Another super fun new thing for Zam-Zam today… we started Barn Hunt! For those of you not familiar, it’s a sport where we put gerbils (or rats) in capped PVC tubes and hide them amongst hay bales for them to find. There are decoy (empty) tubes in a timed trial and the number of gerbils to find varies based on skill level (Novice to Master).
Tonight started with a “meet & greet the gerbils” who are conditioned to the dogs (meaning: not scared or threatened by). They do so at first in a wire cage and then the dogs see them in their tubes… and then we jump into the hunt. It’s not something I can video while we practice so hopefully we will have a willing videographer at our next lesson.
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Shazam was so sweet in meeting the gerbils… it reminded me so much of his Grandma Sheba meeting them for the first time in 2019. He is definitely a hunter and got the hang of the game after his second find as he excitedly showed me where one was hiding.
You might wonder why I’d teach him this sport if he’s not staying with me? Well every new thing he sees/tries and every single skill he learns add up to being a balanced dog even if he never sees another gerbil or sheep. If I can identify his talents, I can help his future family decide on what they might like to do with him.
So far Shazam is a pretty versatile little man. In fact, I feel like he might just have what it takes to be the next movie dog as Romeo’s career is winding down due to age. Though we live in a usual hot-bed of film projects (when folks aren’t on strike), there are opportunities no matter where he might live. In case you didn’t know, the “Reel” in Reel ACDs is a play on film reel with Romeo as inspiration.
And as someone said to me today, Shazam has gotta face that says “famous”!!