Barn Hunt Prospect?

[Ravenbird]

This is what it's like when there's a rodent under the hood of the car. If the car sits still for too long, like a week or two, not months, they'll start making a nest in the engine, chew wires, store food - it's awful and if they chew wires it's costly. But Asha & Reckless go nuts when they know one is in there. Reckless failed her barn hunt intro a few years ago because she wouldn't let go of the tube and was trying to kill the rat. I've never done a BH intro with Asha - I'm thinking she doesn't have the kill drive that Reckless does, but she will definitely tell me where it is!

(((Yes, she got a bath afterwards.)))

 

[LifeofRubie]

Of COURSE you should try barn hunt

 

[JanS]

Good girl - go for it!

f the car sits still for too long, like a week or two, not months, they'll start making a nest in the engine, chew wires, store food - it's awful and if they chew wires it's costly.

Ugh and once they start doing it the scent is in there so all of the neighborhood rodents follow suit.

 

[Rits]

Um yes, of course you should do another sport, especially barn hunt!

 

[EricA]

I'm thinking she doesn't have the kill drive that Reckless does, but she will definitely tell me where it is!

Would bet money you already know this but going to toss it out there anyway just in case -

Confidence is really important and something that needs to be built. If you set it up the first few times where it is easy for the dog to do it and they build that confidence -


My previous girls used to love chasing squirrels in our lot at work. Would usually end with the squirrel shooting up a tree or whatever and escaping and almost as soon as it got away they would calm down. Until the day came when both of them were after one and it zigged when it 'should' have zagged and the one girl got its ass.

I figured 'well she killed it so I guess I should let her have it'. Seemed like the right thing to do at the time as she had worked so hard to get it and all.

She figured out not only that she could catch and kill those things but that under their fur was tasty MEAT. A big lightbuld turned on in her brain that day with respect to squirrels (fur covered Dober treats) and her ability to catch them and put them in her tummy.

If I could go back in time and do it again - I would have called her off before she got close enough to get that first one and most definitely would not have let her 'keep' it.

That girl transformed into a dog that was not really 'fun' to take camping or to a local park any more. If there were squirrels running around doing their thing and she saw one - She got a good bit past 'excited'.

Not a big deal when your fido kills and eats a random squirrel when it is on YOUR property but that same behavior at the local park can cost an owner a pile of money if the wrong person sees it and calls it in.

This is one of the current girls doing her squirrel up the tree thing -

She has no idea that there is meat in that mobile furbag. For me, and my dogs, and considering the places I tend to have them / her at most times - I am happy they are not getting too wound up.

 

[obbanner]

Definitely try Barn Hunt! You have a potential Elite Performer!

 

[MyBuddy]

but she will definitely tell me where it is

She'll keep your car mouse/rat free!!

Reckless failed her barn hunt intro a few years ago because she wouldn't let go of the tube and was trying to kill the rat

I think that would be Kali too!

 

[Ravenbird]

I figured 'well she killed it so I guess I should let her have it'. Seemed like the right thing to do at the time as she had worked so hard to get it and all.

Yes, it totally depends on the dogs drive for kill & devour. Asha killed a mouse a few months ago. It had gotten trapped in an empty feed bag, so I turned the bag over and she pounced & hit it when it came out. Once chomp and dead, but she dropped it, like ewwww! I picked it up & tossed it over the fence. She promptly forgot about it. Reckless, however will absolutely not give up a catch. She doesn't resource guard her food or bones or anything we give her, she's totally a lady. But if she kills a rabbit or a rat there's no taking it away. Asha gets wound up over the hunt, but kill and keep doesn't seem to be priority. In Barn Hunt they are disqualified if they molest the tube the rat is in. I'd have to go to an intro to see how she handled that.

Definitely try Barn Hunt! You have a potential Elite Performer!

Well that means a lot, coming from you! She definitely knows the odor and how to point out where it is! Her "leave it" is really good, so if I could get her to understand the game and to not molest the tube I think it would be a hoot. Same problem as everything else - A great established BH group in Tucson is about a 4 hour drive and an new BH group just formed over in Las Cruces is "only" 3 hours away.

She'll keep your car mouse/rat free!!

Yeah, the dogs can't ever catch them when they're up under the car somewhere, but when we see them alerting on a vehicle we move it to another spot & lift the hood for a few days and they move out.

I think that would be Kali too!

For sure, Kali is a great mouser!!! Reckless got some great laughs at that intro - got the tube in about 3 seconds and it was a fight to get it away from her and they tried a second time with a prong collar and she still wouldn't give it up. I'm afraid she probably traumatized that poor rat. They decided that was not a good sport choice after all.

 

[MyBuddy]

For sure, Kali is a great mouser!!! Reckless got some great laughs at that intro - got the tube in about 3 seconds and it was a fight to get it away from her and they tried a second time with a prong collar and she still wouldn't give it up. I'm afraid she probably traumatized that poor rat. They decided that was not a good sport choice after all.

Kali's pretty good with the, leave it, command. There has been a couple of times where there was a mouse in the barn and she knew it. I wanted her to catch it and kill it but not eat the damn thing. Yuck. So I let her go do her thing but as soon as she had it in her mouth, it was Chomp Chomp Chomp as I screamed, leave it! She dropped it. Thank God. I don't need her eating that. I just don't know how she would be with a rat and in a box that she can't get to the rat! She may not want to let go. LOL

Yea, the poor rat! Nothing like being a decoy to a Doberman! Yikes LOL

 

[obbanner]

Same problem as everything else - A great established BH group in Tucson is about a 4 hour drive and an new BH group just formed over in Las Cruces is "only" 3 hours away.

The judge development chair was at the trial last weekend. We talked about the difficulties of distance as it applies to training new judges. BHA would like to require prospective judges to work at different sites other than their home clubs. That's practical in the northeast because there's half a dozen clubs within half a day's drive from my home, but elsewhere, the distances are so great, it's not fair to make a prospective judge drive hundreds of miles.

When I was close to submitting my application, the judge development chair told me to shadow judge at a different club's event. I was told it was to give me experience seeing how other clubs do things. A club a couple hundred miles away graciously let me do so. After I became a judge, he told me he also wanted to see if I was willing to travel.