What could possibly be more fun?

If you are asking Rhonda, the prompt and enthusiastic answer would be, “Nothing! Nothing at all!!

The sport of Barn Hunt, as many of you already know, is one of Rhonda’s passions. Let me tell you why. 🐁

First, a reminder for those of you who might be aghast at the idea of dogs hunting rats as a sport (although it’s entirely in their genetic make-up to do so!) … no rats are harmed in the pursuit of this sport. Let’s just say, for the dogs, it’s the next best thing – and lots of fun!

The Barn Hunt rats, which are kept and cared for year-round in roomy, clean cages in their own “rat room”, are placed in the sturdy PVC pipe containers you can see in these photos right before the competition starts. Note the many air-holes in the tubes.

The rats are traded out for fresh rats every couple of hours throughout a trial day, and are returned to their big cages to eat, drink and rest up.

The competitive game of Barn Hunt is pretty simple from the dog’s point of view; search the straw bales, catch the scent of rats, find where a rat is hiding, tell Mom (or Dad) and then go find more!

Again, no rats are harmed; as soon as a dog indicates she’s on a rat, the handler yells “RAT!” and helps the dog uncover the tube. The dog is praised and the tube is carefully handed off to a volunteer “rat rangler”.

I’m including a short video here to give you an idea of what goes on in the ring. This is what’s called a “Crazy 8’s” hunt, where all levels from Novice to Masters have the same set-up, and while points are accumulated, there is no penalty if you only find one rat (or even no rats). It’s tons of fun to watch and as you can see, most of the dogs have a blast!

There are 8 rat tubes with live rats hidden in the enclosure for this game – and the dog has only two minutes to find as many as possible before time is up. That’s a lot of rats!

To make CZ8s even more challenging, there are also 4 tubes hidden with only “rat bedding” (smells like rat, but no live rat in the tube), as well as a couple of completely empty tubes. The dog must only alert on tubes with live rats and ignore all the other tubes!

The team gets 10 points for each rat found, plus 20 points for going through a tunnel (once) and climbing on a straw bale (once). No extra credit for extra tunnels, darn it. Rhonda loooves tunnels.

Ronni just earned her CZ8G (Gold) ribbon at this trial with a total accumulation (lifetime score, so far …) of 1,570 points! And that’s nothing – we know lots of teams with many times more points. Ronni has only been doing Barn Hunt for three years.

Now, just imagine this same hunt with the dog being a German Shepherd or other large breed dog. All breeds and mixed breeds are capable of excelling in Barn Hunt (as long as they can fit through the tunnels!) – and watching the bigger dogs dive into tunnels and clamor nimbly over straw bales is nothing short of amazing.

Getting started in Barn Hunt proved to be pretty easy. The supervisor at the local Barn Hunt practice brought a white rat in a small wire cage out and set it on a tarp. The idea was to introduce the dog or puppy (on leash) to the idea and scent of a live rat.

If they show interest (prey drive or just curiosity) they are rewarded and praised. Not all dogs care about little furry rodents ; Baxter, for example, all but shrugged his shoulders and said “So? What’s the big deal?” He’d rather do Nose Work, tracking down the elusive birch, anise or close scents. Go figure.

On the other hand; even at 4 1/2 months old, with the rat nearly as big as she was, Ronni understood instantly that this was prey – and she wanted it. Oh my, the barking!

Being small in size is definitely not a detriment in this sport. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. In fact, Dachshunds and pretty much all the Terrier breeds, have rat-hunting built into their DNA. They absolutely thrive in this environment.

In Barn Hunt competition, as with most dog sports, you work your way up through levels of experience/competence. The abbreviations they use for the levels made little sense to me at first, but I figured them out as Ronni and I moved (way more quickly than I was prepared for) from level to level.

First is RATI. This stands for Rat Instinct [test]. Very simply, they place three tubes about a foot apart, clearly visible on the straw covered floor. One tube has a rat. One has rat bedding, while the third is empty.

The beginner dog is asked to indicate which tube has the live rat. It basically just shows that the dog understands the difference and is most interested in the real rat. Of course, each level, from novice to masters, has a time limit.

RATN: Rat Novice title. In Novice, the dog must go through a short, straight tunnel, climb up on at least one straw bale, and find one rat. It’s a smaller arena, with fewer straw bales so these novice teams have a fair chance. The team needs three Qs (qualifying runs) to earn their RATN title and move on to RATO.

This is a quick video of one of Ronni’s Novice runs. Pretty straightforward, but still fun!

RATO: Rat Open title. Slightly bigger arena, an “L” shaped tunnel and two rats (oh, and remember, those fake tubes are still out there too). Again, the team must earn three Qs to move to the next level.

RATS: Rat Senior title. Bigger arena, lots more straw bales, and four rats! Yikes! I honestly think Senior level was Rhonda’s favorite. You were guaranteed four rats! Once you earn 3 Qs in Senior, you move up to Master, or RATM.

RATM: Rat Master title. This is where it gets trickier for the handler rather than the dog. In Masters, there can be anywhere from one to five rats hidden in the arena, plus the sneaky bedding tubes and empties.

