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What is Barn Hunt?
Barn Hunt originally started in the USA, where it has become one of the fastest growing dog sports. It has recently become available in the UK and we are proud to be the first and only Dorset-based dog training centre to be offering Barn Hunt workshops!
The aim of the game is for your dog to find a tube containing a (dead) rat, hidden somewhere amongst the bales of straw. It could be up on the top level of bales, buried underneath a pile of loose straw, or even hidden inside the tunnel of bales. Simple, right? But… also hidden somewhere are two more tubes. Identical to the first tube, one contains some bedding that smells of the rat and the other one is empty. This means that your dog needs to ignore the ‘decoy’ tubes on their quest to find the rat.
Workshops are structured in a way that pretty much all dogs can take part. We start with the absolute basics and then gradually start to increase the challenge. Once your dog has worked out that finding the rat means we all have a big party and they get lots of reward, the tubes will start to get more and more difficult to find. Then, we start to add more rats and decoys. And then eventually, you won’t know how many rats there are to find. You and your dog will need to work together as a team to clear the barn of those pesky critters!
If your dog has physical limitations, maybe due to old age or a medical condition, that’s not a problem at all – even dogs with wheels are welcome. We can make the rat tube as easy or challenging to get to as needed. Your dog will have heaps of fun at the workshop – and so will you!
If your dog is anxious around people or other dogs, that’s totally okay too. Dogs are worked individually and, in between turns, people are encouraged to put their dogs back in their cars for a well-earned rest. We are more than happy to chat with you beforehand to find out how we can make the workshop as stress-free as possible for you and your dog.
And if your dog is nervous or gets overwhelmed easily, we can keep the working area nice and calm for them. Your dog sets the pace and energy while they’re working – again, we would be very happy to chat with you about how we can help to support you and your dog at the workshop.
Regardless of your dog’s ability, background or temperament, they will have a great time at our workshops – and so will you.
To book onto your first workshop, have a look at the upcoming dates here.
If you have any questions about Barn Hunt, please have a look at the FAQs or drop us a message.
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