Trick Training

Trick training is a fun way to engage and bond with your rats, stimulate their brains, and build your communication skills and confidence. Trick training can also help build confidence in shy rats. You can teach your rats functional skills, such as recall or going back to their cage/carrier after free roam time, and fun skills such as spin and agility.

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The best way to train your rats is through positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is "the process of encouraging or establishing a pattern of behaviour by offering reward when the behaviour is exhibited". This is usually achieved by providing a treat immediately after the desired behaviour has been completed. Not all rats will learn tricks in the same way or at the same speed, so it's important to go at their own pace and be flexible with how you train them.

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You can start by either using the treat as a lure, or by doing something referred to as 'shaping'. Shaping is where you break a trick down into smaller, more achievable steps and reward each step. You can teach them to touch a pen and then use the pen to shape a trick.

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Start a session with an idea of what you would like to do and achieve, but don't be so strict with your plan that you don't adapt to suit the needs of the rat. This could be making each stage of a trick even smaller if they're struggling, focusing on what they can do again to regain their interest, or pushing forward if they're grasping the concepts well to keep them engaged.

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You can use malt paste or baby food as treats, or smaller items like low-sugar cereal as treats. If your rat is shy, they may prefer treats that they can run off with to start. If you are training a shy rat in a more open space, provide a little hide for them to retreat to when they're feeling a bit overwhelmed. Over time they will grow in confidence and have incentive to stay with you because of the positive interactions.

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Below is a video to introduce you to trick training, starting with touching a pen, spin, and climbing through a hoop!