# Wanting to train a shoulder rat.



## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Hi all, 

Let me give a little info first:

I run Whiskered Way Rat Rescue and around here a lot of people have misconceptions about pet rats. A while ago I posted a thread about a fundraiser and some of the responses were that a trained shoulder rat would be perfect.

Well, I thought about it and about a month ago a friend came over, wells I was quite surprised to see a rat on his shoulder. Turns out he's been carrying a rat on his shoulder for years and years and although his rat is trained to remain on his shoulder at all times, that's all she is trained to do.

Now, I KNOW having a shoulder rat is more complicated than that.

Is there a personality that shoulder rats have? Or is it early exposure to things?

I guess what I'm asking, does anybody have any advice on how to train a shoulder rat properly?

I know it can be dangerous for the rat if they aren't trained properly. I want to be able to go out with my rat and educate the public at events. Change the misconceptions about pet rats, and spread the word about my rescue. And from personal experience I know the best way to change somebody's mind about rats is for them to meet in person a friendly, happy and playful rat.

I know there's at least ONE person on here that can help, there has to be.


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

http://www.ratforum.com/showthread....ome-rat-activities&highlight=shoulder+ratting

This thread has it all, pretty much.


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## Muttlycrew (Dec 21, 2012)

I'd say early exposure and I know you mentioned that if they aren't trained correctly it can be dangerous, but even if trained perfectly it is dangerous. There are animals that are faster, bigger, and stronger than the rats, and will undoubtedly kill them if possible.
I've had one true shoulder rat and Brody is working on it and twiggy seems like a good prospect as well. 
It's not just any rat that can do it either. That's why Brody isn't full shoulder rat yet. His personality holds him back a bit. Twiggy, however is adventurous as well as obedient, so he may be able to do it someday. 
It takes time and can absolutely get your rat killed at any time, but is so fun and worth it if it works out! 


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## Muttlycrew (Dec 21, 2012)

Oh and the friend you have, his isn't really a "shoulder rat". It's just a ratty trained to stay. Which is definitely fun as well! Don't get me wrong! Lol! And if that is all you want, that is much more easy.
Shoulder rats are rats that can free roam and explore but will come back when called and therefore can go places with you, go on their own walk, follow at a distance, and return to your shoulder to go home when told to do so. 


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## pwoink (Feb 19, 2013)

Muttlycrew said:


> Shoulder rats are rats that can free roam and explore but will come back when called and therefore can go places with you, go on their own walk, follow at a distance, and return to your shoulder to go home when told to do so.


In that case "shoulder rat" is a very non-intuitive name for this type of training! It seems to make way more sense to call a rat who stays on a shoulder a "shoulder rat."


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## Muttlycrew (Dec 21, 2012)

That's what I think, too!!! Lol!


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Muttlycrew said:


> Oh and the friend you have, his isn't really a "shoulder rat". It's just a ratty trained to stay. Which is definitely fun as well! Don't get me wrong! Lol! And if that is all you want, that is much more easy.
> Shoulder rats are rats that can free roam and explore but will come back when called and therefore can go places with you, go on their own walk, follow at a distance, and return to your shoulder to go home when told to do so.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Yes, I know, that's why I never referred to him as a 'shoulder ratter' he just has his girl trained to stay.

I may try and go through with complete training, or I may just train a rat to remain on my shoulder (which seems a lot safer). 

I understand they can be injured or killed doing this, it's the handlers responsibility to keep their animals safe and out of harms way.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Rat Daddy is the man to go to for this. I'm sure he'll show up shortly!


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

cagedbirdsinging said:


> Rat Daddy is the man to go to for this. I'm sure he'll show up shortly!


He's actually who I was hoping this thread would attract. Lol.


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## Muttlycrew (Dec 21, 2012)

Ruka I hope you didn't find my response to be rude or something, didn't mean it that way at all if you did.

Training them to stay on a shoulder is definitely safer, but I find the looks of "wow, a RAT comes when it's called??" To be so amusing, lol! 

Rat daddy does have a great shoulder rat currently, so I'm sure he'd be happy to help with any questions you have. 


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Muttlycrew said:


> Ruka I hope you didn't find my response to be rude or something, didn't mean it that way at all if you did.
> 
> Training them to stay on a shoulder is definitely safer, but I find the looks of "wow, a RAT comes when it's called??" To be so amusing, lol!
> 
> ...


I took no rudeness from it, just a rat lover telling it how it is!


