It’s back to Barn Hunt at my house! I couldn’t believe my long, floppy ears when Mom said Bailie and Madison were going to hunt for rats last weekend! You may remember, last fall Mom said never again after she and Bailie had a disastrous day of rat hunting! I guess because Mom thought Madison deserved to give the sport a try, she entered those two for the weekend! Thankfully, she left me home because she knows I will not hunt for a common rat!
The trial was the same one I was at last year, held by Bales and Tails at the Isanti County Fairgrounds in Cambridge. Like last year, there was also a big dog show at the fairgrounds, and this year they added some dock diving.
Mom has been saying it would be fun to see a GBGV do dock diving. This was the chance. Madison doesn’t care much for water, so Bailie was the Guinea Pig! They walked out to the pool during some down town at the rat trial. During the competitor breaks, the company was letting dogs walk up and try the sport.
Bailie got her turn, but she was not having any part of it! She loves to swim, has even jumped off a dock into a lake, but she would not even walk into the pool using the ramp. Even though it didn’t work out, Mom said it was still a fun experience.
Back to the Barn Hunt, Mom took my sisters up for the intro seminar so they could acquaint themselves with rats. From what I hear, both of them went totally crazy, which is a good thing. They each started off with an instinct test and passed that with no problem at all finding the rat each in about 20 seconds. There are rules for Barn Hunt. Not only must you find the rat at the novice level, you must pass through the tunnel, and climb onto a hay bale with all four paws…these three tasks can be done in any order, but must be done in under two minutes. Both girls failed their first runs. They had the rat and the climb in no time flat, but they were so excited, they both refused to go in the tunnel.
The next day, Madison got her first leg towards a Novice Title, three legs make a Title. Check out the short video to watch her qualifying run. She is so into the hunting part, she almost failed again because of the tunnel. Thankfully she did it with just four seconds to spare!
Bailie also had a qualifying run the second day. Friday night, Mom spent a lot of time working on a tunnel command with her and it worked! She did the tunnel right away. Bailie’s 00:59 run earned her second place, the same as her qualifying run last year. Now she only needs one more to get her Novice Title. Mom says they both should get their Novice Titles and that will be it for Barn Hunt. I don’t really believe that, but a hound can hope!
At the end of the day, the two crazy sisters were completely wiped out. All that enthusiasm they have for hunting rats caught up to them. Both hounds went up to bed and crashed early! I guess I really don’t care if they want to hunt for rats or not. As long as I can stay home, I’m a happy hound!
oh bravo bravissimo!!! loved the moment at 1:47… with the straw in your mouth… that was toooooo cute !!!
You know puppies…eat everything!
A couple of pooped out doggies. What a fun weekend! Congrats on the passes.
Mom says it may take a few years, but my sisters will get their titles. They will only give it a try 1-2 times a year.
I’m with you Emma! Hunting for rats does not e cit me.
My mom isn’t really fond of it, but my sisters both had a blast this time, so she will take them a couple times a year until they get their title and that will be it.
Your sisters sure like that rat hunting and sure earned that snoozy!
It would be a fun sport of kitties too!
I would love to hunt for tree rats!
Snorts
Lily & Edward
We do that daily, but have no luck!
What a fun time, and congrats all around. I think the dock diving is best left to Labradors.
Right now Bailie’s career doesn’t look to promising!
What fun!! Looks like Bailie and Madison had a blast!!
xoxo
Arty & Jakey
Mom said they were so amped up the first two days she could hardly hold on to them. They are nuts!
talk about passed out!! those wild girls are wiped out!! great post Emma! your doodle friend Dash
They slept all day Sunday too. Really wiped themselves out!
I think your mom worked harder than Madison…but they did it! YAY! Loved the straw in Madison’s mouth. 🙂 Great job, girls. XOXO, Sparkle
Mom was as wiped out as they were! Try to get a hunting puppy to tunnel…not easy!
Madison sure wanted to make your Mom sweat it out right up til the end there! Once she got all four paws up on the bales, it seemed like that was all she wanted to do. 🙂
It looks like fun, and good job by both girls to get it done before the weekend was over – it sure did wear them out!
Climb and rat are the easy part. Bailie did the tunnel right away both her turns Saturday which made Mom happy.
That was so cute, that she just didn’t want to do that tunnel. Kids, what can you do?
Mom loves seeing how much fun Madison was having. It is all about the fun and the hunt with a side of tunnel.
Madison and Bailie are too cute in the photo with their ribbons. Tallulah’s littermate sister, SoBe, does barn hunt. When her mom wants to get her to pose for pictures she says, “SoBe, rat!” It definitely makes people’s heads turn. Glad you got to stay home and rest. 😉
I tried and didn’t like it, so the other two can have all the rats they want. Mom isn’t real into it either, but she wants them both to get their novice titles and then retire from rats.
Madison, you did so good! I love watching the videos from your nose work comps! And Bailie, I agree, what a wonderful experience! You guys sure look pooped!!! 🙂
Spencer, rat hunting is hard work! You should give it a try with your sister!
Way to go Bailie and Madison! For half sisters, you both went the whole way!
They both had a lot of fun hunting!
I really think Pierre would be awesome at Barn Hunting. Hopefully, we will be able to find one close and give it a try.
He is a terrier. I do suggest taking a seminar first so he learns about rats, and you learn all the rules.
Wow…your sisters were pawsome at this event. Well done, Bailie and Madison! Canine-grats on collecting ‘legs’ toward titles!
They had a blast and created some real scenes with their howling and carrying on sometimes because of the rats. I’m thankful I got to stay home!
I’ve been wanting to try this with my dog. Looks like so much fun!