Sirius and Barn Hunt

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MPbandmom
Posts: 1637
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 7:18 pm

Sirius and Barn Hunt

Post by MPbandmom »

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Sirius really did well reactivity wise at this event. She didn't snark at a single person. 5 dogs and their handlers waited in the canopy area for their turn to do the course. I was treating her heavily and she did go say hi to most of the dogs in the tent. I kept her away from one who was elderly and unstable on his feet. There was another one who acted like he wanted to say hi, but then got a little snarkey at Sirius. She was extremely interested in the elkhound and a bit anxious about him. The large dogs went after us and as the larger dogs came to the other tent, she did do a little anxious grumbling. What I can see of her tail in this shot, it is down on her back. A sign of high arousal/tension.

She did choke herself a bit as I had gotten a buckle martingale collar to use for the event. The dogs must run the course "naked" and are supposed to wear collars or harnesses that can be quickly removed and put back on. At the last barn hunt, putting things back on went fairly smoothly and quickly, but I felt the buckle martingale collar would be a better choice. When she went too far for comfort on her lead, I called her back to me and gave her a treat. She didn't always respond promptly to the calling back.

She also shared her treats nicely with our samoyed friend who was in the same group. The samoyed family that this particular one was a member of, had all been so excited that they were taking a road trip, that not a one of them had eaten their breakfast. The samoyed was looking rather wistfully at Sirius eating dehydrated chicken bits, so we shared some.

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The cones mark the starting area. The handler and dog must stay within this box while removing leash and collar. If either one steps outside of the box, time starts whether the dog is ready to go or not.

The tunnel visible by the cones was the qualifying tunnel. The dogs had to go through this tunnel as well as climb on the straw bales and find the rat. They could go through the tunnel in any direction. There was another tunnel on the course, that could be gone through, but wouldn't count as fulfilling the tunnel requirement.

Sirius is more relaxed in this picture. This is a normal tail position for her.
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
Ari_RR
Posts: 2037
Joined: Fri Sep 30, 2011 10:07 am
Location: USA
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Re: Sirius and Barn Hunt

Post by Ari_RR »

Very nice.
This is a stupid question... but is there a real rat that's being hunted, or some kind of mock rat?
MPbandmom
Posts: 1637
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 7:18 pm

Re: Sirius and Barn Hunt

Post by MPbandmom »

The rats are enclosed in PVC tubes so the dogs can't get to them or hurt them. There are 3 tubes at the novice level. One tube is empty. One tube contains rat bedding. One tube contains a live rat.

The first level is instinct and the tubes are placed in a side by side row visable to dog and owner. At the novice level the tubes are hidden. At more advanced levels there are more tubes and more required tunnels

for more information check the official web site. http://barnhunt.com/

Here in Northern Virginia, we can drive a couple of hours into Maryland, or 3 to 4 hours to southeastern VA to find Barn Hunt classes and activities. That is the closest. New Jersey and Pennsylvania have events too.
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
unicqattraction
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu May 14, 2015 6:57 am

Re: Sirius and Barn Hunt

Post by unicqattraction »

Thanks for sharing



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