ARLEE – Dog sports fans can get excited to hear about a new sport gaining traction across the country.
Barn Hunt is gathering crowds in states like Texas, California and Florida from all types of dog owners. Mice are placed inside PVC tubes and scattered through hay bales, waiting to be found.
Montana K9 Sports dog trainer Jessica Clough said this activity helps dogs expand energy and use their hunting instincts.
“They learn a bunch of other skills on top of that. They learn how to be polite and have manners and still have fun and hunt, and get dog cookies and play with toys and hang out with their owners,” Clough said.
Clough has more than 30 years of dog training experience and offers in facility and online training courses from Doggy Yoga to Fat Dog Camps.
Betty Munoz drives almost two hours from Kalispell every Sunday to get her two-year-old Shiloh Shepherd to the training.
“She needs to be challenged, she’s a herding dog, she’s a working dog, and if I don’t do stuff with her she’s going to get bored,” Munoz said.
“And what I’m building with her is beauty and brains, and the scent discrimination that the barn hunt offers is right up her alley.,” she added.
There are about 10 dogs from Montana attending the Barn Hunt class right now and Clough says they are planning for a match in the spring.
Click here to learn more about Montana K9 Sports.
-Katie Miller reporting for MTN News
