Barn Hunt is a sport that dogs love. They get to put their incredible scent skills and hunting instincts to work. Dogs search for rats, safely enclosed in heavy pvc tubes and then hidden among hay bales. They must find the rat or rats, depending on the class level, within a certain time period and their owners must let the judge know that their dog correctly alerted when they found the rat. There are also empty tubes and tubes filled with just rat litter hidden in the bales too.
Pictured here is Vespa, a mixed-breed dog who is a member of the AKC Canine Partners community and who holds the upper-level title of Senior (RATS) from the Barn Hunt Association (BHA). Her owner, Suzanne Laird of Winnsboro, LA, says Vespa loves barn hunt more than just about anything! The AKC recognizes the titles of the BHA so you can have them added to your dogs’ AKC records.