With the weather warming up, the mushing season is coming to an end. It was a fun season with a slow start, and I can't wait until next fall and winter so I can begin working more with both huskies. With Titan being practically done growing when it comes, I will be able to start really working him and get him to better remember what he should and shouldn't do during a run.
For now, during these warmer months, much of his training will continue during hikes on the beach. The cool ocean water will help keep everyone from over heating while we enjoy being outside together. Lots of great things happening there, which I plan to write about in another post.
Anyways, I managed to get 2 more runs since last I posted, not sure if I'll get anymore in until next winter. Here are the videos of those runs:
More Pictures, taken during the break and break down:
Barn Hunt is an amazing, new dog sport where a dog and handler search for a rat (safely contained inside a PVC tube) in a maze of hay bales. The rat must be found within the allotted time and it is also required that the dog go through a tunnel and climb on top of a hay bale.
Last year, I had taken Tetsu to a fun match where he did fairly well. He aced the instinct test and wound up peeing on the course (a big no no) during Novice since I wasn't confirming his find. Below is a video from the fun match:
Now fast forward to this year, I took the 2hr drive to the same location for the trial and as usual Tetsu just napped the whole way. Tetsu was a bit uncomfortable with the all of the noise and dogs, being that it has been sometime since he has last been these kinds of events, but he still managed to be on his best behavior.
I signed him up for 1 Instinct run and 2 Novice runs, with the Instinct run being first. With the Instinct level, the rules are a bit more lenient and the only requirement is that the dog finds the tube with the rat in it out of the 3 openly displayed on the ground. After entering the ring and stripping Tetsu down (dogs must run naked), he perked up and was ready to explore. I released him facing the tunnel, but the silly boy decided that following me was the best thing to do. When he saw the 3 tubes, he rushed to investigate them and quickly lunged for the one with the rat. I called it and praised him for a good find, holding him to avoid tossing the rat around. He made second place for his class at 12.25 seconds, earning a qualifier ribbon and the title RATI.
Showing off his new ribbon
Next were the Novice runs, both in which he also showed a lot of enthusiasm when released. During the first Novice run, he found the rat but we ran out of time before he could complete the tunnel requirement. I was so nervous about him marking in the ring that I had accidentally called him away from the rat several times. During the second run, he had completed all of the tasks but I had called the wrong tube. So sadly, we didn't pass either Novice run.
Even though he didn't learn any legs towards his Novice title, I was still very proud of Tetsu. He really showed a lot of enthusiasm and had a better understanding of the game than he did during the fun match. I plan to sign him up for another Barn Hunt trial in June, here's to hoping that we earn him a few legs there.