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## Gannyaan (Dec 7, 2012)

When you know how to do this, let me know! I love my girls, and I want to take them everywhere with me... I dont trust them to be far away or up in a tree... Paisley has bad eye sight, and Scalett sometimes deliberatley disobeys me to see what she can get away with, I feel like... But, if I could train one of them to just sit on my shoulder for long periods of time... that would be great. I feel like mine love to explore though, and always need to be on the move...


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

I took Voda out yesterday for a short walk on my shoulder to see how he reacted to it. He was curious and seemed only slightly affected by the open spaces.

He has an outgoing personality and is not startled by loud noises. Is this a good place to start? If he's not right for it obviously I won't force him.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

OK so I'm attracted. I'm absolutely in love with our shoulder rat and as proud as any pop can be of his little (well actually pudgy) girl. And she's the real deal.

First to kill any confusion regarding the name shoulder rat.. I first herd if from an elegant older lady who noticed me walking by with Fuzzy Rat in a store and she remarked "Look Herbert, there's man wearing a "shoulder rat". She seemed comfortable with Fuzzy Rat and we let them meet and greet. But it occurred to me that from the perspective of a non-rat owner, most of the time they are going to meet a rat, is on it's owner's shoulder. So rather than coin a new name, I adopted the one that seemed like people already knew and felt comfy with. I just added the classification between the true shoulder rat and the limited shoulder rat as there is a very big difference.

As to a rat trained to stay... wow, that's no easy trick! It took forever for Fuzzy Rat to grasp "Stay". Stay doesn't translate into rat language, rather If you scream it loudly enough a rat can grasp it as "freeze and look for danger". Amelia panics when she's on the ground she stays on shoulder out of fear and because she feels safe there. Most limited shoulder rats are similar. They haven't learned 'stay', rather they are afraid to explore. A true shoulder rat still hangs out on your shoulder too, but when it knows a place and feels safe there or when you put it down and it trusts your judgment, it will readily explore. A shoulder rat really reads your cues. It just knows when to stay put and when it can roam. I visited a friend's house, he has a cat and Fuzzy Rat stayed on my shoulder for two hours. As my friend isn't really comfy with rats, I didn't offer to put her down and she didn't ask, And we are welcome back.

I did a long thread on shoulder rats that's still going, and I'm not going to short cut the procedure here. But basically you need:

The right rat. It needs to be unusually calm and inquisitive. (the Throazine personality) It needs to be bonded to you and follow commands. Because Fuzzy Rat has such a high threshold of stimulation, indoors in our house she's very hard to control, she just knows everything she needs to and is perfectly comfy making her own decisions. If she thinks I'm calling her for treats or something she wants, she's right there, if she thinks I'm going to stuff her into her cage, it's "watch my tail". Outdoors however, she's right on the mark, her anxiety levels are at what would be normal for an indoor rat indoors and she's fast to respond to commands and if she gets frightened she runs straight to us. 

Last summer we were walking along a trail next to a marsh. We were about 30 feet behind Fuzzy Rat and she was leading us back to the car, when a juvenile groundhog popped out of the reeds and the two rodents nearly collided. They were nose to nose about a half inch apart. The ground hog leapt up and bolted back into the rushes and Fuzzy Rat darted strait back to my foot and up on hand. That's precisely what is supposed to happen. I had absolutely no time to give a command. Everything hinged completely on how Fuzzy Rat would react on her own. Shoulder rat or dead rat, and there wasn't a thing I could do about it. This is the kind of thing you learn at your safe site, where there are no other animals and no marsh to lose your rat into.

Ground hogs are pretty pudgy and look funny running, but then so is Fuzzy Rat and I hadn't seen her move that fast in a while. There are lots of groundhogs at the park and they keep their distance, Fuzzy Rat is used to the smell everywhere and doesn't avoid it, but meeting one up close and personal was unnerving for her and really over the top hysterical for us. Seriously, even the remotest thought of Fuzzy Rat doing anything else never crossed our minds. She's a true shoulder rat and that's what she does every time, always.

You need a safe site... How can I stress this enough? This is where you learn to control your rat. And if your rat washes out here, it goes back with you to the safety and comfort of your home. You will screw up, you are learning a new skill, it's right and good that you make mistakes, and your rat might panic and make a mistake too and it might just take a few miscommunications before everyone gets on the right page but at the safe site that's to be expected. At just 3 weeks old, when she didn't know us, Fuzzy Rat panicked and ran under a shrub. A week later she ran into the shrubs to explore on her own and came back on her own 45 minutes later and the idea of the safe site was born. Screwing up in my front yard was dangerous, the safe site however was a happy place for Fuzzy Rat to explore.

