Going to try to get into decoying as well, I was very hesitant since I have no experience training a dog and didn't want to get in over my head. I decided on a Catahoula as well, picked him up last fall.
I'm looking into collars now, but I must say that everything I have taught him he learned almost instantly. He is a great dog and even if the decoying aspect doesn't work out well He'll make a [beeep] of a family dog.
Looking forward to updates on how your dog turns out.