Target
Targeting is a great way to train rats of any age. It helps the rat learn to concentrate on you, and is a great way to train rats that are too focused on food. There are 2 main methods of targeting - paw targets and nose targets. For a paw target, your rat will place their paw onto the item. For a nose target, the rat will touch the target with their snout.
I recommend teaching both method of targeting, as in my experience these make training much easier and faster when you get to harder tricks like painting and basketball. Targeting does require you to make a target stick, but this can easily be done by screwing an unsharpened pencil into a medium sized cork or foam ball.
Click on the buttons below to be transported to my tutorials on how to train the 2 different targeting methods:
I recommend teaching both method of targeting, as in my experience these make training much easier and faster when you get to harder tricks like painting and basketball. Targeting does require you to make a target stick, but this can easily be done by screwing an unsharpened pencil into a medium sized cork or foam ball.
Click on the buttons below to be transported to my tutorials on how to train the 2 different targeting methods:
Below is a video demonstrating 3 ways to target train your rats:
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