Lastly you need to learn the danger signs, to watch your rat and let it teach you. Fuzzy Rat was glued to my shoulder well before the owl overhead alerted us to it's presence by screeching in frustration and Fuzzy Rat gets all doe eyed and girly when wild boys are around. You have to instinctively look up for predators, and watch for attractive nusences for your rat, like sewer grates, poison mushrooms or snake dens. You have to learn to recognize fun play areas like chain link fences. Rats love to run along fences of all kinds and need to learn the difference between managing risks and being reckless. You need to build a special bond with your shoulder rat and learn to be a real animal trainer. We took Fuzzy Rat to the circus last summer, she wouldn't walk at heel in the crowd, but still both the horse and elephant trainers congratulated me on Fuzzy Rat. One of the pony trainers even said he might give rats a go and couldn't get enough of Fuzzy Rat. BTW, elephants are not afraid of mice or rats.

Now as a promotion for your rat rescue, a true shoulder rat would really make a big difference in how you are perceived. When I tell people we have rats, they pretty much figure I've lost my mind, when they meet Fuzzy Rat, they almost instantly change their opinion. One of the most common questions we get is "That's a rat?" It doesn't look like what people expect, it doesn't act like what people expect and you can watch them their minds changing right in front of you.

By the way, last footnote, it really helps if you shoulder rat doesn't look like Ben. A big fat agouti or jet black rat will bring you trouble in spades. People will actually snatch Amelia (our high white) from my arms before asking what she is. She's so soft and cute and likes to tuck her tail under my arms that people really get surprised that they are holding a rat. And before I forget to make a point of it.... remember the 15 foot rule always! At about 15 feet rat phobics feel pretty safe, close the distance too fast or surprise a rat phobic and you will have big problems fast.


Well that's the nickel tour but do read the full thread, and let me know if I can help.

As to what a a good promotional shoulder rat should look like... I've always thought fawns and cinnamons would do well but shoulder rats should have dark eyes to avoid sun damage and pink or light ruby isn't good, the first photo is of Amelia, most people love her looks and the next is Fuzzy Rat, also not scary to most people:


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

My new baby Voda has a unique personality. Loud noises don't startle him, he turn his head and looks toward the noise.

He's also learning his name pretty quickly. And he's love to chill out on my shoulder or in my sleeve when he's tired of exploring and running around or when the cats are in the room.














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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

I've been following you other forum by the way. 


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Dark eyes are good. there should be enough white so he doesn't look like Ben and people like light grey or blue better than black or agouti. 

He looks like a commercial farm rat, which seem to be one of the most mellow strains. Hey when you have a million rats to breed from, would you pick breeder rats that panic or bite?

Fuzzy Rat is a commercial farmed rat, look at the width of her jaw and shoulders as compared to Amelia who was clearly bred for the pet trade.


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Rat Daddy said:


> Dark eyes are good. there should be enough white so he doesn't look like Ben and people like light grey or blue better than black or agouti.
> 
> He looks like a commercial farm rat, which seem to be one of the most mellow strains. Hey when you have a million rats to breed from, would you pick breeder rats that panic or bite?
> 
> Fuzzy Rat is a commercial farmed rat, look at the width of her jaw and shoulders as compared to Amelia who was clearly bred for the pet trade.


Not to sound clueless, but what's the difference between a commercial farm rat and a pet trade rat?


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Your not clueless, certain morphs of rats have been bred by breeders for certain markings body shape hair color and texture and eye color for example.

Commercial rat farms pretty much breed food rats. They should grow fast, get big and have a easy going personality so as not to bite the employees of the farm, the pet shop staff and the hand that feeds them to a snake.

Unlike private breeders the commercial farms have thousands of rats to work with. If they want to get something done with rats you can bet they can do it fast. Commercial farmed rats look more like Purdue chickens whereas breeder rats look more like free range chickens. My part wild rat was 10 oz, my breeder rat is 16 oz my commercial farmed rat (now shoulder rat) is 26 oz the same as the other two combined. All of the rats were girls, kept together and feed the same. Most of the commercial farm rats are hoodies of capped rats of various shades. The short looking snout, wide jaw and especially wide shoulders give these rats away. Wide bodies support more meat. As to being bred to be docile I doubt all are successful but I've reached into a bin with over a 100 commercial farm raised rats in it without a scratch much less a bite.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

BTW this a map of our safe site, it has an outdoor shower for emergency rat cooling, heated and lit bathrooms for the humans, a kiddie playground and picnic area for advanced training two house size gazebos in case it rains, lots of small trees scattered about and it's surrounded on three sides by water... OK so it's only 39 acres but it works for us. 


http://www.co.middlesex.nj.us/parksrecreation/Alvin Williams Park map.pdf


For a nice areal shot mapquest the Alvin P. Williams Memorial park in Woodbridge NJ.

