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- Science Bits on Modifying Rat Behavior
- Modify Rat Behavior
- Earning Trust - Science Incomplete
- Infant and Baby Rats - Affecting Behavior
- Let Rats Decide When
- Bathtub, Carrier, Glove, Shirt, or Pouch: These Are Just Things and Not Techniques
- Let Rats Use Their Teeth
- Help an Unsocialized Rat - Any Rat! - Love a Transport Box
- Litter Box Training Pet Rats
- Use a "Neck Box" with Shy Rats
- Help Your Rat Sit Quietly In Your Arms
- Help Friendly Rats Be More Careful with Their Teeth
- Work Inside the Cage to Help Shy Rats Trust
- Snuggle with Rats
- Pockets Pockets!
- Bond with Rats in "Pouches"
- Bring Rats Into Your Shirt?
- Snug Holding Pet Rats
- Use Touch to Help Shy Rats Tolerate Touch
- Use Touch to Help Shy Rats Tolerate Touch - YouTube
- Help Tame Rats Slow Down Treat-Taking
- Rodentistry
- Please Do Not Use "Forced Socialization"
- Forced Socialization - Jane Adamo's Original Method
- Groom To Bond
- Groom to Bond - from YouTube 1
- Groom to Bond - from YouTube 2
- Groom to Bond - from YouTube 3
- Groom to Bond - from YouTube 4
- Aggression & Management
- Rat Behaviors
- Ratbehavior.org - Essential Behaviors
- Major Rat Body Language - RattyRat
- Establishing the Social Hierarchy: Normal Rat Behaviors
- Normal Play Behavior in Rats
- The Dangers of "No Blood, No Foul"
- Are These Two Rats’ Behaviors “Over the Top”?
- Rats and the Concept of "Alpha"
- Submission, Dominance, Appeasement
- Fear Behaviors of Rats
- Behaviors of "Released" Laboratory Rats
- Tail-Flicking in Pet Rats, YouTube 1 of 2
- Tail-Flicking in Pet Rats - YouTube 2 of 2
- Introduce Rats to Rats
- Enrichment
- Rats Hunt Feathers
- Rats Stash Stuff
- Rats and Evil Bandaids
- Fountains, Rubber, Rocks, and Rats
- Rats Stash from YouTube
- Rats Nom-Nom Coconuts
- One Example of a Rat Play Room
- Jump, Rats, Jump!
- Rats and Pumpkins
- Rats Enjoy Water
- Rats Play
- Enrichment YouTube Videos
- Rats Outside?
- Rats Make Trouble
- Fun Wheel, Stress Wheel, or No Wheel At All
- Rat Health
- Oops? Pregnancy, Birth and Babies
- Start Here: Rat Basics for Pregnancy, Birth, and Babies
- Rat Reproduction - by Debbie Ducommun
- Raising Rat Orphans
- Caring for Rat & Mouse Orphans - AFRMA
- Baby Rat Growth: Birth to Weaning - Rat Guide
- Baby Rat Growth: Baby Rat Development - AFRMA
- Baby Rat Growth: Pictures of the Pinkies - Rattie World O' Comfort
- Sexing Rats: Sexing Baby Rats 101 - AFRMA
- Sexing Rats: Alpha Centauri Stud
- Sexing Rats: Litter Journal - Curiosity Rattery
- Sexing Rats: RatRaisins.com
- Sexing Rats: Is This Rat a Boy or a Girl? - RattyRat
- Healthy Squeaks or Sick Squeaks?
- Bandaging Rats
- How To Do a Post-Op Bandage with Anchor Tapes on a Rat
- Slideshow - Post-Op Bandage with Anchor Tapes on a Rat
- Real Life Example of Anchor Tape Bandage Emergency
- When a Rat Won't Leave a Bandage or Wound Alone
- A Veterinarian Demonstrates Bandaging Rossi
- Good Bandages
- Workable But Mediocre Bandages
- Problem Bandages
- Bathing Rats
- Giving Medications
- When Rats Need to Diet
- Rats Do Hiccup!
