A participant in a past Barn Hunt among bales of straw

LEESBURG — The Dog House training, boarding and grooming facility is hosting its first, fully sanctioned Barn Hunt trial starting at 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 16-17, 4640 N. SR 13, Leeburg, just south of North Webster.

Barn Hunt is a fun, competitive event for dog owners where their pets sniff out rats in tubes hidden in a maze of straw bales as quickly as they can. This canine performance event is growing rapidly throughout the country and The Dog House is proud to have been approved to host these sanctioned trials in their new facility.

Barnhunt.org describes the event as “The new and quickly growing dog sport catching fire across the country. Barn Hunt is based on the traditional roles of many breeds in ridding farms, barns, crop storage areas, and homes of destructive vermin. Some breeds were specifically created to fill this role, and for many of those breeds, Barn Hunt provides their first true opportunity for responsible breeders to test proper working traits in their dogs. Barn Hunt is also open to any dog of any breed or mix who wishes to play the game and can fit through an 18 inch wide by bale-height tall tunnel. Barn Hunt has titles, levels of increasing difficulty, and championships. Barn Hunt is an independent sport, but titles are recognized by both the American Kennel Club and United Kennel Club.”

This weekend’s event is the first of several schedule to take place at The Dog House throughout 2016. The events are open to the public for anyone who wants to come to see how the sport works and if their dog might be a good fit.

The Dog House offers Barn Hunt training classes and every Saturday a course is set up for those who would like to practice. For more information contact Ashley Mettham at The Dog House at (574) 244-2039 or [email protected]. They can also be found on Facebook and online.