Becoming a BSWD Member

Prospective members must first attend three training sessions without a dog, and then training sessions with a dog at $20/session. When the club feels that the prospective member is committed and a great addition to our training group, the prospective member will be invited to apply for memberhsip. They must also attend tracking sessions. The Training Director will evaluate your dog and inform you if they thinks your dog is or is not suited to the sport of Schutzhund/IPO/IGP. However, if you’re interested in the sport, not afraid of hard work, have good nerves yourself and a sense of humor, the club would be happy to accept you as a member and work with you and your dog to the best of your abilities.

Applications for membership are available from the Secretary and are available online (print and mail in). Once the application is turned in, it will be voted on by email. Election to active membership requires approval by three-quarters of the members present.

 

Types of Membership

Full Membership

Full members are the backbone of the Schutzhund club. They are entitled to all the rights and privileges of membership, as well as the responsibilities. Full members may vote and hold office, have unlimited training privileges, and are entitled to feature pages on the club web site. They also may receive price breaks on seminars, trials and other events if the club breaks even on the event. Unfortunately, in Montana we pay $400 or more for airline tickets and often don’t get enough participants to break even. Therefore, full members are also responsible for covering cost overruns. (Compare it to the cost of gas, food, lodging and seminar fees if you’d had to drive to Spokane or Seattle or Denver or SLC for the same seminar. And there’s fewer people here, meaning more time with the expert.)

Full members must demonstrate their active pursuit of training titles. All Full Members must also be members in good standing of the American Working Malinois Association, and if not a Malinois, are also encouraged to join their representative American Working Dog Federation (AWDF) breed club.

Initiation fee, single membership: $150

Renewal: $100 per year, due April 1st each year.

Satellite Membership

Satellite Members are club supporters who live outside of Montana, but wish to participate in seminars and/or trials. They receive preference for seminars, may receive a discount in fees, and can train during regular club session up to five times per year.

Fees are $50 per year, due April 1st.

Family Membership

There is no Family membership the first year of membership; thereafter, Family membership is $150 per year.

Associate Membership

Associate Members are club supporters who are not interested in protection work, but want to pursue tracking and/or obedience. They may be taking a break from training, or are otherwise unable to participate fully. Associate members may not vote or hold office. They pay advertised prices on seminars and trials, but are not responsible for cost overruns. Associate members have unlimited training privileges as regards to obedience or tracking, but may not participate in protection.

Fees are $50 per year, due April 1st.

Youth Membership

Youth members are under the age of 18 with no family ties to a full member. Youth members may not vote, may not hold office and membership will expire at the age of 18. They have unlimited training privileges and will be given priority on seminars, trials and other events. Youth members must be ready to help at all seminars and trials, may participate in regular club training sessions, and will be included on the website, including their own personal page(s) if desired. To encourage youth participation in the sport, membership dues shall be at a reduced rate and a scholarship shall be available to cover field fees.

Big Sky Working Dog Club Visitor’s Agreement

Big Sky Working Dogs welcomes you to participate in our training in support of the sport of IGP/IPO/Schutzhund. As such, we base our training on teaching our dogs to be willing partners in tracking, obedience and protection. Our members primarily have German Shepherd Dogs and Belgian Malinois, but we appreciate a good working dog regardless of the breed. If your dog is mentally and physically sound, has a confident and stable temperament, loves to retrieve and play tug, is not dog aggressive and you think you might be interested in learning about the sport of Schutzhund/IGP, you’re welcome work with us and then decide if you wish to join the club.

What we are not:

  • Our club sessions are not training classes. We are here to work our own dogs and obtain input from other club members. Visitors should watch, ask questions, and then be prepared to train on a regular basis on their own. We will help you but we will not train your dog. If you want more instruction and wish to progress more rapidly, we strongly encourage you to take classes especially if you do not have a background in classical and operant conditioning.

  • We do not do personal protection training. Schutzhund/IGP is not about personal protection, and a successful dog/handler team must be proficient in obedience, tracking and protection.

Expectations:

  • Please keep your dog on leash and under control and ask if you should bring it onto the training field or into the building (if we are training indoors).

  • Do not let your dog socialize with other dogs unless specifically told by the other handler that it is acceptable (this is rare – we are here to bond with our dogs, not let them bond with others).

  • Be courteous of dogs and handlers who are working.

  • Feel free to ask questions and talk with club members about what someone is doing with their dog while they are training.

  • And we expect you to enjoy yourself and learn!

NON-MEMBERS AND VISITORS:  New people (prospective members and visitors) are welcome to come out, attend training, ask questions, etc. for THREE times WITHOUT A DOG before they can starting training with a dog.  This also includes a requirement of attending at least one tracking session.  After attending  without a dog, visitors may attend and participate in at least three training sessions with a dog at $20/session. 

After a prospective member has attended three sessions with their dog, there will be an evaluation to determine if the handler and dog are suited to the sport of Schutzhund/IGP.  If so, the prospective member will then be required to submit a membership application for a vote prior to any further participation.  The applicant will be informed if their dog is not suited to the sport; however applicants with good nerves, humor, interest and motivation in the sport will be accepted and their dog trained to the best of the team’s ability.  We welcome new people to the sport, are happy to have new members, but want some demonstration that a new member shows dedication and commitment to training and the goals of our club. 

VISITORS with a knowledge of the sport may participate in training only with the prior consent of the training director, at $100/day.

SEMINARS:  Visitors and new prospective members are welcome and will be charged $35.00 for attendance at a seminar WITHOUT A DOG.  This will cover our costs of insurance, food and field preparation.  Visitors and non-members may participate in seminars with a dog only at the discretion of the training director. If you wish to visit during a seminar please contact ahead of time for location, times, and cost.

Full Members will be expected to participate in all three phases of training if you plan to be part of the club. Some dogs are not suitable for protection work. That’s OK, there are still ways you can participate and earn titles in obedience and tracking if you wish to become an Associate Member. Note that the requirement to track is waived for October through April.

Please read and sign the visitor’s agreement, available here and bring it with you when you come to visit.