Barn Hunt

Hi there!

Barn Hunt is a dog sport that is gaining popularity and attendance.  Fly started participating in Barn Hunt last summer.  It was our first organized dog activity of any kind, so we signed up for lessons at our local kennel club.  The four, 45 minute, once a week lessons, cost $40 and served as an introduction to the sport, the rules, and taught us strategies for success.  Knowing what I know now, I would say the introductory class isn’t necessary.  Read this post and you can save yourself some cash.  You will learn all you need to know by reading this and then taking your canine competitor to a practice session.

Not a bad weekend!

First, what is Barn Hunt?  Essentially, it is a sport that simulates dogs hunting vermin in a barn.  Animal lovers start to hyperventilate at this point in the explanation, fearing for the little vermin lives, but breathe easy my friends, all animals are safe and loved in this sport, even the rats.   As I was saying… hay bales are arranged in a small fenced in area (the “barn”) and pvc tubes are hidden in the hay – one tube (or more) holds a rat, one or more tubes have just rat bedding, and a few tubes will be empty.  The idea is for the dog to find the tubes that have live rats in them and ignore the other tubes.

There are levels of difficulty, with the number of hidden tubes and/or the hay course itself, as well as the time allotted to complete the challenge.  Not only does the dog need to find one or more tubes with rats, but the dog must also perform a climb up on a hay bale and go through a hay bale tunnel. 

Fly in action

Each dog competes in the “barn” alone with its human handler.  The human is not allowed to touch the dog as the dog runs and searches through the hay off leash.  When the dog finds a rat tube, the human says “Rat!” and if it is indeed a tube with a rat inside, the human can hold the dog while the tube with the rat in it is removed from the “barn” and the challenge continues.  If the dog guesses wrong and there isn’t a rat in the tube, the challenge is finished. 

This is a very spectator friendly sport.  People young and old quickly become engaged in watching each dog as it tries to find the rats, not the empty tubes, and complete the obstacle course in the allotted time.  It can be a rather “edge of your seat” experience at times.  Most spectators get to know the individual dogs and there are quite a few crowd favorites.  It is free to attend a BH competition, so if you’d like to just go and see how it all works, you have nothing to lose.

To participate, most people read the rule book (it isn’t very thick) and bring their dogs to practice sessions.  These sessions are run similar to an actual trial, meaning the human and dog do not know where the rats are hidden, but it usually isn’t timed and the people helping run the “barn” can talk to you and help you teach your dog what to do.  My club charges $5 for each run-through practice.

Fly had to get used to climbing and standing on top of a hay bale.  Those things wobble and some dogs need a bit of time to get used to the feel.  It took Fly a few attempts, but now she’s a pro.  Another challenge for her was going through a tunnel.  At first, she was like “Nope,” but after calling to her from the other side, and a lot of praise, she was all about the tunnel.  The basic tunnel is a short, straight tunnel, so it is easy for the newbie dog to learn.  Then the tunnels get more advanced with turns and such, so it keeps things interesting.  Fly practices her tunnel skills with dining room chairs covered with sheets, or a couple big cardboard boxes taped together.  Use what you have.  Fly also had to learn what she was supposed to be “hunting” by smelling a rat in a tube.  Then, instinct took over and she knew what she wanted to find.  That rat musk is irresistible!

Now, about those rats: they are owned by a club member and treated like pets.  Several members have pet rats, actually.  This possibly makes it easier to train the dog, during at home practice but I’m not convinced.  Fly hunts for the rats no problem, but we don’t own any.  Anyway, back to the rats. - the tubes they hang out in are of specific dimensions per BH rules, have lots of airflow, and have to be placed and handled with care.  There is even a maximum amount of time they can be kept “at work” before they must take a break and another rat gets the job.  In some cities where rats cannot be kept as pets, gerbils or hamsters are used. 

All types of dogs are allowed to participate: old dogs, tripod dogs, even deaf dogs, as well as any breed or mixed breed.  It is a good sport for elderly humans, since the human doesn’t have to be very mobile, though folks with respiratory issues might have difficulty with the rat musk and hay dust.  The dog must be friendly toward humans and other dogs: no fighting allowed.  In order to participate, your dog must have a BH registration number, which you apply for online and send in a one-time fee of $30.  There is no annual membership fee, but you do have to pay for each trial in which you want your dog to compete – prices range from $5-$25 depending on which level of competition your dog has achieved.

Dogs can begin at the Instinct or Novice level.  Technically, Instinct is lower than Novice and is less challenging.  Once a dog has passed and earned a title at a particular level, the dog cannot be entered for a lesser trial.  After Instinct and then Novice, dogs compete in Open, then Senior, then Master.  Each level becomes more challenging, of course, though some people say Senior is more difficult than Master. 

Fly has a very high prey drive, so she does well hunting for the rats.  We opted to not compete in Instinct, because it was too basic for Fly.  Instinct level does not hide the tubes and the dog simply has to indicate which tube contains the rat.  Easy peasy for Fly.  So, she started in Novice, where she had to hunt in the hay for the correct tube.  According to the official BH records, Fly is the first Karelian Bear Dog to ever win a Novice title!  Yay us!

Fly poses with the Judge after her Novice title win!

Winning titles progresses slowly for us here in Alaska, because there are only a limited number of trails in our area each year: nine days worth, to be exact.  This would be a lot, if we could attend all of them, but they are only held on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, three times a year, during the Spring and Summer.  I work on Fridays and two of those exact Saturdays, so we are really limited to only competing four days a year.  If we lived in the Lower 48, we could really cruise along and earn titles faster.  Oh well, it makes the wins so much sweeter, when we have to wait and anticipate and hope!

If you would like to learn more about BH, find a club, or get a registration number, visit the official Barn Hunt website.  It has been my experience that BH people are super friendly and willing to answer your questions, offer advice and tips for success, and everyone cheers for each other during trials.  It is a positive, supportive, and fun dog oriented community.  If you have a dog and you’re looking for an inexpensive, low stress, organized activity to do with your dog, give BH a try.  At the very least, go watch an event and I bet you’ll be hooked!

Stay tuned this summer to read about Fly's BH competitions.  The first trial is scheduled for April 6th; I'm hoping I can get approved for time off work.