 4, 2012)

Joshua McGrotty said:


> Could you give me some details of the club in Hampshire??


Found this
http://www.k9matters.co.uk/index.php


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## Matt Vandart (Nov 28, 2012)

That's the one, dude's name is Chris, he's pretty cool


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## Joshua McGrotty (Apr 15, 2013)

Tried dropping them a message earlier today but havent heard anything back from them


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## Tamara McIntosh (Jul 14, 2009)

Joshua McGrotty said:


> I was hoping I could get some help and direction here
> 
> I live in Scotland and dog sport is next to non existant. There are some IPO clubs but they're a fair distance away and I wasn't a big fan of some of the 'corrections' I witnessed at my nearest club which I wont get into, but basically there is nowhere to train.
> 
> ...


For mondio look up Tom Andrykowski, Joaquin dovat both in Switzerland

For french ring jean marc alan, marc villain, Herve mauvunga, Phillip touy, well really there are just so many great decoys and trainers in France.


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## Daniel Lybbert (Nov 23, 2010)

Tammara has got it. Ill ad Fernando Dosta and Herve Jacopit. I believe Mac Villain is the best option that I have seen or trained with. He is a full meal deal. Champion handler and decoy. Plus his son Axel is very good also.


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## Joshua McGrotty (Apr 15, 2013)

Thanks for they recommendations guys, ive dropped them a request/ message on facebook so im hoping to hear back from them. Ive got some help from some guys in Belgium too, through Michael Bellon. He put me in touch with some people.

Appreciate all the help


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

Hi and welcome!

Here's a link to the Swiss Mondio Club giving the mondio clubs around the world, amongst other info.:

http://www.mondioring-suisse.com/links.html

Tom Andrykowski is a specialist teacher in the Swiss Army, as are one or two other Mondio trainers.

He lives in Gretzenbach, Solothurn not far from us and about 45 minutes from Zürich Airport.

http://www.andrykowski.ch/about_me_5.html


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## Joshua McGrotty (Apr 15, 2013)

Thanks for the recommendations again.

I have spoken to a few of the mentioned names. Some are looking to charge me for a weekend of training to become a decoy, around €550. I didnt expect to pay money to learn however if they are world class decoys then it may be worth it

What are everyones thoughts on paying for tuition from one of these guys for a weekend?


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## Chad Byerly (Jun 24, 2008)

Joshua, I recommend contacting Guy Penning (www.belgiank9friends.com), especially if interested in positive/clicker methods. He lives in Ghent, Belgium and has taught me a great deal. I have heard great things about many of the names you mentioned, and do think paying for your instructor's time is reasonable. Decoy camps tend to be more affordable.


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## Joshua McGrotty (Apr 15, 2013)

Thanks, i have contacted them now too.

Unfortunately decoy camps seem to be hard to come by here and if they do exist, im guessing it would be a problem when everyone wants to learn in French and I only speak English!

I dont mind paying for 1v1 time if I have to.


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## Geoff Empey (Jan 8, 2008)

Joshua one thing you should check out is the Mark Keating DVD set from Leerburg. There is lots of good info and it is in English. http://leerburg.com/keatingdvds.htm I find a lot of the time the language barrier dealing with non anglophones there is just to much lost especially when you are working on details, basic stuff as long as you both speak dogese it shouldn't be to bad. I'm not sure what 550 euro is now, last I knew it was 2.2 for each euro and that is a lot for 2 days of instruction not in your mother tongue in my opinion. 

Another thing. I'd look for a decoy camp instead of private instruction at first as even though you pay for a days of private instruction, if you haven't done decoying in a suit before you''ll be lucky to get a couple of hours in before you are burnt out. At least if you share the work with a few other guys you can see the others mistakes and progress as well as take a breather. 

Another good decoy teacher is Herve Mavaunga here is a video of him teaching the first Russian to select as a HA in FR. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sKiUBbffD4 

I don't know how much it would cost to get to Phoenix AZ but my friend Chad Hunter is having a decoy seminar with M. Patrice Foucault Jan 24-26 2014. Good thing here is that there will be lot's of people who will be speaking english so you will get lots from it.

