Barn Hunt
Why APro Dogs?
Get to know us
I am a Barn Hunt International instructor and will soon be hosting workshops and official trials for all levels!
I compete my own dogs in Barn Hunt and thoroughly enjoy the sport! It is an inclusive, fairly new, spectator sport to the UK and is very popular in the USA where it originated.
Dogs of all levels and ability can compete in Barn Hunt and it's fun for everyone!
It's a very mentally stimulating activity for your dog and all breeds can do it!
Find out more...
Why Barn Hunt?
Barn Hunt is an awesome sport that is fairly new to the UK. Barn Hunt originated in the USA and was bought over to the UK in 2022.
The aim of Barn Hunt is for your dog to locate rats in tubes and tell you where they are. The tubes are hidden within a small arena made up of straw bales and you can work your dog on or off the leash.
All the rats are sourced ethically and are frozen. Live rats are not legal to be used in Barn Hunt UK events.
Barn Hunt is a fun and supportive spectator sport which is open to all dogs of any age, breed or ability. My disabled dog, Titan, also competes in Barn Hunt occasionally when he's not doing SWUK!
Barn Hunt UK Official Trials
In the near future, I will also be running official trials.
The trials are over 5 levels...
RATI / Barn Hunt Instinct
Your dog locates the rat tube out of a choice of three tubes (2 empty and 1 with the rat) held in a cradle.
To qualify at this level you only need to pass once.
RATN / Barn Hunt Novice
Your dog locates the rat tube out of a choice of three tubes (1 with litter/rat bedding, 1 empty and 1 with the rat) hidden throughout the arena. Your dog must go through a tunnel made of straw bales and perform a climb (jump on a bale).
To qualify at this level you must pass three trials.
RATO/ Barn Hunt Open
Your dog locates two rat tubes out of a choice of five tubes (2 with rats, 2 with litter/rat bedding and 1 empty) hidden throughout the arena. Your dog must go through a tunnel made of straw bales and perform a climb (jump on a bale).
To qualify at this level you must pass three trials.
RATS/ Barn Hunt Senior
Your dog locates four rat tubes out of a choice of eight tubes (4 with rats, 3 with litter/rat bedding and 1 empty) hidden throughout the arena. Your dog must go through a tunnel with up to 3 turns and perform a climb (jump on a bale).
To qualify at this level you must pass three trials.
RATM/ Barn Hunt Master
Your dog locates between 1-5 rats out of a choice of 12 tubes (up to 5 with rats, up to 7 with litter and no empty tubes) hidden throughout the arena. Your dog must go through a tunnel with up to 5 turns and perform a climb (jump on a bale).
To qualify at this level you must pass five trials under 2+ judges.
Barn Hunt Workshops
Workshops are open to teams (teams meaning dog and handler) of all abilities.
Whether you have never done any form of scent work before or are a seasoned pro and want some extra training runs before a competition, Barn Hunt workshops are for everyone and we will cater the level to you and your dog.
We will be running open workshops (including all levels) and also workshops aimed at specific levels. These are detailed below...
Beginner - Never done Barn Hunt or any scent work before and are new to the sport
Intermediate - Competing in Open/Novice or preparing for your first competition.
Advanced - Moving up the levels in competition or have attended beginner and intermediate workshops, your dog is working very well and you want a challenge!
You can attend any level workshop whatever level you are at. However, if you are new to the sport, or scent sports in general, I would recommend starting with a beginner or open workshop.
Prerequisites
To compete in any Barn Hunt UK official trial, you will need to register your dog on their website. You can do this here: https://www.barnhunt.com/register/login.php
The price is in USD$ and is roughly around £25 for a lifetime.
To partake in workshops, you do not need to be registered.
For more information about Barn Hunt, please visit the official BarnHunt UK website: https://barnhuntuk.co.uk/