- Rats Hiccup - YouTube
- Hind Leg Weakness
- Physical Symptoms of Ill Rats
- Videos of Rat Physical Exams
- Compassionate Euthanasia of Pet Rats
- Trimming Rats' Nails
- Trimming Rats' Teeth
- Rat Anatomy, or, Pretty Pictures
- Multi-Level Cages for Older Rats
- Assorted Rat Cages
- Compassionate Euthanasia
- Oops? Pregnancy, Birth and Babies
- Other Sites
- Rats Are Beautiful & Hilarious
- Friends
- Gwen
- Clicker Adventures
- Family From Fosters
- Three Rats: Maizie, Robin, Rudy
- Introducing baby boys to Gully, Tookie, and Pemy
- Introducing Maizie and Mijah to Gully, Tookie, and Pemy
- Maizie, Mijah, Reunited with Babies Rudy and Robin
- Maizie's Amazing Boy Babies, Rudy and Robin
- Maizie Has Oops Babies
- New: Mijah and Maizie
- Seven Makes Rats
- Willow Joins Me
- Flight Cage Fun (No, Rats Don't Fly)
- Pemy Joins Gulliver and Tookie
- Gulliver and Tookie
- Bitten By Pemy Rat
- Pemy and Dicey
- Mixed Up Lots 'O Rats Fun
- Old Lady Rat Lives with Young Boys
- Tugger, Toby, Timmy
- Adventures In The Rat Room
- Tugger, Toby, Timmy, Almost Grown
- Boy Rats Play Table
- New Boys Tugger, Toby, Timmy
- A Lila Rat Slideshow
- Chancy Rat, Four Years Old!
- Gwen's Pet Rats - The Girls
- Chancy Rat Boggles
- The Big Rat Room
- The Girl's Rat Room - When They Were Young
- Pen and Box Play Space
- The Old Lady Rat Room
- Karen Borga
- Lindsay
- Wanda & Tony
- Gwen
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Does Your Rat Want To Be Petted?
View many videos showing the detailed body language of rats enjoying being petted, in Groom to Bond - from YouTube 1, Groom to Bond - from YouTube 2, and Groom to Bond - from YouTube 3.
“Well, she lets me, so she's okay with it, right?”
Hmm, maybe, but maybe not.
Some notes about dogs as a way to approach this . . .
Of course we can pick up our rat and, if the rat is generally handleable - not aggressive or very shy - the rat tolerates it. But does the rat like this?
- What is the rat's body language telling you?
- Does she choose to stay in place and accept your touching, or does she prefer to hop off and go exploring instead?
- Does she voluntarily approach you and want to hang out near your hands, and touch them?
Below are a few of Eileen's videos examining dogs sometimes saying “Yes” and sometimes saying “No”. We can bring our awareness to a rat's behaviors, from moment to moment.
Great discussion on Eileen's blog pages: Does Your Dog REALLY Want to be Petted? and Dogs Who Like to be Petted or Touched.
Eileen Anderson has some great clicker and other training videos on eileenanddogs YouTube, and extensive, thoughtful, and thought-provoking articles on positive and problemmatic training methods, on eileenanddogs, her blog.
(Material hosted with permission by Eileen Anderson. Grateful thanks to Eileen for supporting pet rat owners to learn about the science of animal behavior.)
Two dogs, one says Yes, the other says No. Above, Eileen demonstrates a “Consent Test” for petting. "A Consent Test is a way to tell if a dog likes something. It’s very simple. If you cause the activity to stop, does the dog take action to make it start again?"
A Consent Test - what a great idea to use with pet rats.
Above, Eileen strokes Clara, we get to watch Clara's very visible body language indicating she likes to be petted. Except - so interesting! Even though Clara wags her tail near the end, Eileen tells us she is saying "No More". However, Eileen, who calls herself a "stupid human" for not respecting Clara's "No", keeps stroking. Clara gives other body language signals for "No," and then rises up to leave.
What might have happened if Eileen had ceased the petting sooner? Would Clara have rested happily in place?
What I take away from this video that relates to pet rats: Less Might Be More, and, my rat will always give me body language about what she does and does not like. It's up to me to pay attention and respect her Yes and No.
What's special about the Nina video above? I would not just rock a rat in this exact way, but whatever I do, touch-wise, I would watch to see if the rat's body language is telling me she likes my touch, or she does not. If she does not, I'll refrain from that kind of touch and try another form of touch.