You can contact Chad at [email protected] or by phone 1 (480)-612-5027


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## Tamara McIntosh (Jul 14, 2009)

Joshua McGrotty said:


> Thanks for the recommendations again.
> 
> I have spoken to a few of the mentioned names. Some are looking to charge me for a weekend of training to become a decoy, around €550. I didnt expect to pay money to learn however if they are world class decoys then it may be worth it
> 
> What are everyones thoughts on paying for tuition from one of these guys for a weekend?


It depends... If the place you are going have alots of dogs for you to work, you could be training non stop for the entire weekend. That is a lot of training hours and a lot of very good experience. Is it one on one? If it is one on one you won't get a better opportunity to own the training, ask questions and build on what you want to do. 

Now if the money is to go watch or only suit up for an hour, that is expensive. Does it also include accommodation? Or meals?

See if you can find some other ppl to go with you, maybe bring the cost down. Could be a way to start your own club and get things going. 

You also must understand from the get go that initially you learn to catch dogs, learn how to move within the trial system you choose, learn the rules and regulations. You probably won't reach the point of learning how to train the behaviours for some time. 

The euro to cad is around 1.4-1.6. It is the British pound that is around 2.5.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

dude expect to pay to learn...


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## Thomas Barriano (Mar 27, 2006)

Joaquin Dovat was just in Texas doing a Handler/Helper Seminar for a local USMRA Club. Decoys attended FREE


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## jack van strien (Apr 9, 2009)

Sorry but i would never pay to learn how to decoy.First of all if you don't have a lot of experience you will be so busy with your own body you will not be able to grasp any thing else.
Secondly i think it is wrong to charge that much money from anyone who is willing to travel and gain some experience.
Sure they could charge you for accommodation and meals but for their knowledge?
Maybe it is an American thing to make every one pay but i have never seen it in Holland,how much can you really learn in a weekend?
It would be better to find a club you can go to on a regular basis and learn a little bit at the time.
A lot of golden rules are sometimes broken in training and it takes a lot of experience and years of watching to know how to apply 
If you want to handle a lot of dogs make sure you are in good physical shape,it takes a lot out of you to work dogs wearing a heavy suit and running around with a dog attached.
But i would like to comment you on your quest,i think it is great what you want to do and the dog sport needs dedicated people.


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## Joshua McGrotty (Apr 15, 2013)

That is all I want, to find a club i can go to regularly to learn how to decoy. Maybe it will take a year of visiting before i can even think about training dogs as a decoy here but I am willing to put the work in.

I am in good physical shape, I go to the gym 4 times / week, so have no doubts I would be ok with the physical side of it.

I have also considered looking into KNPV too, it may be an option if I struggle to find somewhere to learn Ringsport that works for me.


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## Matt Vandart (Nov 28, 2012)

Out of interest what do you do in the gym that might help?


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## Daniel Lybbert (Nov 23, 2010)

I think lots of people are starting to charge because people come and go like the wind. TD or clubs get tired of comeing and going. So therefore they try and get monatary value out of it. I think that if you went to a club and payed a bit and kept going pretty soon they will drop charges and just train. I have been charged by people to train with me. Once they see that I am serious and that I am good in a suit and have good dogs they are telling me that any time I want to train I have a place to stay. I have been able to train all over France the States, Mexico and Canada. It takes time and money to get good. That is just the way the world works be it dogs shooting skiing etc.


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## Joshua McGrotty (Apr 15, 2013)

Matt Vandart said:


> Out of interest what do you do in the gym that might help?


A lot of legs for a solid base (Squats, Deads etc)
Trained in karate for 13 years so have a naturally strong core and base.


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## Matt Vandart (Nov 28, 2012)

Cool, you should have pretty developed 'fast twitch' muscle structure too, get some anaerobic training in dude if you don't already, it should help.


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