Two weeks ago, before stay-at-home guidance was issued and the state’s definition of “essential” was tightened, a group of longtime friends and a few newcomers gathered at the regular time and place in Coolidge.
The location: a barn a few blocks off Highway 287, behind a wall of oleanders. The group, an almost equal number of humans and dogs, was grateful to be together since the practice was one of the last holdouts in a weekslong series of postponements and cancellations.
Humans watched intently from the side of the ring as their dogs rifled over, under and through bales of hay, seeking the coveted prize: a rat, nestled inside an aerated section of schedule-40 PVC pipe.
The sport, fittingly, is called barn hunt. To win, dogs must find a specific number of rats within a set time limit while not being tricked by decoys and empty tubes. Handlers identify his or her dog’s “alert” and tell the judge when a rat is found. In order to complete the course, a dog must also dash through a tunnel and climb at least one bale of hay.
Participants of the sport love that it’s open to any type of dog. And up until March 25, a dedicated group of Arizonans — including several Tucsonans — traveled every Sunday to the only remaining barn hunt facility in the state for practice and trials.
‘She challenges me every day’
Loretta, a 4-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer, competes in dock diving and barn hunt with her owner, Eve Hoehle-Adams. Hoehle-Adams loves the community she’s found in dog sports and that she knows Loretta is having fun.
Tucsonan Eve Hoehle-Adams knew her dog, Loretta Lynn, was special as soon as she brought her home at 8 weeks old.
Hoehle-Adams grew up around dogs, starting with her parents’ boxers and continuing with a Labrador retriever named Brantley — in honor of country singer Brantley Gilbert.
Hoehle-Adams wanted to put Brantley into dog sports, remembering the agility competitions from when she was a kid.
The pair started out doing “nose work” — the dog sport version of detection, similar to narcotic or bomb-sniffing dogs — before deciding to give agility drills a try. They started training at Tucson’s Sublime Canine with Nicole Kelly, who Hoehle-Adams credits with her success in dog sports.
It was when she began working with Kelly that Hoehle-Adams started researching sport dogs. She eventually picked Loretta, a German shorthaired pointer.
“Loretta threw me for a loop,” Hoehle-Adams, owner of local pet sitting business Pointers and Friends, said. “Brantley was a very easy dog. Loretta was challenging from the start, but the connection we had was so strong.”
Together, Loretta and Hoehle-Adams started training in agility, scent work, disc dog and lure coursing before deciding on Loretta’s current path: dock diving and barn hunt. They completed their first trial in February.
Dock diving is exactly as it sounds. One by one, dogs run the length of a dock and jump as far out into the water as possible, competing for height or distance, as they chase after a toy. While any dog can compete in the sport, smaller dogs have an advantage over larger dogs. The sport is split up into divisions based on distance, with a separate category for dogs whose withers are under 16 inches tall.
In late January, Hoehle-Adams brought Loretta to Surprise to compete in their first dock diving competition: the American Kennel Club Copper Classic Dog Show.
Loretta “flew off the dock” on her first jump. She performed well during competition and in the months since has earned her Dock Senior title with North American Diving Dogs and hit a personal best of just over 19 feet.
“She challenges me every day, but the trust we have in each other is amazing,” Hoele-Adams said of her dog. “All I have in my business and dog sports is because of her.”
Loretta was on track to earn a title in her other sport, barn hunt, when the season was put on hold due to coronavirus concerns. While dock diving isn’t as widely known in Southern Arizona, barn hunt has a strong following of participants.
‘It’s a bucketload of fun from a competitive level’
Ziggy, an 11-year-old Wheaten Terrier, searches for rats during Barn Hunt Casa Grande practice in Coolidge, Ariz., on March 22, 2020. Barn Hunting along with Dock Diving and agility training are common sports for dogs in Arizona.
Barn hunt, like dock diving, is a sport for dogs of almost any size and shape.
“I love the community I’ve found and the relationships that I wouldn’t have developed otherwise,” Hoehle-Adams said of her time in dock diving and barn hunt. “In the horse community, a lot of it is about money. In dog sports, its more of a hobby than anything. And I know my dog is having fun doing these things.”
Hoele-Adams and Loretta returned most Sundays to Victoria Hall’s Casa Grande barn hunt facility. After the group’s March 22 event, Hall suspended training because of the coronavirus.
“It’s hard work, you have to maintain a number of rats even during off-competition. They have to eat, drink and be cleaned,” Hall said, adding that she currently has about 55 rats.
“But it’s a bucketload of fun from a competitive level.”
Barn hunt events are timed; more rats and decoys are place on the course as the dog’s skill level increases. Titles include novice, open, senior and master.
“It’s kind of like a video game, the challenge increases every time you go,” Hall said.
Hall charges $35 for an introductory training session and $5 per practice run after that. Most competitions cost about $25.
“If it’s cost-prohibitive, people will just leave their dog in the yard,” Hall said.
In her six-year run, Hall has seen thousands of dogs come through her facility, and prides herself on keeping it a family-friendly sport.
‘People from different walks of life come together’
Kim Martin, right, gives Maggie May, a one-year-old Chocolate Lab, some love after Maggie May found a rat during Barn Hunt Casa Grande practice in Coolidge, Ariz., on March 22, 2020. Barn Hunting along with Dock Diving and agility training are common sports for dogs in Arizona.
Tucsonan Melissa Mignon has been driving to Casa Grande with her 9-year-old German shepherd, Gunner, for a little more than two years. Gunner specializes in the game of rally, which is similar to obedience but with shorter jumps.
“He’s a working breed, so he likes to have a job,” Mignon said. “He gets bored very easily and he kind of got bored with rally after a little while.”
Gunner hasn’t gotten bored of barn hunt yet; in fact, Mignon says he treats it more like a game he plays with her than a hunt for rats.
“He gets to use his brain and it tires him out without putting a lot of strenuous work on his joints,” Mignon said.
Mignon loves the community she’s found in barn hunt.
“You’re competing against yourself and the clock, and everyone’s super happy when you get it,” Mignon said. “There’s competition, but it’s a friendly and very supportive kind of competition.”
Mignon, who has also participated in dock diving, appreciates the inclusive nature of both sports, in that any dog can participate. She said she gets a kick out of watching the various dogs problem-solve their way through a course.
“I love seeing my dog work. Being able to just let him go into the ring and seeing him use his brain and figure it out himself,” Mignon said. “It’s a very independent sport, not like obedience.”
Fellow Tucsonan Kathy Clarke, spent 40 years in the dog show circuit with wheaten terriers before discovering barn hunt. A former breed judge, Clarke said she got a little bored when she left the dog show circuit.
“I like to do things with them,” Clarke said of her three wheatens: Ziggy, Mouse and Lanie. “Barn hunt is very fun for a terrier because they’re using their natural instincts (to keep rats out of barns.)”
One of Clarke’s dogs, Lanie, was the 2018 Westminster Best Breed Winner. Clarke encourages dog show friends to get their retired show dogs involved. Clarke admits that the show circuit can be a little elitist, but says that barn hunt truly is a sport that anyone can do.
“The thing about barn hunt is the emphasis is put on everybody is welcome,” Clarke said. “This is a sport where people from different walks of life come together. You can have mixed breeds, dogs of all ages, and we’re all supportive of each other.”
