The Claremont Barn Hunt Trial was last weekend. Since Bailie has one leg towards her novice title, she went with Mom for the day on Saturday. The hope was Bailie would get two novice passes and her title, but what started out awesome ended up in disaster!
Practice For Barn Hunt
We don’t have rats, nor do we have hay bales, so practicing for this sport is pretty much non existent. Bailie and Mom went to a class two months ago, but that was about it. Because it is imperative that Bailie do the tunnel and climb with all four paws on a bale besides finding the rat, Mom made a living room course.
The week before the trial, Mom made couch pillow tunnels and had Bailie hopping on the furniture on command. She seems to have learned it quite well. They hoped it would transfer over to the hay bales at the trial. We understand the sport is really instinct based, but we really need to practice to learn that the actual rat is what we want. Since we can’t practice, it is basically left up to chance.
The Instinct Trial
The Claremont Barn Hunt day started with the instinct trial which was in this super cute barn. Bailie rocked her instinct test. She raced right through the tunnel, jumped up on the bales of hay, and found the rat right away. This is Bailie’s second instinct title, as she passed back in June when we first tried barn hunt, but they used it as a warm up for the novice runs. Mom and Bailie were pumped up and had the feeling it was going to be a great day!
The First Novice Run
Bailie started off her first novice run right were she left off on the instinct test. She bolted right through the tunnel, jumped on some bales of hay, and then it happened. Bailie darted across the search area, headed into the corner and pooped! Yes, can you believe it! She pooped in the search area which is grounds for immediate disqualification. Mom was mortified! They had taken a good ten minute walk before her run. Silly Bailie also did her business at home before they left for the trial, but she decided to poop on barn hunt! It wasn’t a small job either…Mom says it was like elephant poop! I’m glad I was not there as I would have died of embarrassment!
The Second Novice Run
Okay. Time for the second novice run. Mom and Bailie had a couple hours to regroup and start fresh. If she passed this one, they could try for the third at another trial next weekend. No problem, they would get this. The first clue there would be trouble was when they found out the second course was outside. Outdoors has so many more distractions, but that in the end, was not a problem. One of the first dogs was running when the owner called snake. Yes! There was a snake coming out of a bale of hay and the dog was after it. My mom doesn’t do reptiles at all! After a time the snake was captured and taken away, but Mom was not happy about going into the course. Bailie started her run all wrong. She didn’t tunnel, but she did get on a hay bale, but then she false alerted on the tube with rat litter. Game over.
After the poop and the snake, Mom and Bailie decided this is not their sport. They tried their best, but they will stick to tracking and nose work. Gramma never liked us even trying this sport. Next time we hope Mom listens to Gramma a bit earlier. What a disastrous day! Thank dog I quit after the first try!
Oh dear….everything that could go wrong, went wrong, didn’t it? As soon as I saw the word “snake” I knew they were doomed. It seems like you tried to tell them with your own reluctance to do this, Emma. We give them credit for trying it, not every sport is for every one, but sometimes you don’t know until you try.
Mom thought Bailie could get two more passes making a title and then be done, but forget it all at this point.
You gave it a great try, no be smart and give it up. It doesn’t sound like much fun.
Evidently, gramma and I are the only sensible ones around here. Others need to learn the hard way.
Oh, my, what a poopy day! I am sure Baillie sensed your mom’s dislike of reptiles on that run. I am not sure who he is, but somebody named Matthew is coming to visit us later tonight ans staying until tomorrow. XOXO, Sparkle
Not a good day at all. To top it off, Mom and I went to the car wash. It was slow, so Mom got some popcorn and broke her tooth. Very expensive car wash! Hope Matthew isn’t too bad for you guys. We’ve been thinking of our FL friends.
Oh my goodness Emma!! What a day for Bailie and mom! Why didn’t they listen to you!? I am always giving mom great advice and she doesn’t listen to me all the time either. Poop AND a snake??? That’s too much. We did laugh a little bit though, we admit, picturing Bailie taking care of business right then and there… when you gotta go… you gotta go! Great post! your doodle friend Dash
Bailie pooping really was a bad. Mom was totally embarrassed. Bailie never does things like that. We assume she was saying poop on barn hunt.
OMD!!! Sorry you had a poopy and snake of a day! It Ok Ballie we all of a poopy day sometimes. Have a good weekend!
The thing is, we don’t have poop accidents around here. Peeing could happen in such a search, but poop? Really made mom mad!
Goodness, that seems like a hard sport. It seems nose work is a way better choice for you guys.
I think it would be pretty easy if we could practice, but just sending a dog in, hoping they look for a rat is not our thing. We gave it some good tries, but we are done.