This is what you are looking for to train your rat.


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## Cherubim (Dec 6, 2007)

Squeakers is my shoulder rat. He'll stay on there. Except he does get startled from loud noises. But of he gets startled, he'll run down my shirt. Otherwise he will sit on my shoulder until I pick him up and put him down somewhere. He also comes when I call him and taught himself to jump onto my shoulder when I tap on it. The others however won't sit on my shoulder. However.. Cookie does. But only until he gets extremely bored.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

You guys are really scaring me! 

I posted a map of what a safe training site should look like. In my case it's 39 acres of lawn and small bushes and trees, two giant gazebos and low stone walls, surrounded by deep broad waters on 3 sides. It even has an outdoor shower for emergency rat cooling if it gets too hot. There's a picnic area with tables and a kiddie playground for practice meet and greets and lots of room to roam and play unmolested. And there's a nearby dog park so there are practically no dogs at my safe site. And the park police are completely rat friendly.

Absolutely no one should be trying to train a shoulder rat anywhere other than a safe site. What your rat does indoors is irrelevant to what it will do in the great outdoors. And your backyard (unless you live on an estate or farm) is too small to work safely with a young, fast and healthy rat. 

Before this conversation goes any farther and moves into the "over the rainbow bridge" part of this forum... I seriously want to hear something about the safe sites you have explored, perhaps even see a few photos and give you a few pointers.

Think about it, you wouldn't mistreat your rats indoors. But if you screw up in the outdoors you absolutely will get them killed. And it will happen quickly and unexpectedly if you and your rat are not properly trained to handle various outdoor situations. And the only place to safely learn is at a safe site.

So get out there, check your local parks, municipal complexes, ball fields, cemeteries and corporate centers. Look for places where you can safely work with your rats and they can't panic and run away. Imagine the worst case scenario that can happen there and when you can't think of one you can't handle you have found your safe site. Put as much care into your safe site selection as you put into picking your rats food or cage. If you feed your rat an inferior diet or keep him in the wrong cage, you won't likely kill him, if you choose the wrong place to work with your rat outdoors and something goes wrong, you will.

So if you can't get away from your PC take your smart phone along and keep in touch with Rat Forum that way, but get out and find your safe site before you get stuck on a bad plan that will kill your rats. Or keep your rats indoors where they are safe.

I don't want to sound harsh... but please keep in mind who's giving you this advise. I've been there and I've done everything you're thinking of doing and I know where you will screw up and I know how *not* to get your rats killed.

The best I can promise you is better than fair chance of success, no guarantees... Much will still depend on your rat and your good judgment. But if you skip the safe site, I can almost guarantee you will come home ratless one day. 

So, before we continue with this topic, I want to hear about some safe sites you have chosen. It's the weekend and spring is coming.... Now go! Disburse! Explore! Seek and find your safe sites!

Then I'll help you to train your shoulder rats and learn the craft of safe shoulder ratting.


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Rat Daddy said:


> You guys are really scaring me!
> 
> I posted a map of what a safe training site should look like. In my case it's 39 acres of lawn and small bushes and trees, two giant gazebos and low stone walls, surrounded by deep broad waters on 3 sides. It even has an outdoor shower for emergency rat cooling if it gets too hot. There's a picnic area with tables and a kiddie playground for practice meet and greets and lots of room to roam and play unmolested. And there's a nearby dog park so there are practically no dogs at my safe site. And the park police are completely rat friendly.
> 
> ...


Rat Daddy, about the walk I took, it was just into my backyard on my shoulders to see if he was okay being outside before finding a safe zone or containing on with his training.

Don't worry, I've read your other thread and want to follow your advice to the letter. I know it's dangerous and I want to do everything in my power to learn how to do it properly, and how to keep my rat safe as possible.

I have a safe site in mind, here's an overview photo.

We have snow right now, it's melting, but there's still too much to really show my safe site.

So, here's some google image photos of the giant park near my house.


































It's big, and open in some spaces, but has picnic tables, and a children's park. Is got trees, and is only about two minutes walking distance away from my house. There are some dogs that come walking through, my city has a strict leash law and I plan to keep an eye out for unleashed dogs as well. 

How's it look? I won't be officially training him until the snow is gone anyways.  


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Wow that's terrific! I absolutely love it! It will be absolutely perfect... 

You are going to have so much fun.

So now here's a few pointers to make things even better for you... 

