Barn Hunt!
(Not sure if this should be under shows/events or behavior/training. Moderator, feel free to move.)
Talk to me about barn hunt... I've spent a long time considering my options for a dog sport besides conformation (since my dogs are "done" with conformation) and I think barn hunt is it! It hadn't even crossed my mind till @WrylyBrindle mentioned it earlier this week.
Stuff I like: Obstacles and physical activity, nosework, reading my dog / forming a partnership, pet rats, timed events (objective not subjective judging), fun for the dog, one dog at a time, smaller enclosed area, honing the dog's instincts, not based around executing commands perfectly, less training than obedience/rally/agility, no conditioning, no equipment to purchase.
Stuff I am not sure about: Making it a positive experience for the rat, keeping male dogs from marking the hay bales, my dogs might not want to because I've told them to ignore my pet rats for two years.
Stuff I don't like: At the moment, nothing~
Other sports I considered roughly in order from highest to lowest:
- Weight pull (cons: a lot of conditioning involved, some equipment needed, motivating the dog)
- Lure coursing (cons: afraid of losing my dogs with poor recall, most titles only for sighthounds)
- Nosework (cons: lack of classes, would prefer a more active sport)
- Agility (cons: motivating Akitas to do any command quickly)
- Rally/obedience (cons: graded on perfect execution, Akitas)
There are of course other dog sports out there, like dock jumping and flyball, but my dogs flat out wouldn't do it at all.
Talk to me about barn hunt... I've spent a long time considering my options for a dog sport besides conformation (since my dogs are "done" with conformation) and I think barn hunt is it! It hadn't even crossed my mind till @WrylyBrindle mentioned it earlier this week.
Stuff I like: Obstacles and physical activity, nosework, reading my dog / forming a partnership, pet rats, timed events (objective not subjective judging), fun for the dog, one dog at a time, smaller enclosed area, honing the dog's instincts, not based around executing commands perfectly, less training than obedience/rally/agility, no conditioning, no equipment to purchase.
Stuff I am not sure about: Making it a positive experience for the rat, keeping male dogs from marking the hay bales, my dogs might not want to because I've told them to ignore my pet rats for two years.
Stuff I don't like: At the moment, nothing~
Other sports I considered roughly in order from highest to lowest:
- Weight pull (cons: a lot of conditioning involved, some equipment needed, motivating the dog)
- Lure coursing (cons: afraid of losing my dogs with poor recall, most titles only for sighthounds)
- Nosework (cons: lack of classes, would prefer a more active sport)
- Agility (cons: motivating Akitas to do any command quickly)
- Rally/obedience (cons: graded on perfect execution, Akitas)
There are of course other dog sports out there, like dock jumping and flyball, but my dogs flat out wouldn't do it at all.
Comments
http://www.nihonken.org/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/8367/barn-hunt-love-to-hunt-try-the-new-sports-to-search-for-rats/p1
I do think nosework is a good related sport without live prey to teach foundation scent skills and impulse control. I am also concerned for the wellbeing of the rats, and teaching my dog to hunt instead of ignore critters, since we have pet rabbits.
As for other sports.. If you are considering lure coursing, just give it a try. The next Chino CATs are next weekend. $2 to show up and try, no registration required. A few of us will be there. It seems everyone is initially afraid to let their dog run free (myself included), but this location is fully fenced. There has never been an escape, including our drivey Shiba, Kai, and Shikoku who have attended.
http://www.winningedgedogsports.com/events/
Also, you forgot sheep herding!
EDIT:
The clubs have a lot of rats and regularly rotate rats and change out tubes to give the rats a break at specific intervals. There are specific handling rules for rat care at trials to cover any bases. The rats know they are safe in the tubes, and seem unphased.
My dogs love the sport. To keep the boys from marking, which does happen (so far I've been lucky with Ike in that he hasn't wanted to mark the bales) I bought hay bales ahead of time for practice and went to practices and learned to interrupt them when I saw that they may want to mark. It's learning to read the dog is all, for potential marking as well as their signals they give when finding the rats. Lots of people do practices first to help teach the dog how to give strong indicators.
We are going to the trial in St Helen's April 9-12th, maybe just one day.