Where my Mommie and I live we can buy lots of hay bales at the feed store, and all the rats we want at the pet store, and if we know we’re not going to want to keep a rat, we can go to Cambridge and get a test rat from one of the laboratories there. My Mommie thought about trying barn hunt, and getting all those fun things, but then she found out that there’s no nowhere near us to go show everybody how good we are at it. And what fun is that?
We can get rats and hay too, but we don’t want either around our house, so no practice here, but we are done. It is not the sport for us.
wow that was a day… maybe it was all the joy and the new area what caused the furst thingy? How sad that it was the end of your run. the second happening is REALLY scary a snake would be the doomsday for the mama… and she probably would be still on the run…. a snake is THE ultimative NOGO for the mama.
My mom is terrified of snakes, so that really sealed the deal. Even indoors, snakes could be in bales, so no more barn hunt.
I agree…. I would make the same decision, I hardly eat spaghetti’s because of thesnakelike look , snakes are the last thing on earth for me…
Oh my poor Bailie! My mom is with yours on the snake, she would have quit and gotten out of there fast. I wonder if Bailie sensed her mom’s nerves after the snake, if so that could have affected her hunt. Better luck next time girls! Love Dolly
It was just bad all the way around. We are done with that sport. There is no point without practice, and Mom will always worry about snakes.
You don’t need practice. Unless mom buys in a bale of hay
Snorts,
Lily & Edward
We don’t know what to hunt which is why we need practice. No more barn hunt for us, it just isn’t right.
Bummer! Think about the instinct test when you replay the weekend in your head ?
I think we will just erase barn hunt from our brains! It makes mom crazy to see people pulling their dogs off odor and directing them around, but it is what you do in barn hunt. We prefer nose work or tracking where we run the ship and can train for it. We tried. We quit!
Sweet Bailie isn’t shy about giving her opinion!
She was not a happy camper, I mean barn hunter and she basically said, I poop on the sport!
When nature calls…I know you were mortified but I’m sure that she isn’t the first or last to crap out on a barn hunt! BOL! Mom does not do snakes at all. The barn was absolutely adorable though.
Let’s just be thankful I wasn’t there to witness it all. It was a bad experience all around, but now we are done. Not good, not good. Bailie really did a number!
Oh Bailie!! You are sooo funny!!! Now it is funny but I bet it wasn’t then!! “Elephant poop?” Seriously? We love you no matter what Bailie!!!!
Bailie and the poop was inexcusable according to Mom, but it happened. Just a bad day all around and to top it off Mom broke a tooth later on the popcorn at the car wash.
Well, Bailie and Mom gave it their best…and then some!
Smileys!
Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo
They both couldn’t wait to get out of there for sure! Mom contemplated just leaving after the snake incident, but she wanted to finish that last run just in case Bailie could get a pass, but it didn’t happen. Oh well, they tried.
BOL! When you’ve got to poop, you’ve got to poop! About the time someone yelled snake, I’d have been out of there!
It was just bad all the way around!
Wait, what…you get disqualified for pooping? What kind of ‘crap rule’ is that?? Sorry Bailie didn’t get her title, Sam thinks Bailie is too cute for the rats anyway. ?
No peeing or pooping in the ring, so DQ, but we don’t care at this point. We know it is not our sport.
I think you’ve made a wise decision. Rats, snakes and the anti-pooping attitude just doesn’t seem ok for such a sweetie like Bailie. 😉
We thought it would be easy, and something fun and different to do, but we figured out it is just not right for us.
Oh dear! Well, at least they learned that this isn’t their sport and can focus on things they both love.
Bailie, Mom and I all have out own reasons for quitting, making it unanimous!
Bailey made a good try but she really didn’t know the rules and it was hard to train for. She needs to do the tracking she loves, and hopefully there will be one soon. We love to be outside sniffing and swimming in the woods.We love stinky things, mud and everything in the outdoors we even see frogs (not stepped on) and snakes, but a barn with hay and mice yuck.
My mom doesn’t mind the rats or mice, but she doesn’t do snakes EVER! Bailie wasn’t happy either as she didn’t really know what she was looking for. Not the sport for us, but we tried. Bailie will get back to tracking tests hopefully in the spring.
Ohhh no! I’m with ya with the going to the bathroom in the ring, Gman pee’d in the ring and got kicked out and snake never heard that! I would say that was a disastrous.
It was a major disaster!
Not all sports are for all dogs. The outside course looks fun despite the snake.
We tried and that is what counts. Not the sport for us.
I love that 2nd photo of Bailey and the couch cushions – Priceless
She had a lot of fun practicing that in the cushions!