Barn Hunt Practice
Took the 4 Cirnechi to Barn Hunt Practice yesterday. Turns out Florida has alot of people involved in the sport and it really is alot of fun and not exclusionary for any dog. The titles are recognized by AKC too! Best of both worlds like agility!
I decided Rosie needed the most help since I could only take one dog into the Introduction seminar in the morning. She was nervous and clearly RECOILED when she found the rat, making it easy to call it! I took her in again for a 2nd instinct test and she had no idea what to do but LOVED running through the tunnel and jumping all over the hale bays. She had a good time so in her world it was great!
Then I signed up for Instinct and Novice practice in the afternoon with the rest...and, unlike Rosie, they were just thrown into the exercise with no idea of what to expect. Gibbs when right through the tunnel, then climbed on bales of hay and then found the 3 cannisters and a rat in one. I wasn't able to read his cues but he has potential and can't wait until Gloria Fay gets back to work him.
Ocra was her normal awesome self finding the rat pretty quickly and having a great time hunting for it. The judges remarked how animated she was...she loved it! I wasn't shocked. I am serious when I say I have no idea what sport she wouldn't do....and well. So wicked smart and fun.
Then Otto started his Barn Hunt life with a bang, per usual Otto style. I released him and he went right through the tunnel of straw bales and when he got to the other end, he started running like a crazy dog, jumping all over the bales of hay...found the rats, he sniffed for a few seconds, then ran off and went to a corner to take a quick...BIG DUMP! How humiliating!! And he had already pooped earlier so it was a shock. Judge says it can happen from being over-excited. Otto always creates drama wherever he goes! :)
The facilities and its owners were great. The instruction was extremely well-run and professional. I was surprised at how well the rats are treated. They are only used for a short time and then retired for the rest of their short lives. They don't let them get stressed out. They only allow so many dogs to sniff them in a day. They are pets and very domestic, raised in a home environment just like the woman's dogs.
I'm pretty confident I can get a couple of titles with Ocra, but even if none of the dogs were interested, even though I would have been disappointed, the experience and money was well worth going anyway.
Was by myself so not able to get pictures and too busy working 4 dogs to even try. Bummer because it really was fun.