Start working under one of those small pine trees, if you rat panics he'll run under the tree not dash across the open field, it will save you lots of running and make him feel more secure. Rats instinctively hate wide open spaces. And by the way, he'll no doubt get a kick out of climbing around in the tree. Check the area for holes and mushrooms, seal off the holes and pick any mushrooms before you let your rat loose.

There are often hidey holes under kids plastic slides and the outdoor play equipment. Check under the play equipment before letting your rat explore there. It's no problem once your rat is trained, to come, but it's a real bear to dig a panicked rat our from under a plastic slide. Your arms are just barely long enough to touch him, but a fraction of in inch to short to drag him out.

Look around for odd black or metal boxes scattered or situated in out of the way places especially around the kiddie play area... They are rat traps or bait stations and must be avoided at all costs. You don't notice them until you look for them, they are designed to look inconspicuous, but when they contain fresh bait, which they actually rarely do... they can attract your rat like a magnet from quite a distance. Thankfully, most exterminators are lazy and rarely actually bait their rat traps. Killing the local wild rats if bad for business and baiting a trap means actually having to clean them up... But every now and then it happens, so be aware.

Look around and glance upwards regularly, practice it and make it a habit to always keep the big picture in mind. At your safe site you should be able to spot danger on the ground from hundreds of yards away and you should see air borne threats from thousands of yards or even miles away. Any threat you spot way in the distance is one you have lots of time to prepare for and react to calmly and without panic. Don't just look for the dangers you expect, be aware of everything that's there. With practice your reaction time will get really fast and your rat should also become confident and predictable. The look up and around exercise will serve you well when you move away from the safe site. Whenever I walk into a store, or step out of my car, I automatically do a quick scan now, it's just part of the way my eyes move and it keeps my rats safe.

Bring a spray bottle of water with you if it gets hot... 85 degrees is the max your rat can take before it pancakes.

Lastly after your rat gets calm and self assured, beware or any anxious behavior, he smells or senses something you don't see, recall him if he doesn't run to you by himself and stop to patiently look around. Last time Fuzzy Rat freaked out, 10 minutes later a fox strolled right across the parking lot... it was a couple hundred yards away and no threat, but Fuzzy Rats superior sense of smell detected it long before it appeared from the brush and we became aware.

This is a great place for you and your rat to learn and explore and meet folks. If your rat makes it here you will be way better prepared for the next step, if your rat washes out, no harm done.

Great job Ruka! You have found a place where a potential shoulder rat can safely meet the great big world. You are ready to take your rattie outdoors as soon as he knows his name and basic commands and you feel he is well bonded to you. Everyone else should study these photos closely and start looking for their own safe site.


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Rat Daddy said:


> Wow that's terrific! I absolutely love it! It will be absolutely perfect...
> 
> You are going to have so much fun.
> 
> ...


Okay, I can do that all. 

Is there any trick to teaching a rat their name quickly? All my rats except for Voda know their names, but oh my gosh, it took forever.... There's got to be a better way.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Rats don't understand close enough... or similar sounds. Fuzzy Rat responds to Fuzzy Rat, not Fuzz, Fuzzy, FB or Fuzz Buster or even big fat tail dragger. 

His name is Voda, so you always call him Voda and every time you talk to him you address him with his his name... as in Hi Voda, Come Here Voda, Up on hand Voda, I have a treat for you Voda, here Voda etc. When you pick him up you say up Voda. Don't forget Good Voda, treat Voda, come for treat Voda, Your my Voda. He should learn his name in about one to three days. After you repeat it about 10,000 times.

Voda is listening to you and he's watching you and he is trying very hard to make sense out of those strange noises you are making. Rat brains don't associate similar sounds so Voda and Voder and Vodette are different sounds and might have different meainings. So be very precise when you pronounce his name each time.

I have a joke I use with my daughter... A normal rat will learn between 6 and 12 human words be careful what words you teach them. Also words like "treat" with multiple meanings are hard for rats.... One time "treat" means apple pie, another time it's a cookie. Rats have trouble dealing with groupings that are easy for us to understand. One word needs to have one precise meaning every time. 

With Amelia, when I call her "up on hand"... she wants my left hand not my right. If I offer her my right... she gets all confused. It's like she's saying that's not hand, the one over there is hand. Rats brains are very precisely wired there's little room for the kind of fuzzy thinking humans do. Words like chair, coat, pants, carpet can apply to a wide variety of things in human language. If a rat learns chair... there's only one chair, the one you taught him and therefore everything else you sit on must have it's own name too, but certainly not "chair".