The Judge doesn’t tell you how many rats (1-5) have been hidden in a Masters search. It’s up to you and your dog as a team to find all the rats there are, and then the handler has to know (or hope she knows) when her dog is telling her there are no more to be found. Calling “Clear!” when you’ve only found one or two rats can really get your heart racing.

If you are correct, you get a Q (qualifying run). Yay!! It takes five Qualifying runs in Masters to earn your RATM title. If you call “Clear“ too soon, and there’s another rat, you NQ (do not qualify), the game is over, and your dog will probably give you the stink eye. If you dither about too long, you’ll time out (4 minutes) and DQ, even if the dog did find all the rats.

All of this is why I was so excited and so proud of Ronni just this month when she earned not her RATM (she earned that last fall), but the coveted RATCH title.

To earn a RATCH, you must have 15 Qs at Masters level! And this is really just the beginning … Ronni really loves this game!

Note: Photos not taken by me are courtesy of Marcia Dietrich Kardatzke, Mike Lewis, and Brian Moon. And thank you, Valerie, Laurie and Kathy, for permission to include photos of your wonderful rat hunters!

Wow! What a difference a good night’s sleep makes. Cabela’s RV parking area was remarkably quiet, not being near a main road. Ronni and I didn’t stir a whisker until nearly 8:00 am, at which point we had a quick discussion over which was more important – a potty walk, or coffee.

The potty walk won (of course), but I started the tea kettle heating and turned the thermostat up a tad before we went outside, so we’d have a warm “home” to return to and hot water ready for coffee. A fair compromise.

Still being May, morning temps were hovering in the mid-40s, and I hate to waste propane while sleeping under warm blankets with a toasty warm dachshund. So the thermostat was set at a chilly 50°, only popping on a couple of times in the early morning hours.

Have I mentioned that a smooth-coat dachshund’s natural body-heat is amazing? It’s like nature’s live heating pad and doesn’t even need to be plugged in. Now, if I could just get her to sleep on my feet …

Thirty minutes later, coffee close at hand, Rhonda fed and the RV ship-shape and in travel mode, we were once again on the road.

It was another gorgeous day and we were headed around Turnagain Arm and over the always spectacular Turnagain Pass into the Kenai peninsula. There were RATS waiting to be hunted!

Of course, this being only Wednesday, we had plenty of time to make the 100+ mile journey. Our next destination, a Barn Hunt trial in Soldotna, didn’t begin until Friday morning.

With time to spare, we meandered along the Seward Highway, stopping at a couple of pretty rest areas alongside Six Mile Creek. Rhonda is always up for a sniffy-walk, and my new knee was in need of regular stretching.

Once we turned onto the Sterling Highway, the miles flew by. We were past Kenai Lake and driving the narrow, winding road through Cooper Landing in no time.

I pulled over to make lunch at a roadside pull-out with a lovely view of the Kenai River and plenty of space for the RV. These are the little moments that make travel so enjoyable. It’s not necessarily the destination – although we certainly did have several this trip – it’s the journey itself.

Captivated, as alway, by the Kenai River, I convinced myself to drive on, cruising down the scenic highway through the town of Sterling and on to Soldotna. With my chosen campground close at hand, I stopped to fill the gas tank (before gas prices could jump even higher), topped off my propane and picked up a few groceries.

Back inside “Roada”, it took me no time at all to cross once again over the glistening Kenai River, take a right turn, and then another quick right turn into Centennial Park Campground, which would turn out to be my home away from home for not all, but much of the next ten days.

Stay tuned … the story has just begun.

You might be wondering … did I volunteer on that last trial day? Did I head back home after the K9 Nose Work trial? I’m pretty sure I mentioned a road trip. Hmm … I doubt a round trip to Anchorage and back qualifies as a road trip.

OK, to fill in the deets; the response to the first question is yes, I sort of did. I volunteered as a Timer for the morning NW1 searches. It’s so much fun to watch these new teams navigate their way through the early stages of the fun sport of K9 Nose Work.

At noon, though, I told the volunteer coordinator exactly what my knee was telling me – it was time to stop.

I spent the early afternoon icing and elevating my knee, visiting with friends at the trial site and resting. But did I head home?

Heck, no, I had no intention of going home just yet. My achy knee was going to ache whether I was sitting at home or in a pretty campground. In my world, this is a no-brainer.

So, after four fun but exhausting days of K9 Nose Work in Anchorage, it was time for Ronni and me to head south, continuing our actual road trip. Jerry had driven to Anchorage to pick up Baxter the day before, since Baxter sadly no longer enjoys long trips in the RV (he seems to consider them to be one very long earthquake).

I stored everything securely in the RV, let Ronni make use of the grass one last time as we said our goodbyes and we headed out … sort of.

Admittedly, I almost never make it very far after a multi-day dog sports trial. I’m well known (and occasionally teased) for leaving a trial site and pulling into the nearest campground, eager for an evening of quiet relaxing and a good night’s sleep.

I know my limitations, and I’m usually mentally as well as physically worn out after a trial. The shorter the drive, the better.

