Ornamental rats have a high level of intelligence. Such rodents are curious, active and fairly easy to learn something new. However, the learning process of rats has its subtleties that pet owners need to know. In our article we will discuss how to properly train ornamental rats.
Features
Domesticated rats are an order of magnitude smarter than other species of rodents and respond well to training. Animals have a well-developed logical thinking, which allows them to understand the causal relationships. However, not always the result of training depends only on the intelligence of the rat, skills and patience of the owner.
The process of pet training has its own characteristics and a number of rules that must be observed.
Otherwise, the rat will resist learning and there will be no positive effect from the lessons.
Obligatory component of all workouts should be motivation. The animal should receive rewards in the form of treats for properly performed actions.
Before you begin training, you must establish a relationship of trust with your pet. It makes no sense to try to train the animal, if he is afraid of the owner and does not make contact. For classes, it is desirable to take a separate place in the apartment and to secure it as much as possible for the pet.
What can you teach?
Rats are naturally highly intelligent. However, this does not mean that all individuals are equally easy to learn. Depending on the characteristics of the character and physiology of the pet, he will acquire some skills more easily than his fellows, and something will be harder for him.
Whatever you have to teach your pet, good results can only be achieved if all the key points are present in the training:
- trusting relationship with a pet;
- motivation in the form of encouragement delicacy;
- constancy of action;
- fixing the result of repeated repetition;
- patient attitude towards the rodent.
Rodents can learn to perform a variety of different tricks. Most often, the owners teach their pets the following:
- climb on the shoulder to the owner and sit on it;
- respond to your name and perform simple commands;
- understand the word "no";
- go to the toilet in the tray;
- obstacle course;
- orientation in space and the ability to get out of the maze;
- moving on ropes;
- stand on two legs;
- push the ball in a circle.
Regardless of what the rat will learn, you must do the training well in advance to start training. So that the pet does not feel uncomfortable during classes, it does not need to be overfed, but it should not starve either. The rodent must be familiarized with the training space as well as the props.
Simple commands
Training of decorative rats is recommended to start with the simplest things. To begin, the pet must get used to its nickname and start responding to it.
At each feeding it is necessary to pronounce the name of the animal clearly, but not too loudly. Calling a rat by nickname is possible during games or simple stroking.
After the animal began to respond and run up to the owner at the call, you can proceed to learning simple commands. For example, the animal can climb on the shoulder or enter the cage on the click. When a pet has mastered simple commands, it will be possible to move on to learning more serious tricks.
Various tricks
You can start training rats for tricks from the stand on your hind legs.Usually they learn it quickly. It is worth considering that To make a stand a pet should be on its own - touch it with your hands and put it in the desired position. It is necessary to bring a treat to the nose of the rat and gradually raise the food upwards.
If classes are not held with a well-fed pet, then it will immediately rise after the treat. It is important to give him food when he gets up on his hind legs. Simultaneously with pulling delicacies, you can say any command.
After repeated repetitions of these actions for several days, the animal will be able to stand on its hind legs on command.
Rats can easily perform jumps. Schooling for such a trick is best to start on your knees. To do this, you must put the rat on the left leg, and the right to take a little to the side. A treat is put on the right knee, and the animal will be forced to jump onto the other leg to get it.
You can also say the command or make a click when the food is placed on the foot. Over time, the animal will begin to jump for short distances, without requiring delicacy. Animals can be taught to jump through small holes or through obstacles.
What if you are afraid?
Usually, ornamental rats willingly make contact with a person and get attached to it rather quickly. However, among the animals there are exceptions. The rodent may be afraid and avoid people. In this case, before proceeding to the training of a pet, it must be tamed.
Hand Rodents
Best of all, if originally a rat was tamed to hands.
However, sellers of pet stores and previous owners are not always engaged in raising young offspring. In this case, the rodents may behave like wild animals and do not trust the person.
Hand rodents can immediately calmly be given into the hands of a new owner. Immediately after the purchase of a pet, you must try to establish contact with him. It is necessary to talk with an animal regularly, and passing by its dwelling to treat with a delicacy. It is not recommended to push food into the cage between the rods, as the rat can get scared.
First you need to open the door, call the pet by name, slightly twitch the bowl with food and only after that put delicacy in it. Decorative rats are quite playful, so you need to devote time to playing with the animals daily.
It is best to equip a separate area for the games outside the cage and transfer the animal there on the hands.
Thus, the animal will quickly get used to the hands of the owner, and they will be associated with a pleasant pastime.
Semi-wild individuals
Taming semi-wild and wild rats will take longer and will require patience from the host.
Semi-wild pets are those individuals who have previously come into contact with a person, but have not been tamed and still fear people.
In the first place such rats are taught to eat from the hands.
First, for several days in a row, the treat is enclosed in a cage, so that the rodent can see and understand that the owner brought him food. Then you need to carefully bring a treat to the animal in the palm of your hand. It is important that the rodent itself goes to the hand and at that moment the main thing is not to make sudden movements so as not to scare the pet.
The next step is to establish close contact.
The animal must be taken daily on your hands and sit for a while on the sofa or in the chair.
You can seat the rat on the back of the chair next to him. If a rodent wants to get behind the clothes collar, you don’t need to interfere with it. Thus, the animal will feel calmer and at the same time will begin to get used to the smell of the owner.
Wild
With wild specimens things will be a bit more complicated. Such rodents do not trust people and fear them. They may not allow to approach themselves, as well as bite in order to protect themselves. The process of domestication will be similar to working with semi-wild individuals. However, in this case, you will have to show more patience and be extremely careful.
Before trying to feed the animal with food from the palm, you need to teach him to smell the hands, occasionally letting sniff them through the cage.
Otherwise, the animal may perceive them as food and painful bite. In the case when the pet for a long time refuses to approach the palm with a treat, you can specially cut down its diet. A little hungry, the rodent is more likely to take food from his hand than on a full stomach.
It is necessary to constantly talk with a decorative rat and call it by name. So she quickly gets used to the voice of the owner and her nickname. Speech at the same time should be calm and without raising intonations.
After the animal is no longer afraid to eat from the hands, it is necessary to get it out of the cage and accustom it to the outside world.
Simply take the pet in your arms, go with him to any convenient place in the room, and then sit down next to him. So the pet will understand that the world around is not dangerous, and the owner does not want to harm him. When the taming step is successfully passed, you can start training.
Professional Tips
Despite the fact that ornamental rats are amenable to training, in the process of training at home it is recommended to follow certain rules. It is undesirable to practice with animals too long.
Training time should not be more than twenty-five minutes. After a specified time, the rodent may become tired and lose concentration.
During classes, it is advisable to praise your pet as often as possible. Host approval will help the rodent to feel more confident. At the same time, it is worth monitoring the loudness of voice and intonation: rats do not like loud and sharp sounds and movements. If the pet refuses to perform any command, then it is strictly prohibited to punish him for disobedience.
The process of training will not be so productive if the rat is not tamed to a man. An animal needs to pay a lot of attention not only during classes. In order for the rodent not to be frightened by the voice, it is necessary to talk to him a lot and regularly.
If you need to train more than one rodent, then you need to ensure that all pets are given the same amount of attention.
However, you should not train together male and female rats, as this can distract them. In the process of training is recommended to include an element of the game. Thus, animal studies will be of more interest.
In the process of learning, not only verbal praise is necessary, but also encouragement by delicacy. It can be pieces of fruit or nuts, as well as other pet pet food. It is important that the delicacies are not very many, as the rodent should not eat enough. Another rule of training is the transition from light to more difficult exercises.
How the process of rat training takes place, see the video below.
