# Barn Hunt



## ApricotsRock (Jan 10, 2014)

Sounds like fun - before or after the cow tipping?

Sorry - couldn't resist...


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

I know that poolann has two rats that she keeps for barn hunts. You could check back on some of her threads because she wrote about it a while back. I haven't ever done barn hunting, but my daughter went to a Jack Russell Terrier match and they had a barn hunt set up. She thought the little JRTs were going to have heart attacks trying to find the rats. When I was back in the Knoxville area they had a barn hunt that was open to all breeds; it was really funny to see people trying to get their Rough Collies to seek out the rats. I love the informal match setting where clubs open different venues up to anyone who just wants to see if their dog has any interest. Some clubs are very gracious and inviting about it; others less so.


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## Coldbrew (Jun 17, 2015)

I really want to do barn hunt with Piper - it seems so fun and her nose is AMAZING.

there's a "trial" class that has a week of different kinds of sports (agility, flyable, rally, etc) that includes barn hunt, and i'm planning to sign one or both dogs up for it in the future. 

from what i've seen, terrier clubs (for obvious reasons ) tend to hold them the most, so that might be a good direction to look, even if Maizie might be the biggest, fluffiest dog there


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

An acquaintance took her border collie to a barn hunt, said it was all kinds of fun. Both my dogs have good noses and are prey-driven, so I'd like to try it too.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

All dogs have good noses! It is their most important sense and I think we have little idea about what they perceive with their olfactory senses (smell and taste).

I have so many things I do already I can't add more to my list, but wish fun times to those of you who try it.


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

Could someone please explain to me what is a barn hunt?

I was looking on the website of the dog club nearest to me because I'm contemplating joining the club and I saw pictures of this year's barn hunt. From what I see it showed dogs sniffing around hay bales in a barn, but I'm not exactly sure what it is. I'd love an explanation.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

TeamPoodle, here's a good website: Barn Hunt Association


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

This sounds like so much fun! Killa already does this in someways with my rats and mice. If i loose one or want one rounded up I will tell her to find the mousy or go find friend. I tried to look up some classes or competitions near me and unfortunately the closest place is 2 1/2 hours away . I think I'm going to do some research, watch a lot of videos and just go buy some hay bales and make our own fun course. Maybe eventually barn hunt will make it around SoCal more and then we can join a class or competition.


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

poodlecrazy#1 said:


> This sounds like so much fun! Killa already does this in someways with my rats and mice. If i loose one or want one rounded up I will tell her to find the mousy or go find friend. I tried to look up some classes or competitions near me and unfortunately the closest place is 2 1/2 hours away . I think I'm going to do some research, watch a lot of videos and just go buy some hay bales and make our own fun course. Maybe eventually barn hunt will make it around SoCal more and then we can join a class or competition.


bet you could start your own informal group without any trouble if you have the space for a course.


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

Oh my goodness, I'd never heard of this before and it looks like Archie would LOVE IT. I'll have to check this out!


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

PatK, I bet I could. I definitely have the space. I'm just starting the learning process now and once I get over this cold I will go shopping for the supplies for the rat tube, then the straw. It's all so exciting!


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

keep us posted. sounds exciting!


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

Have fun! Dogs are amazing in their abilities and senses. It's just so cool to watch them do what they can do well. I already know my toy Poodles are good at finding rats. After all, they informed me of rats in my crawl space and prevented damage to my house. So they're little champion rat finders. I hope it doesn't scare the rats too much. Anyhow, hope you find a nearby club and can't wait to hear how it all turns out for you.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Poodlebeguiled said:


> I hope it doesn't scare the rats too much. Anyhow, hope you find a nearby club and can't wait to hear how it all turns out for you.


Thanks! Apparently, the rats used are very used to dogs, so it doesn't scare them. Growing up, we had several pet rats along with the dogs and they never seemed stressed by them.


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

From what I've read so far, you can get docked points or DQ'd if your dog antagonizes the rats too much too. So it does seem like protecting the rats is part of their emphasis.


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## vegas (Jul 5, 2014)

I'm glad to hear that there is some consideration for the rats. I was having mixed feelings about barn hunt, because it sounds like fun for the dogs, but I would not be happy if the rats were being terrorized.


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

We did a barn hunt seminar a little while back, and here's what I found out about the rats: the rats are people's pets, trained for barn hunting from very early on. So they're used to it and the rat we saw wasn't stressed out by it. They rotate in and out rats to give them breaks and make sure they don't get too hot in the straw bales, and the rats are in protective plastic tubes... there's NO way a dog can chew through it and get to the rat in the limited amount of time they're competing.

Also - because there can be up to 5 rats in the hunt and the handler doesn't know how many there are, and these events are timed, it is in their best interest to call the dog off of the rats as soon as he finds them. The handler simply says "RAT" and points to the correct tube (the one the dog is going bonkers over usually) and the steward will remove the tube from the ring. Then the dog can keep searching for more.


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## shell (Jul 10, 2015)

I must look into this. Is this like a regular club thing or a once in a while event or?


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

For our club it was a once-in-a-while 3 hour seminar but apparently if you get into it there are trials all the time to compete. I think some areas are more active than others in barn hunting and you could find groups that practice.


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