Chloe finds and eats mole = Sign up for Barn Hunt Test and work on drop/leave it

[PerformanceDog]

Well, Chloe found and ate, what I believe to be, a dead mole in a field.

While shouting to drop/leave it and then running up to her (as that was not working) to try and take it away, she swallowed it whole.
I realized I had not ever worked on drop and leave it since I have had her.

So my first thought is: Man, I really need to work on these important skills for her!

My second thought: I should look into seeing if there are any of this new? sport of "Barn Hunt" I have been hearing about in my area.

Turns out, there is! Or at least a fun test/practice run/not a real trial. But... this fun run place should be able to hold trials in June! I guess holding a fun run was a prerequisite in order of getting approved to have trials.

This sounds like the perfect thing for me to do while I am in graduate school on Fridays/Saturdays starting this summer!

So, $30 later and I have signed up both Angel and Chloe for the instinct test and novice at this fun run event on April 11th!

Can't wait to see if my dogs have the natural instinct of finding rats and to see their reaction. This should also be something Angel can enjoy as she is getting older =)

I am super excited!

 

[PerformanceDog]

Who has done Barn Hunts?

Do dogs seem to 'get it' right away?

Is there any training I should work on before trialing?

What is the community like? It seems fairly open/friendly/welcoming, from the little I have seen or heard about.

 

[Snark]

Well, I just went to my first Barn Hunt, it was a trial, so I only put Michaela in the Instinct test (3 tubes tethered in a line in plain sight, one with the rat, one with litter used for rats, one empty). She passed! Yay! Most of the dogs did pretty well, but a couple had no inclination to even look at the tubes. You have a minute for your dog to indicate which tube holds the rat, and, unless they're REALLY enthusiastic, that first time is a bit of a guessing game because you don't know what your dog's signal is. Michalea stopped at the very first tube, nosed it a bit and didn't even look at the other 2 tubes. I wasn't sure she had the rat until she backed away wide-eyed, with a kind of 'there's something in there!' look, then came right back to the tube. We would have had a faster time if I had trusted her right away.

The 'hunt' areas, for this trial (and I guess for most Barn Hunts) had high, secure fencing so there's not much chance of a dog escaping. They will run naked and one at a time. Competitors wait in a curtained off area for their turn so they don't know where the rat is placed. No cell phones allowed either, and no treats in the hunt area.

I do need to find a class or someone holding practices, because Michaela had no clue about going through their 'tunnel' (straw bale stacked across 2 straw bales). I think she'll have to do that for Novice. For the Instinct test, it didn't matter that she didn't go through but it is something we'll need to work on. She hasn't figured out the game yet, either, that she'll have to search for the tube with the rat. Another reason to find a class or practice.

Have fun! Everyone was super friendly and helpful.