86 Saber Tails Summer 2017
Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America
Hello, let me introduce myself. My name is Crème Brule and I live with four others
like me in a wonderful two story condo. We sleep in a hammock, play in PVC tubes,
have an endless supply of toys and eat a proper diet including fresh fruit and veg-
gies. My roommates are: Cheesecake, Dinner, Hors D’oeuvre, and Snack. We would
have been snake food but now we are rats with a job. The pay is minimal but the
benefits are outstanding.
We are essential to the sport of “Barn Hunting”. NO, the exhibitors don’t literally
hunt for barns (too easy a game in the Midwest where we live), instead they work in
teams with their dogs to find us hidden in PVC tubes in a maze of straw bales. We sit
in the tubes and wait for the silly dogs to find us, you know, sort of a game of hide
and seek using noses rather than eyes.
The humans try to help but their noses are second rate compared to the dogs. When the dog finds one of us, the
owner yells out “RAT” and everyone gets positively excited! The dogs indicate in different ways such as just a glance
in our direction, a sneeze or sometimes they dig at our PVC tube and frantically bark. We aren’t afraid since the tubes
protect us and the humans never even see us. We take turns in the straw so we don’t get too tired and we always have
food.
The dogs run naked (no leash or collar after entering the ring) but we don’t peak, that would be rude. Each level of
competition requires more of us to participate and more bales of straw. There are also tubes that are empty and some
with our bedding to trick the dogs. Did I say this is a timed event? Well it is! While the judge and wranglers hide the
tubes, the teams of dogs and their handlers sit in groups of 4 or 5 in a blind wait-
ing their turn....no peaking allowed.
The first level is quite easy which is the Instinct test, then the levels increase in
difficulty. Instinct is followed by Novice, Open, Senior and Master. Finding us
is only a segment of the event as the rules also require the dog to “climb” (all
four feet) on a bale of straw and “tunnel.” The tunnels are all 18 inches square
and become more difficult with each level.
Heck, the other day, the tunnel was in the
shape of a question mark and guess who
was the only dog to tunnel (twice!) in one
day…a PBGV! We were quite impressed as
he also found all of us and executed a climb.
This earned him a leg (qualifying) towards his next title.
We depend on “Rat Wranglers” to hide us and keep us safe. As soon a “RAT” is
called the by the handler, the wrangler removes us from the ring. No roughing
the rat is allowed so you can see we are quite pampered.
AKC recognized the sport in 2013. As with any newer sport, the rules are in flux
and continue to be updated on the website. This is a super sport for all dogs how-
ever we must admit that PBGVs are particularly good at finding us and tunneling.
After all, they were bred to hunt under thick cover and use their noses. Go ahead,
get started, log onto
www.barnhunt.com
and get your dog’s BH (barn hunt) num-
ber. Check out events near you and come find us. We dare you!
Be sure to measure your dog as the classes are divided by size-small, medium
(PBGVs) and large. Oh, and first you should read all the rules and regulations that
way you won’t look like a silly cat. We live with one of those and, between you
and me, he isn’t overly bright. He didn’t even try to eat us when the cage door was left open.
This sport started long ago when farmers hired dogs to rid their barns of rodents in order to protect grain and reduce
disease. Now the sport celebrates the teamwork of a dog and his best friend while we rats sit back and watch the ac-
tion.
Try it! You might like it enough to acquire your own rat pack, some straw and let the fun begin.
Barn Hunting 101
Submitted by Teri King and her “Rat Pack”
Centerstage Defying Gravity
Centerstage Strut Those Kinky Boots