I have a chance to enter Michaela in a Barn Hunt trial but I haven't done it before. I looked at the rules and the website but didn't see exactly what the Instinct test entails. I know it's a pass/fail but what constitutes a pass? Does Michaela just have to show an interest? Does she have to find the tubes or are they out in the open? I saw that dogs run 'naked' for the Novice, etc. tests, do they run naked for the Instinct test, too? Should I just enter for the Instinct test, or take the chance she'll have an interest in it and enter the Novice test as well?
Question about Barn Hunt
- Thread starter Snark
- Start date
The instinct test is set up where there's a tunnel in the beginning and a path lined with bales leading to three tubes. One with the rat, one with litter & one empty. The dog does not have to go through the tunnel or climb on any bales in instinct. It only needs to indicate to you which tube has the rat, and you tell the judge which tube it is.
I would suggest before going to a trial, if possible, to find someone doing a workshop or intros. We always introduce the rat in a cage to dogs first, then put the rat in the tube and eventually add in the litter tube to teach a dog to discriminate between the two. It's a slow process getting the dog excited about the sight of the rat (which more dogs are) and pairing it with the smell of it in the tube (which is much less exciting to dogs). There's also a difference with dogs who like to hunt/chase by sight and dogs who hunt the unseen. Crossbone will chase a squirrel but he'd never dog a hole to look for a mole he smells. He failed at barn hunt.
If you don't have the opportunity to meet a rat ahead of time, it can be risky entering novice---but I do know people who have done it and had success. It really depends on the dog and you won't know what his reaction will be until you do it. Novice also adds in the element of searching for the tube, climbing on a bale and going through the tunnel--all of which could be overwhelming for a dogs first exposure to it all in a trial setting. Heck, I was teaching classes and it took the majority of dogs 2-3 times to actually know what they're supposed to be doing. Of course, you have the dog who takes to it immediately and is all about the rat or you have a dog like Crossbone who couldn't care less about it all.
I believe dogs run "naked" in all of the levels. The space is fenced in---if you're worried about him being off leash (some with x-pens, snow fencing or something similar).
I would suggest before going to a trial, if possible, to find someone doing a workshop or intros. We always introduce the rat in a cage to dogs first, then put the rat in the tube and eventually add in the litter tube to teach a dog to discriminate between the two. It's a slow process getting the dog excited about the sight of the rat (which more dogs are) and pairing it with the smell of it in the tube (which is much less exciting to dogs). There's also a difference with dogs who like to hunt/chase by sight and dogs who hunt the unseen. Crossbone will chase a squirrel but he'd never dog a hole to look for a mole he smells. He failed at barn hunt.
If you don't have the opportunity to meet a rat ahead of time, it can be risky entering novice---but I do know people who have done it and had success. It really depends on the dog and you won't know what his reaction will be until you do it. Novice also adds in the element of searching for the tube, climbing on a bale and going through the tunnel--all of which could be overwhelming for a dogs first exposure to it all in a trial setting. Heck, I was teaching classes and it took the majority of dogs 2-3 times to actually know what they're supposed to be doing. Of course, you have the dog who takes to it immediately and is all about the rat or you have a dog like Crossbone who couldn't care less about it all.
I believe dogs run "naked" in all of the levels. The space is fenced in---if you're worried about him being off leash (some with x-pens, snow fencing or something similar).
Thanks. This is the first barn hunt I've seen in the area and I haven't seen any workshops/classes for it so I thought I'd give it a try, at least for the Instinct part. I just wasn't sure if I should waste an entry fee for Novice on the off chance Michaela is good at it. She is a 'snuffler' and more likely to use her nose to find things so I was thinking of seeing how she does in nosework, tracking and/or barn hunt (after we get through our obedience classes).
K9krazee described an instinct test above so I'll just add my experience. I signed up for instinct and two novice runs for our first trial. Jubel does nosework already so I had experience reading him and he loves to sniff out critters. He had zero issues going straight in with no prior experience and passing his instinct test and Qing both novice runs.
Really depends on the dog but I know tons of dogs who just show up and do well. Some need some work on tunnel and climb, some need work building value on finding the rat. Jubel got his novice title in three runs no problem, we are currently on a break from barn hunts until I can get some practices because he has lost to value to finding the rats. Six open runs and no Qs. Can't reward at trials with something high enough value for Jubel to really care. A bit of the "I can't get to the rat, why do I care about where it is?"
Really depends on the dog but I know tons of dogs who just show up and do well. Some need some work on tunnel and climb, some need work building value on finding the rat. Jubel got his novice title in three runs no problem, we are currently on a break from barn hunts until I can get some practices because he has lost to value to finding the rats. Six open runs and no Qs. Can't reward at trials with something high enough value for Jubel to really care. A bit of the "I can't get to the rat, why do I care about where it is?"