Huntyr's first ribbon
I recently caught up with our pal Huntyr who many of you know as @Kyba on Twitter. I sniffed out Huntyr after hearing about his many active pursuits. As a four-year-old, male Jack Russell Terrier (JRT), Huntyr competes in lots of sports.
Jack Russells are very energetic little fellows. They love to run and chase and even have sports specially designed for their breed that reward them for barking, whining and digging! Wow! How great would that be?
Huntyr, who’s from Freeport, Ill., near the Wisconsin border, woofed with me about some of his favorite sports.
Thanks so much for taking time out from your activities to chat with us at The Anipal Times!
Thank you! I’m excited and humbled to be interviewed for this fantastic new anipal newspaper.
How and why did you get started in performance doggie events?
When I was six months old, momma found a Jack Russell Dog Club. We went to check out the trial that was happening. It was almost over but one event was still open–Lure Coursing. One at a time, you enter a big track that has four turns and is about 400 to 500 feet from start to finish. It’s like a big square race course!
A plastic grocery bag is tied on a string–that’s the “lure”–and you chase it all the way around the track. It’s a timed event and I took first place in the puppy category! From then on, I was hooked on blue ribbons.
That's Huntyr on the left, in blue
Sounds like a blast! Tell me a bit about some of the other Jack Russell events you compete in.
First off is JRT Racing. There is nothing like it!
There are six dogs per race and I compete with other male dogs in my age category. We are all in a starter gate just like race horses, and we all have to be muzzled for racing because we get just a little excited. BOL!
We again chase something tied to a string called a lure. We race down a 220-foot track to a tiny nine-inch hole between some hay bales! The first dog to come out on the other side of the hay bales is the winner. Besides the muzzle, we also wear a “clown collar” in a bright color. We go so fast, that the judges can only spot the color as we fly through the hay bales!
We do both flat racing and hurdles. In hurdles we use the same track, but we add four jumps we must go over on the way to the hay bales.
Huntyr with his momma at the finish line. See the teeny tiny hole in the hay bales he just exited?
Nervous? No! We are very focused on catching that lure. But sometimes more than one of us will try to squeeze through the hole at the same time. I can remember on a championship race once, where Cruiser entered the hole first but I came out first. I went right over him to get the lure. Blue ribbon!
Cosmo: BOL! You fellas don’t seem to need much personal space!
We DO need personal space! That’s why most all events are done one dog at a time.
Except racing, in which case, we wear muzzles.
Of all the sports you do, what’s your favorite?
As much as I love racing…I love the JRT rat events more. These events make use of our Terrier natural ability to follow the scent of quarry. And by quarry, I mean rats! And even though we do use live rats in our events, they are safely tucked away in their little cages and we are very careful to take care of them.
I’ll explain a few of the events!
First, I’ll tell you about GTG (go to ground). In this event we enter a man-made square tunnel that’s just nine inches around. It’s pitch black in there and sometimes it is actually underground. The judge can set it up as they want but it must have at least two turns and it can have as many as six turns.
We race to the exit point of the tunnel where there are one or two live rats in a cage! The judge times us on how fast we can crawl through the tunnel and find the rat. Then, even though we can’t get it…grrrr!, we must attempt to for a full minute. This is where we are rewarded for all sorts of barking and carrying on.
Barn Hunt..."I found the rat...grrr...can't get to him!"
Then there is barn hunt. Three identical PVC tubes are hidden in a pile of hay bales, and one of the tubes contains a live rat! It’s a timed event to see how fast you can find the tube with the rat in it. BUTTTTT there is a twist! Momma must tell the judge to stop the clock when SHE thinks I found it!
There is another similar one call brush hunt. But that one is all up to me. Momma cannot go into the brush area with me and the judge stops the clock when I find the rat. Again it’s a timed event.
Brush Hunt..."Sniff, sniff, here he is!"
I also have done a little agility, some conformation (but that bores momma), high jump and ball toss.
What is it about the nature of JRTs that makes your type of doggie suited for these types of events?
As you can see all our events are fast and timed. Jack Russells were bred to go with the fox hunters. The horse riders would hold the Jack Russell while the fox hounds hunted the fox. When the fox went down a hole too little for a fox hound, the Jack Russell was then set on the ground and sent down the hole to flush the fox back out. Jack Russells are not known to back down to anything.
An opossum is no match for Huntyr!
JRTs can be curious little fellows. Every gotten yourself in trouble with oh, say an opossum or any other outdoor animal?
Funny you should ask, just last week I had a possum in my yard! Taught him whose yard it is!
Anything more you would like to tell me?
I traveled a long way to compete at trials the first few years, but last year and this year we are staying closer to home. My club, the Midwest Jack Russell Terrier Club, (www.mwjrtc.org) either meets once a month for a fun day trial, or twice a year as a sanctioned trial event. Momma and daddy are very involved in helping the club. And while I love my blue ribbons, momma said to tell you that what’s most important is that we all have fun!
Thank you Huntyr for sharing your active lifestyle! I look forward to hearing more about your athletic pursuits.
For more great pics of Huntyr and to learn all about the stuff he does, anipals can visit www.huntyr.com
No shortage of ribbons in Huntyr's household!
If you are an active anipal with an active pursuit, I’d love to tell your story too! Please send me an email at cosmohavanese at anipaltimes dot com and tell me a little about yourself. From one athlete to another, I look forward to woofin’ with ya!
Your pal,
Cosmo
{ 6 comments }
Huntyr you iz so athletik an kwik, it made me tired just reading abowt your running. It must be so much funs to catch a RAT!
Wow look at all those ribbons! What a special anipal Huntyr is!
Very interesting article. I know Huntry a little bit because I’m participating in his Around the World event, but I never realized he entered all those events and won all those ribbons. I always heard Jack Russells were very active – but had no idea how active. I’d like to meet Huntry in person. I bet we’d have fun chasing each other around.
You had an opossum in your yard? You are a very brave doggy! Thank you for the great interview! Smoooooooooooch!
Wow! I had no idea you were such an athlete and had so many medals!! I am so exciting for you! You’re incredible Huntyr.
Oh dis sounds so xcitin, I wish I could compete, I guess I could wif da labs N da water! WOW u has da most ribbons I ever c !!!!!
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