Does your dog love to chase squirrels? Many dog breeds were first developed to hunt vermin and keep their farms and homes free of pests. Barn Hunt is a sport designed to tap into our dog’s natural desire to search and hunt for rodents. Terrier breeds and other dogs with a strong prey drive that were developed for hunting vermin will often become very passionate about the sport, but any dog can participate.
Barn Hunt is open to purebred and All-American dogs, as long as they can fit through an 18″ wide hay/straw tall tunnel. Competitions are sanctioned by the Barn Hunt Association, and titles earned are recognized by the American Kennel Club.
What Is Barn Hunt?
Barn Hunt is a competitive sport where dogs and handlers work as a team to locate hidden rats in secure tubes hidden in straw or hay. The rats are well-cared for pets who are always kept safe during the search. Positive reinforcement methods are used to train the rats to go into their search tubes. During Barn Hunt, a judge hides the aerated rat tubes in a search area of piled bales of straw. Dogs must explore the search area using their sense of smell to locate the hidden rats. They also need to go through a straw/hay tunnel and climb onto hay bales.
During competition, dogs must alert their handler to the presence of the rats, and handlers must correctly tell the judge where the rats are hidden before time runs out. Barn Hunt competitions become progressively more complicated as dogs earn titles. At the higher levels, dogs must traverse more difficult tunnels and find multiple hidden rats before time runs out.
Benefits of Barn Hunt
In addition to being a fun sport, there are practical benefits of Barn Hunt. It’s a high-energy, but lower-impact sport designed with accessibility in mind. Senior dogs, as well as dogs with mobility issues can participate in different Barn Hunt competitions. Regardless of if you play recreationally or competitively, you can expect the following benefits from participating in this activity:
- A satisfied dog: Barn Hunt utilizes your dog’s natural prey drive and sense of smell.
- Increased confidence: Participating in Barn Hunt is a great way to build your dog’s confidence and help you better understand your dog.
- Improved behavior: Barn Hunt is a great source of physical and mental enrichment. Dogs who have outlets to use their natural abilities tend to display fewer behavior problems resulting from boredom.
- Understanding body language: As a handler in Barn Hunt, you’ll need to signal to the judge when your dog has alerted to the presence of a rat. To be successful, you’ll need to watch your dog’s body language closely and understand what they’re telling you.
- A stronger bond: Barn Hunt is a team sport. To win, you and your dog will need to work together to complete your goal of finding the hidden rats.
How Do I Get Started in Barn Hunt?
One easy way to help prepare your dog for Barn Hunt is to work on your dog’s comfort and familiarity with walking on different surfaces. In Barn Hunt competitions, dogs need to demonstrate they can jump up onto the hay bales and go through straw/hay tunnels. The more familiar your dog is with walking on new surfaces, the easier time they’ll have competing. You can create practice tunnels at home with hay bales to get your dog used to going through small dark tunnels.
Barn Hunt Classes
Signing up for Barn Hunt classes is a great way to introduce your dog to searching for rats. Part of the challenge of Barn Hunt competitions is that your dog will need to differentiate between the scent of tubes with rat litter that smells like rats and the tube that has an actual rat inside. As a result, it’s not possible to just train with rat scent at home, because your dog will need to alert to the presence of an actual rat.
Socialization
Like other dog sport events, Barn Hunt trials can be crowded and loud environments. To help your dog be ready for Barn Hunt competitions, take time to train your dog in busy, dog-friendly public places. Before going into the ring to search, dogs and handlers wait in an area known as the “blind.” Several dog and handler teams are waiting in this area together, so it’s important that your dog is comfortable being near dogs and people. To get ready, practice “watch me” cues in distracting environments with your dog. This will help you get and keep your dog’s attention at Barn Hunt while you’re waiting to search.
Fun Tests
Many Barn Hunt clubs have practice events called “Fun Tests.” These events allow you and your dog to get a chance to get a feel for what a Barn Hunt competition is like without the stress of an actual competition. Having successful searches at a Barn Hunt practice event can help increase your confidence and help you determine when your dog is ready to compete.
How to Compete in Barn Hunt
Once your dog is constantly alerting to the presence of the hidden rats in class or practice and has mastered going through a straw/hay tunnel and getting up on hay bales comfortably, you’re ready to put your dog’s skills to the test in competition! Before you enter your first Barn Hunt competition, consider volunteering at a local trial. This will help you to get a feel for how Barn Hunt trials work and help you assess if your dog is ready for competition. Volunteering is also a great way to support your local clubs.
Barn Hunt Instinct Test
In practice, your dog will have been performing all the skills needed for instinct and novice searches. When you’re ready to compete, consider entering the optional Pass/Fail Instinct level. Unlike with the Novice level, where dogs need to climb onto the hay/straw and go through a tunnel, with the Instinct level, dogs just need to alert which of three tubes has a rat inside. For this search, one tube has rat bedding, one is empty, and one contains a rat. This is a great low-pressure way to introduce your dog to competition. You can also enter your dog in both Instinct and in Novice levels of competition.
Try Other Sports That Utilize Barn Hunt Skills
Dog sports are a great way to spend quality time with your dog and strengthen your relationship. The skills your dog has mastered in Barn Hunt can be used to help your dog find success in other sports, too. Here are some other sports that build on your dog’s natural instincts.
- Earthdog: Have a terrier or dachshund who can’t get enough of Barn Hunt? Testing an earthdog’s instincts to go to ground after large vermin, Earthdog simulates actual den hunting using safely caged rats as quarry rather than a fox. The dogs navigate an underground tunnel to find hidden quarry.
- Fast CAT: In this 100-meter dash, dogs chase a lure. Since the movement of the lure triggers a dog’s natural prey drive, many dogs who enjoy Barn Hunt also love Fast CAT.
- Scent Work: The key to success with Barn Hunt is your dog using their sense of smell to find hidden rats. For dogs who love to sniff, Scent Work is the logical next sport to explore. In this sport, dogs search for swabs of essential oils, which have been hidden in the search area. Just like with Barn Hunt, the handler must identify when their dog has found the scent.
- Virtual Scent Work Test: This scent work titling program allows dogs and owners to earn scent work titles from home. Dogs search for hidden toys, treats, and balls in and around their home. Dog-handler teams work at their own pace, building their scent work skills, then record the searches to be judged.
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