I know it sounds strange that rats don't group things like humans, we are actually taught to make groups in school, (remember the worksheets teachers handed out that said circle every thing that's blue), but imagine how great it is that they can learn the meaning of human words at all.

Training a rat is a matter of communicating in a way he understands. Once he gets it, he's got it... Also watch him closely, he's trying to communicate with you... remember in his language his gestures will be very specific and he will most likely repeat them over and over until you get it.

Fuzzy Rat spent a great deal of time teaching me basic rat, she was stubborn and just kept repeating herself until I got the message, and if I did what she wanted I got licked. She was really training me, while I was training her. Amelia was neglected, she tries to communicate sometimes, but she pretty much expects that no one cares or understands so she doesn't try very hard. Oddly enough, if I yell at Amelia she comes right up to me, normal rats like Fuzzy Rat dive for cover. I don't know how that got screwed up.

Good luck Voda should know is name within the next few days... start testing him with Voda up on hand and Voda come etc.


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Rat Daddy said:


> Rats don't understand close enough... or similar sounds. Fuzzy Rat responds to Fuzzy Rat, not Fuzz, Fuzzy, FB or Fuzz Buster or even big fat tail dragger.
> 
> His name is Voda, so you always call him Voda and every time you talk to him you address him with his his name... as in Hi Voda, Come Here Voda, Up on hand Voda, I have a treat for you Voda, here Voda etc. When you pick him up you say up Voda. Don't forget Good Voda, treat Voda, come for treat Voda, Your my Voda. He should learn his name in about one to three days. After you repeat it about 10,000 times.
> 
> ...


Gotcha, I will make sure to let everyone here know once he has mastered his name. 


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

Rat Daddy said:


> Rats don't understand close enough... or similar sounds. Fuzzy Rat responds to Fuzzy Rat, not Fuzz, Fuzzy, FB or Fuzz Buster or even big fat tail dragger.
> 
> His name is Voda, so you always call him Voda and every time you talk to him you address him with his his name... as in Hi Voda, Come Here Voda, Up on hand Voda, I have a treat for you Voda, here Voda etc. When you pick him up you say up Voda. Don't forget Good Voda, treat Voda, come for treat Voda, Your my Voda. He should learn his name in about one to three days. After you repeat it about 10,000 times.
> 
> ...



This explains so much! I don't plan to train my gals to be shoulder rats as a) I can't think of a safe space to practice, b) my most inquisitive girls are also not super well behaved, and c) all of my rats look very much like rats. But I have about a 60/40% success rate with their names and I was trying to figure it out... it's because they have nicknames and I don't distinguish between them when I'm addressing them. I'll work on fixing that. Thank you!


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Okay, so I think Voda is learning his name pretty well now. What's the next step?

Rat Daddy, you are the expert here. Do I train him to come to me like you would a dog? With a treat and a call?


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## Cherubim (Dec 6, 2007)

Squeakers knows his name because everytime I'd take him out I'd be like "Squeeaaaakersss" in a high pitched voice. Don't even ask. That's how we've always called him and he comes when we do that now. Just keep saying his/her name "Voda" and she/he'll come with lots of praise and treats. That's how I trained my boy anyway..


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Actually rats like to come to you and be with you and they usually really appreciate skritches, so you don't need lots of treats. They won't hurt until Voda gets the idea. My rats love to hear "good girl" They pretty much respond to good girl just like a puppy would. I associate good girl with skritches and hugs and treats until they understand that I'm really happy when I say it. 

When you are out and about with your shoulder rat you may not have treats handy, so try to associate good behavior with love more than food. Now Fuzzy Rat knows the difference, and if she doesn't want to come to me indoors she insists on being bribed with treats, Amelia just wants to know that I'm not mad at her so good girl tells her she's going to get hugs etc.


Outdoors, Fuzzy Rat follows commands pretty well, she knows the great outdoors are dangerous and usually responds pretty quickly, whereas indoors I'm just being a spoilsport.

So use precise commands and happy words to reinforce them and treats to back up both only if needed.

You should be about ready to take Voda to the safe site now. Pick out your small pine tree as far away from any other hiding places and spread your blanket. Then just sit down with Voda and let him start to get the feel of the place. 

Your goal is for your rat to stay with you at first, then explore the tree and slowly grow more confident. A shoulder rat in training starts making larger and larger circles with you at the center. 

A rat that sticks to you like glue and refuses to explore will be trouble as will be one that bolts and tries to run away. On the up side rats usually only bolt to get under cover and that's why you are close to the tree in the first place. The rat that sticks to you like glue is one panic attack away from being gone. Rats should free range between 10 and 30 feet from you. If your rat keeps making the circles larger and exploring further and further away, they are leaving you. Some rats are just hardwired to leave you, if you know the signs you can stop them, because they just keep stretching the invisible tether... they are about 50 yards away and can't seem to decide which way to go when you call... for sure the next time you take them out they are gone. 

