Nov14Sat
Try-a-Sport Saturday: Barn Hunt & Treibball
Twenty-minute taster sessions with a coach. No experience needed. Ages 6 months and up.
Free · Register onlineWhereHay Loft & Ring 2Free · Register online
Barn Hunt
Find rats in safe tubes hidden in a straw-bale maze. Climb, tunnel, win. Terriers, Dachshunds and any dog with a hunter's nose.
Player stats
Energy3
Speed3
Brain work4
Joint impact2
Hay LoftWhat is barn hunt?
The game, explained
Barn hunt is a search through a maze of straw bales for rats, safely tucked into aerated tubes. Your dog has to find the rat tubes, climb onto a bale and run through a straw tunnel, all against the clock, while ignoring empty tubes and tubes of used bedding.
It's what terriers and Dachshunds were bred to do, but every breed can play. The rats are pampered team members: they live in a ventilated, vet-checked rat room, ride in sturdy tubes, and never touch a dog.
- Youngest start
- 6 months
- Good for seniors?
- Yes, with low climbs
- Best for
- Terriers, Dachshunds and any dog with a hunter's nose.
- We host
- Barn Hunt Association trials
How a run works
Four steps to a Q
Here is what happens from the moment you walk into the ring.
Enter the Hay Loft
Your dog goes in on a leash, then searches off leash in the ring.
Search, climb, tunnel
Find the rats, put all four feet on a bale and go through the tunnel.
Call “Rat!”
When your dog shows you a tube, you call it. Right call, the tube comes out.
Beat the clock
Find every rat in time. Novice has one, Master has up to five.
Your path
Barn Hunt, Level 1 to 4
Six-week sessions for Levels 1–3. Level 4 is ongoing team training by coach invite.
1Level 1 · 6 weeks
Foundations
The Instinct test, meeting the rat tube, tunnels and climbs.
2Level 2 · 6 weeks · repeat
Skills
Novice searches and a clear, reliable indication.
3Level 3 · 6 weeks · repeat
Trial Prep
Open and Senior courses with several rats and decoy tubes.
4Level 4 · Ongoing · invite
Competition Team
Master-level team training toward the RATCH title.
Scoreboard
Barn Hunt classes this week
Session starts November 9. Members book from their dashboard; everyone else can register online.
Barn Hunt · weekly
Spots left this session · Full = join the waitlistRegister for a class →
Your coach
Led by Kelsey
Barn Hunt Lead · BHA Judge
Kelsey Brandt
With Ziti, Rat Terrier · RATCH (Barn Hunt Champion)
Kelsey judges Barn Hunt Association trials across the Midwest and keeps our rat team healthy and happy. Ziti, her Rat Terrier, earned his Barn Hunt Champion title before he turned four.
All coachesWhat to bring
- Flat collar or harness
- A 6-ft leash
- A crate
- Clothes you don't mind covered in straw
Quick questions
Are the rats hurt?
Never. The rats are pets who live in a warm, ventilated rat room. In the ring they ride in thick, aerated tubes, and dogs can't reach them.
Does my dog have to be a terrier?
No. Every breed can enter BHA trials, and Labs, Poodles and herding dogs regularly earn titles.
On the calendar
Barn Hunt trials & events
Jan9–10Sat–Sun
Barn Hunt Association Trial
Instinct, Novice, Open, Senior and Master classes, plus Crazy 8s.
Entries open Dec 1WhereHay LoftEntries open Dec 1
Apr10–11Sat–Sun
The All-Star Games
Our member field day: seven sports, team colors, a relay in every ring and a cookout on the fields.
Members only · FreeWhereWhole campusMembers only · Free
Apr24Sat
Barn Hunt Association Trial
Spring BHA trial, all levels, plus Team classes.
Entries open Mar 15WhereHay LoftEntries open Mar 15
Not sure it'sbarn hunt?
Take the quiz to see how barn hunt ranks for your dog, or try the next sport in the lineup: Treibball.