Barn Hunt
Barn Hunt is a fast‑paced, confidence‑building dog sport where dogs use their natural scenting instincts to locate safely‑contained gerbils hidden in a course made of straw bales.
Dogs navigate tunnels, climb obstacles, and search elevated or buried hide locations while working independently and with their handler.
It’s designed to be safe, fun, and accessible for dogs of all breeds and ages, celebrating problem‑solving, teamwork, and the joy of using their nose.
For an overview of Barn Hunt rules, competition classes and titles, please see our Barn Hunt FAQ page. Also, here is Rebecca’s introduction to Barn Hunt on CTV Edmonton, called ‘Canine Confidence’.
Demonstration of a Barn Hunt Run
Our Barn Hunt Courses
Find out why Barn Hunt is one of the fastest growing dog sports.
Introduction to Barn Hunt
This class is a 6-week set that will run at the same time each week. Barn Hunt is a fun sport for your dog where they have to use their nose to locate gerbils (safely enclosed in aerated tubes) hidden in a maze of straw/hay. Since sniffing is such a fun activity for dogs, they love this sport!
This class is geared towards dogs who have no experience in barn hunt but have shown prey drive.
Barn Hunt Novice Coursework
This is a 6-week class that will run at the same time each week. This class is designed for dogs who have taken our introductory class. Each class, your dog will get to run 2-3 times on different courses. In this class we will emphasize tube discriminations, indications, and novice courses.
Barn Hunt Open/Senior Coursework
This is a 6-week class that will run at the same time each week. This class is designed for dogs who have barn hunt experience and want to practice full runs. Each class, your dog will get to run 2-3 times on different courses. In this class we will also be working on getting your dog ignore empty and litter tubes. This class will help get you ready to trial if that’s what you want to do, or just have some more fun and continue to play with your dog.
Experiencing scheduling difficulties. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Private Lessons with Rebecca Long
This 30-minute private training session will be geared towards the level your dog is at. It can be for beginners who want to try out the sport, more advanced dogs who are looking to fine tune their dog’s skills or people getting ready to trial that want that practice time in the ring.