Tucked away in the stables of the event center, a small group of dogs and handlers took turns navigating a course of hay bales Saturday, hunting for hidden rats.
The event, called the barn hunt, was the newest addition to the annual at the National Western Complex, now in its 20th year. Of roughly 3,000 dogs in the show, which started Thursday and runs through Monday, about 300 are competing in the barn hunt.
“It sounds very simple. But until you’ve done it, you can’t know how difficult it is,” said Lori Oakley, a senior barn hunt judge who organized the competition. “You have to learn to read your dog.”
Competition is broken into five classes: instinct, novice, open, senior and master. In the lowest class, there are three opaque tubes in plain view, one of which contains a rat. Dogs must identify the correct tube to their handlers, who then tell the judges.
In the more advanced classes, the dogs must navigate an elaborate course of tunnels and hay bales, sometimes stacked three or four high. Up to five rats may be hidden in the course, plus decoy tubes.
“We’re judging the teamwork and the communication between the handler and the dog,” judge Molly Campbell explained. “We’re asking the handlers to really up their game. It fosters a deeper relationship.”
Oakley said each dog has a different way of signaling that it has found the rats. Her own dog, an 8-year-old terrier named Jack, used to “bark and scream.” Now, he just moves the hay off the tube.
“You have to get to know your dog and what they’re saying,” said Mary Wilson, who was competing with her dog Duke. “In agility (trials), you tell the dogs what to do. Here, they tell you what to do.”
In addition to the barn hunt, there are four major categories of competition at the dog show, hosted by the Colorado and Plum Creek kennel clubs.
“There’s conformation, which is the beauty part; agility, which is the athletic part; and then obedience and rally trials, which are the thinking parts,” said Michele Sjaardema, show chairwoman for the Plum Creek Kennel Club.
According to Sjaardema, 184 breeds are participating in the show.
“Every breed you can imagine is here,” competitor Darryl Debault said. “Plus, some you can’t imagine,” he added, laughing and gesturing to some of the more unique-looking dogs.
About 70 vendors are sprinkled throughout the competition areas, selling items from custom collars and pet portraits to grooming products.
Louise Leone, president of the Colorado Kennel Club, said it’s one of the largest dog shows in the nation, behind the Westminster show in New York City. “We call it the Westminster of the Rockies,” she joked.
Doors will open at 7:30 a.m. Sunday and Monday with events running through mid afternoon.
