Wholesaling/Bird dogging. Legal vs Illegal?

[Jessica Martin]

As I'm studying for me RE license, I'm paying close attention to the definitions/reasons for needing a RE license (Or not needing one). Wholesaling does seem to check out so far because, technically, you are not selling real estate. You are selling your rights to purchase that home. (Your contract/A piece of paper) You have a separate contract (Assignment contract) stating that. Bird dogging however, (If I am understanding the process correctly) may be illegal because you do not have a contract to purchase this house yourself and are bringing it to another purchaser and asking for a fee for connecting the two of you? 

I bring this up because I considered bird dogging as an entry point. It was mentioned at a weekend RE traiing I went to. However, I felt it was too close to wholesaling, just much smaller profit. The only additional work needed between the two was the paperwork from what I understand. The paperwork does seem intimidating to learn, but at the same time, this is the difference between making hundreds of dollars(Bird dogging) or making thousands(Wholesaling) 

The answer has my curiosity... 

Other input?

I'm new so maybe I'm just missing something here...