I had been considering Bird Creek campground on Turnagain Arm, only 25 miles or so from Anchorage. It’s one of my favorite stopovers – and it has bunnies. 🐇

However, once again my knee spoke up, nixing the idea. My fuzzy-tired brain chimed in with its own concerns. Heck, even my shoulder said no. I was out-voted.

I drove approximately six miles from the trial site to the nearby Cabela’s store, where they not only welcome RVs overnight in a special parking area just for that purpose – they even have a large, mown-lawn, nicely shaded grassy area for dogs (on leash, of course).

I pulled in early enough to snag a coveted spot alongside the grass. It’s just free overnight parking, but honestly, I’ve seen “campgrounds” that weren’t nearly as well-maintained. Or as safe! Cabela’s has security lights, cameras and a night security patrol.

There were only two other RVs in the large parking area when we arrived, but that didn’t last long. By the time Ronni and I had eaten dinner, taken a late potty walk and closed up for the night, there were easily ten rigs of various shapes and sizes.

I found myself wondering which direction they were heading. Were they, like me, just beginning an adventure? Were they in the middle of an extended vacation and headed north or south, eager to see more of our beautiful state? Denali? Homer? Valdez? Or was this perhaps a final night before returning their RV to a rental location in Anchorage and boarding an airplane to head home.

For me, the road ahead called. In the morning, refreshed and eager, I would answer the call.

How many of you remember the old Sammy Davis Jr. song from the 50s? Anyone?

Well, that’s sure been an apt description of me and Ronni, all the more so in 2022. We seem to be kindred spirits, all but joined at the hip.

I’d noticed Rhonda had started bonding even more closely with me after we lost Abby in 2020. Of course, that was partly my doing – I missed Abby so terribly. As much as I’ve always loved Baxter, it was Ronni’s cheerful impertinence that kept my heart from shattering into pieces that year.

Rhonda’s not at all like Abby, who oozed unconditional love from every pore, and was happy to do anything I wanted, any time I wanted as long as she could be with me. 💗 Abby was a plushy stuffed doggy come to life; calm, comforting and stalwart. I still miss her every single day.

Ronni is more demanding, more open to negotiating terms and more manipulative (in a cheerful manner that’s hard to resist). She’s a dachshund, so no surprise. She is pure love, but wants to get her way and doesn’t mind using under-handed means (like puppy eyes … I mean, seriously?) to achieve her ends.

And, she can be just plain sneaky. For example; there is food on the side table. Ronni has decent manners and knows she can’t just lunge and grab for it. She’s very good at not begging.

So, she’ll jump down from the sofa, trot past the table without a glance and give her best little “I need to go outside, please” bark, looking at the door.

Well trained servant that I am, I’ll get up and reach for my jacket. In that instant of inattention, she has whipped stealthily around me, onto the sofa arm and has the food. If Baxter hasn’t seen the opportunity and gotten there ahead of her, that is!

Monsters, both of them! You cannot leave food unattended in their presence. It’s sure a good thing they are short.

The one thing I can truly say that Ronni and Abby had in common are their eyes. Not all dogs enjoy or even tolerate full eye contact. But both Abby’s and Ronni’s big brown eyes would/do well up with love and hold my gaze unstintingly.

I guess Rhonda has been “my dog” in pretty much every sense of the word, since the day she arrived in June of 2018.

Well, perhaps I should rephrase that. With Rhonda, it might be more a case of my being “her person”. She was so very WANTED, you see. I’m afraid I would have been more than a little crushed if she hadn’t wanted me right back.

Don’t get me wrong; Ronni loves Jerry, too, and enjoys rambunctious play bouts with him and with older “bro”, Baxter. A “family” car ride, or long walks together, when Jerry has Baxter’s leash and I have hers, are epic in her eyes. She has everyone together, Mom is attached to her and we’re going somewhere. Oh boy! “Wait … was that a bunny I sniffed? Later, folks!”

Rhonda is full to overflowing with love most of the time (just ask some of my friends who get mugged by her regularly), but she picks and chooses where and how much love to parcel out with most people. She can vary from tail-whipping friendly to somewhat reserved to full-out distrust (although that doesn’t happen often and I sometimes wonder if they didn’t somehow just startle her). Who knows?

Even with me, her beloved person, her full cooperation can sometimes depend on the value of the food bribe involved. “Roll over? Yeah, I don’t think so. Oh wait! Is that chicken??” Flop, flop.

After my surgery last January, Ronni became much more clingy and even protective of me. She’s always been a love-bug, albeit sometimes a demanding one, but in January, she definitely understood I was injured and very seriously took on the job of nurse, comforter and guardian. Abby would’ve been proud of her.

Thankfully, she quickly learned to stay away from the injured knee, but was otherwise pretty much glued to me for much of the past four months.

For an active young dog whose main joy is found in running, jumping, tunneling and hunting – her behavior over the long winter months of inactivity both surprised and comforted me.

Now, nearly five months post-op, I’m on my feet again, just in time for summer dog sports! I’m so grateful to finally be able to pay her back for her diligent love and loyalty.