If all goes well, Voda will come to you then wander a little, then you can let him climb in the tree and call him and eventually even walk him away from the tree. 

Observe and interact, remember you chose this place because it is safe, this is where you want things to go wrong or at least if they do there aren't going to be any consequences. Once Voda gets more at ease you can carry him around on your shoulder and even play tag. The object of the exercise is to experiment here until you really know how he will behave. Half of shoulder rat training is just knowing what your rat is going to do when stressed. The other half is learning to manage things before they get out of hand.

In just a few sessions, you will see Voda either start to evolve into a shoulder rat or not. It really hurts when a rat washes out, but that's part of the plan too. If a rat can't get comfy outdoors this is where you want to find that out. No rat is perfect, but a shoulder rat has to be predictable.

People might notice your rat and they are likely to ask what it is and want to meet Voda, don't approach strangers, let them approach you. Then let Voda meet and greet them. As your promotional rat this will be a big part of his job. And the safe site is a great place to meet a few people at a time, you can usually find more people and kids around the playground so you can get practice with larger crowds. Just beware of toddlers, they seem so cute and interested then suddenly it's squish or splat and toss. A toddler is unpredictable and thereby dangerous by definition. 

Well, let me know how your first safe site visit goes, remember if you drive there the parking lot is the most dangerous place, keep him well controlled until you get to your safe shrub or tree and work outward from there.


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Rat Daddy said:


> Actually rats like to come to you and be with you and they usually really appreciate skritches, so you don't need lots of treats. They won't hurt until Voda gets the idea. My rats love to hear "good girl" They pretty much respond to good girl just like a puppy would. I associate good girl with skritches and hugs and treats until they understand that I'm really happy when I say it.
> 
> When you are out and about with your shoulder rat you may not have treats handy, so try to associate good behavior with love more than food. Now Fuzzy Rat knows the difference, and if she doesn't want to come to me indoors she insists on being bribed with treats, Amelia just wants to know that I'm not mad at her so good girl tells her she's going to get hugs etc.
> 
> ...


Now, if only my safe site was ready for me.... It's still covered in about two feet of snow!!!

It WAS melting, and I mean really, really melting, then it just... Stopped. Oh no..

Okay, so if Voda decides the first time not to go quite that far, is he still a candidate? Or would at be a wash out? I haven't done it yet, so I'm just throwing out possibilities. 


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## socal_sarah (Mar 5, 2013)

Aww, so my ruby-eyed Garnet isn't a good shoulder rat candidate?


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

socal_sarah said:


> Aww, so my ruby-eyed Garnet isn't a good shoulder rat candidate?


What does Garnet do? And generally I have heard ruby and pink eyed rats don't make the best shoulder rats...


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

I think we have hit a BIG snag, I think Voda may be deaf....


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## Phantom (Apr 4, 2012)

Ruka said:


> I think we have hit a BIG snag, I think Voda may be deaf....
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


My friend had a dog who was once deaf, but responded amazingly well when it came to hand signals. I wonder if this is possible with rats too? I know for her dog the hand signals she used had to be completely different from one another so the dog could tell them apart.


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Phantom said:


> My friend had a dog who was once deaf, but responded amazingly well when it came to hand signals. I wonder if this is possible with rats too? I know for her dog the hand signals she used had to be completely different from one another so the dog could tell them apart.


Well, whenever I have called him I have always made a hand signal, I do it without thinking with all my rats, and when he sees my rand, he comes running...


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## sara1991 (Apr 12, 2013)

Maybe it would be a good idea to buy a harness in case he/she decides to make a dash for it


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

sara1991 said:


> Maybe it would be a good idea to buy a harness in case he/she decides to make a dash for it


Well, considering I want him to be trained for promotional events for my rat rescue,mperhaps him being deaf could work to my advantage.. 

I, not sure about it yet though. But he has already picked up on some hand signals, so perhaps a leash, harness, and shoulder riding he could still help me out in the same way, but in addition he can show that even disabled pets can be loving.

I mean, wouldn't his deafness be an advantage for noisy fundraisers? 


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## Kaliloca (Jan 24, 2013)

A leash/harness is a must outside for little deaf rats.  

I'm not sure how much being deaf will help for noisy fundraisers. Not sure if people would be trying to pet him and such. I guess if people learn to not accidentally sneak up behind him to pet him it would work.

