b'Timeshavechangedforourworkingdogs. every breed of dog and even 10-week-old puppiesNow, instead of going to work on farms, they go who have demonstrated the desire to find a rat.to work with us, or stay homea life far removed We met with Marble-Brown to glean a betterfromthatoftheirpurposefully-bredancestors. understandingofthesportwhatittakestoBreeding and genetics however, compel them to succeed and most of all, how to have fun withdosomethingtowork,bemoreactive,to our dogs.achieve, accomplish, and please their humans. Is there a particular breed of dog that willAs a result, more people have discovered the excel at Barn Hunt? worldofdogsports:agility,discthrowingand Were here to have fun. said Marble-Brown.dock diving. One competition that has recently Someofthesedogsareexploded in popularity is Barn Hunt, invented by natural-born athletes, so they A number of dog breeds were orig-Robin Nuttall who was inspired by Zipper, her are going to excel over another inally created specifically to beMinPin. The sport demonstrates a dogs vermin typeofdog.Terriershavea vermin hunters. Of those, there washunting ability in finding and marking pet rats in veryhighdriveforBarn a subset of dogs who were bred toa barn-like setting using bales of hay to introduce Hunt. Theyareinstinctively go to ground (go underground) andclimbing and tunneling obstacles into their path. hardwiredforflushingcrit- eliminate or pull prey from theirIt tests their speed, agility, hunt drive, scenting ters. But, all breeds do well if dens. These traditional go-to-ability, surefootedness, control and responsiveness they have the desire, includ- ground earthdog breeds includedto handler direction. The handlers ability to read ing any mixed breed. Jack and Parson Russell Terriers,theirdogscommunicationastheyworkasa Therearedogsthatare Cairn Terriers, Border Terriers, andteamisalsotested.Theratisalwaysinsidea trained for sight and they will Dachshunds. Because they had toprotective and aerated PVC-pipe tube, complete chase a moving target. Then, go down underground in animalwith bedding. there are dogs bred to go after burrows, those dogs were neces-TheEarthdog programwasadoptedbythe anything,whereveritis.In sarily small. At the same time,Board of Directors of the American Kennel Club, that instance, its a skill that other breeds and mixes of dogseffective October 1, 1994. The program encom- needs to be honed with train- were being used extensively abovepassedDachshundsand14ofthesmallterrier ing. We take those skills that ground to eradicate vermin. Wildbreeds that had traditionally been used for this the dog naturally possesses, in rats did, and do, spread diseasetypeofwork:Australian,Bedlington,Border, this casetheir keen sense of (including plague and leptospiro-Cairn, Dandie Dinmont, Fox, Lakeland, Norfolk, smellandhearingand sis) and cause damage to homes,Norwich,Scottish,Sealyham,Skye,Welshand broadenthemwithteam- farm buildings, grain and crops.West Highland.work, said Marble-Brown. Above ground ratting dogs couldBy2001,theJackRussell,Manchester, A game of trust. be almost any size but most wereMiniatureBull,MiniatureSchnauzerandSilky Thehandlermustlearn medium to small and very quick.Terriershadbeenaddedtothelistof totrusttheirdogsinstincts. Itinerant rat catchers would goeligible breeds. There had been 96 Earthdog Tests, That is a difficult concept for from town to town (and farm towith 4,742 competitors and 336 titles awarded. manypeopletograsp,espe- farm) with packs of dogs and sellAt same the time, MinPins, who were origi- ciallythosewhohavedone their skills in ridding the area ofnally bred to hunt mice and rats, were not eligible other sports with their dogs. rats. Dogs also were used in theto compete in the AKC Earthdog competitions. Agility,forexample,isnot trenches in WWI to help controlNuttall lobbied for the breeds eligibility, and ran instinctive for the dog, so the trench rats, a real danger to troops.into road blocks with the AKC. Her frustration handler is the driver. However,led her to create Barn Hunt with its own set of asasport,BarnHuntisrules for a national, titling and progressive sport. instinctive for the dog, making him the driver atUnlike AKC Earthdogs, Barn Hunt welcomes all all times.dogsofanysize,breed,ormixwhocanfit Humans, instinctively and mistakenly wantthroughan18-inch-widetunnelcreatedoutof tointervene,saidMarble-Brown.But,inthebales of hay. sportofBarnHunt,wearenevergoingtobeBefore beginning to work with your dog in a better than the dog. Dogs hear sounds that arecanine sport, its a good idea to have some kind of inaudible to humans. They smell something dif-basic obedience training. Barn Hunt trainer and ferent. That being said, those instinctive skills dotrial judge Kathy Marble-Brown has worked with take some training to perfect. Continued on the following page gwww.TheNewBarker.com THE NEW BARKER 29'