Rat Hunt - Part 1

Last night we took D'light, Catty and Soo to K9 Fun Zone to unleash their terrier drive with a rat hunt!  And before you read on, no rats were hurt and these specific rats have been desensitized to dogs "finding" them.

 

D'light and Soos meeting one of the rats.  Both of these boys have strong prey drives but, NOT seeing the rat running across the ground was a bit scary for both of them.

 

Soos needed some back up of a human and D'light keeping his distance!

Catty was drooling when she noticed there were rats in the area.  Given her response, she met the rat in the tube.  The tube is where the rat stays during the hunt and the tube is hidden in hay bales.

"I want to get you!!!"

 

We figured Catty would love this hunt and we weren't wrong.  She a smart girl who will hunt if she knows she can "find" her prey.

 

She found the rat in a matter of seconds

The instructor (Lindy) was great and as she found out, Catty needed much harder hides.

 

"Found it!"

 

This was great for Catty - she met a new person and she LOVED Lindy because of the hunting they did together.  You'd never guess that Catty is a fear reactive dog and this is why I love games like this!  It's a load of fun, builds her confidence and channels what Catty does best and that's work a puzzle to find the prize AKA hunt!

 

Catty and Lindy down in the hay bales!

 

 Soos and D'light did a lot of watching.  Soos taking notes from Catty...

 

 

The rat in the tube was pretty worrisome for D'light so, here's dad helping him look at the rat in the small cage.

 

 Catty was very excited to see the rat in the cage! And D'light says "Mom, this is crazy!"

 

Soos and Catty ready to get it!

 

D'light finding some courage with the help of Catty and Soos

 

Catty says "I really want that rat"

 

 

 And into the hay bales goes Soos!

 

 Up down and all around looking for the rat!

 

 

 "Where is it?!"

 

 

"Found it!"

 

 

Make sure to check back tomorrow for lots of fun video!

This was all around great time.  All three dogs got to experience a new place, a new person and a new event! What I loved about this set up is that we had complete control (thanks to Lindy) of the environment and this set all three dogs up for success!  

K-9 fun zone is a great place and while the hay bales are leaving on Saturday - they have lots of other fun stuff to do with your dog.  I have no doubt we'll be back since we can rent the space for 30 minutes or 50 minutes, knowing there will be lots of fun awaiting us!