Barn hunt - how to stop leg lifting

Sooo... we did Jackson's instinct Barn Hunt test this past October and he did fine. He walked right in there like he was on a mission, walked right up to the tube, sniffed it, and I could tell immediately that was the one the rat was in. He passed in the fastest time too.

So I figured hey, we got this, and decided to sign him up for the trial this weekend - paid $60 for 3 entries to do RATN. Well, we went to practice last week w/ Cricket and him... and literally he acted like he did not even care.

We got in there, got him unleashed, and he was only concerned about lifting his leg and marking the hay. So the 2nd practice we did, I decided to leave him on leash since it's practice... so I could control him and correct him if he tried, but once I showed him where the rat was, he just... didn't seem that interested at all.

Yet when we're in the yard, and there's bunnies under the deck, he goes NUTS, goes in and gets them all out of the yard, he barks non stop at them when he's found them. etc. He's also caught birds etc. So I think the fact this is a rat in a cage just isn't interesting to him anymore since he knows he has no chance at getting it?

I don't know, any tips or advice?? Otherwise, I just wasted the money and know not to sign him up again... lol... so oh well, and I'll get a fun weekend of hanging out w/ Cricket and Amber (skittledoo) and Jubel and Denise (dagwell) but it would be nice if I knew how to get him focused more??

I don't know much about barn hunts to be honest.

but from what it sounds like...Jackson is into the HUNT, not the FIND. LOL he chases bunnies and stuff not because he wants to know where they are but because he wants to chase them/a chance at eating them.

So that may just well be why he's bored, I mean he knows at this point that nobody is letting those rats out for him...
Maybe if finding the rats came with a BIG reward? Like a big game of tug?

Merlin (who loves squirrel and rabbit chasing) I know would also have 0 interest in barn hunts/rats in cages. It's not finding them he's interested in lol it's chasing them.

I agree, it's the thrill of the chase. I think he's too smart and remembers it was just sitting there in a cage not going anywhere - would have more fun chasing a sparrow. :lol-sign:

What's in it for me he asks himself. Hopefully you can encourage him with something good when he finds it but that may take a bit of time and practice.

Good luck. It sounded like a fun idea.

*sigh* I think you guys are right. I think there's just nothing in it for him?? lol... he definitely loves to chase...

We had this problem with Mia. She is an actual rodent killer and she is not interested in the barn hunts. She likes to chase and see the rats but it frustrated her because she realized she wouldn't ever get to see them or actually get them. The trainer said one of her also proven rodent killers has zero interest in the sport. Mia was excited for the first time then went meh.... I don't get the mouse.

It's a nice idea for the sport but I dunno... I'm not sold it actually gives you much idea about rodent hunting ability.

I've also heard that the RATI means nothing really... lots of dogs who won't do well will pass it since it's much easier.

As far as peeing goes they told us to immediately remove them and end the game.

I think we're done trying. I'll stick to nosework.

Yeah, you get disqualified for peeing. lol

And I think we'll try nosework. It's something I've been wanting to but again, it's one of those things, I'm worried he'll just get bored! I think agility is overall our 'thing'

I have yet to see a dog get bored with nosework. Nosework is a lot more of a trained behavior than barn hunt. My dogs LOVE nosework.

Yep. Bubbles has crazy hunting instinct, but had no interest in Barn Hunt. Kimma really took to it, but I think she sees it more as nosework. She also failed her Instinct test, but we got 2 Novice legs that same weekend hahaha. She was not interested in visible tubes, but kept trying to find hidden ones. She's weird. I will see if she can pass Instinct at our next trial.

I'm honestly probably never going to try Jari with this even though I have a feeling he would like it, just because of the leg lifting. I know he will try it, so there's almost no point in wasting my money to have him pee on hay LOL. That's just me, though

What about lure coursing? If I were to get into a dog sport, that would definitely be the one! And lots of chasing!

I'm hoping to give that a try at the facility close-ish to my house, they do lure coursing every once in a while. Again, I think he'll get uninterested when he realizes it's not real prey tho lol.

You would be surprised. I think you should definitely give it a go next time hog dog has a lure coursing practice day.

I think i am going to!

Bear was a Barn hunt and earth dog champ back in his prime, I don't do it with him any more because he is half blind and going deaf.

For things like this they have to be about the CATCH, when he reaches the end of the tunnel and sees the caged animal, in his mind he is killing that animal, even if he can't get to it and "really" kill it. But in his mind he is.

We haven't tried Barn Hunt yet (next weekend my club puts on the first one in Alaska!) but for Nose Work, Zoe will ignore the whole marking thing when she is motivated enough. I used to assume she'd always pee during exterior hides, because she marks a LOT. She sometimes still does, but after loads of work building her drive to overcome her environmental sensitivities, I see it less and less. She also isn't "allowed" to pee while in her Nose Work harness. I think it's just a matter of drive and focus. For us that meant high value food rewards.

Since Barn Hunt is more an instinct thing than a training thing, maybe lure coursing would be a better fit. If you really want to do BH, do you have access to a rat in a tube so you can play drive-building games?

Our Barn Hunt will be indoors at our club, so this shouldn't be an issue for us. :-D

Edit: I forgot I found this the other day: http://www.barnhunt.com/training-your-dog-not-to-mark/

You don't ever get to see the rat in a barn hunt. It's in an opaque tube.