“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.)

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.

Does Your Rat Want To Be Petted?