Deaf rats get startled easily. If they "see" you coming to pet them, they're fine. If not, they might give a loud squeak and try to "run away". Even worse.... they might try to bite. 

My guy is deaf and he's learning just as fast as my other rats. Being deaf doesn't affect him at all........ as long as nobody accidentally sneaks up behind him.


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Kaliloca said:


> A leash/harness is a must outside for little deaf rats.
> 
> I'm not sure how much being deaf will help for noisy fundraisers. Not sure if people would be trying to pet him and such. I guess if people learn to not accidentally sneak up behind him to pet him it would work.
> 
> ...


Voda has a really calm and collected personality. Nothing seems to scare him, even being snuck up on he is fine. It's amazing. He is so utterly trusting, he even eats a Cheerio laying on his back, lol.


















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## Kaliloca (Jan 24, 2013)

Voda is a Dumbo.......

That's interesting. My guy is also Dumbo. I wonder if Dumbo and "deaf" are connected........


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Kaliloca said:


> Voda is a Dumbo.......
> 
> That's interesting. My guy is also Dumbo. I wonder if Dumbo and "deaf" are connected........


He is a very large eared Dumbo too..


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Well there's an easy test for deafness. I've seen it done in old cowboy movies using only a Colt 45 fired off in the next room. I believe that it might be handled less dramatically and with less plaster damage if you were to omit the large caliber handgun, and substitute a loud whistle or such.

The actual history of shoulder rats likely goes back way before Jack Black. Shoulder rats keeping company with lonely old widows turns up anecdotally in witchcraft folklore pretty much since rats appear on the scene. Perhaps there's good reason to believe that shoulder rats were actually the first 'domestic rats'. But as things might not have worked out so well for the "crazy rat lady" or even the "crazy cat lady" three hundred years ago in an unenlightened age the myth and the legends might be a little bias. 

So people watched trained rats in movies doing amazing things and often outdoors and nobody ever took notice of just how skillful Ben and his friends were... imagine not only were the rats performing, they were surrounded by bright lights and a camera crew and doing multiple takes often outdoors and most likely they were the best actors on the set and they sold the whole movie franchise. 

Just a short time ago, when Fuzzy Rat evolved into a true shoulder rat, I went on line in search of other shoulder ratters that might give me some advise. And it turned out that shoulder rats were still only an urban legend. A certain "rat authority" wrote in response to my inquiry that "Rats are not dogs, they are small animals that must always be kept in a cage and allowed only limited and supervised access to rat proofed areas of the home." The poster went on to say that shoulder rats were only fiction and no such animals actually existed and that the mere discussion of shoulder rats would only serve to get innocent rats killed. I did however get a single private message from someone in the UK claiming that they had a true shoulder rat and wishing me great success and happiness with mine.

So, Fuzzy Rat certainly isn't the first true shoulder rat, she's just the prototype for the first training manual on the subject. She has remarkable hearing and eyesight and smell and a calm and cool disposition and is firmly pack bonded with her humans and she is intelligent and stubborn and she doesn't give up on being understood. And she is mostly white and doesn't look much like a wild rat so people don't recoil in panic. And she loves people, even strangers.

Hey, lets be honest, she was born to be the prototype and with no preexisting guide on the subject starting out with the perfect rat made everything possible.

Now that the first chapter has been written and there is a guide for everybody else to start out with, I honestly don't know where the limits are. I'm pretty sure that people who have met Fuzzy Rat would be more willing to accept a black rat for example. Perhaps with a really good safe site a deaf or even blind rat can be safely trained and workarounds for their handicaps can be achieved. Perhaps it might turn out that rats can learn sign language as easily as human language or that a certain blind rat might come to trust human touch so completely as to not freak out, ever... In fact I'm thinking that the next chapter in the evolution of shoulder rats is going to include certain rats that aren't going to necessarily be Fuzzy Rat clones at all.

But... from my personal experience hypersensitive, poorly bonded, aggressive or super shy rats will always wash out. The hypersensitive will panic and get into trouble, the poorly bonded will just leave you, the aggressive will bite someone and the super shy and agoraphobic will become undergarments or clothing accessories. With a really good safe site and lots of patience some of these rats might even be fixed or become limited shoulder rats. This year Amelia our agoraphobic has pulled off two meet and greets. Yes, for the outdoor one, I had to pry her out from under my coat, but after she was out she allowed herself to be handled by a perfect stranger and she jumped right back to me on command (and dove back under my coat). So, it was a lumpy meet and greet, not slick like Fuzzy Rat, but the humans involved were never the less impressed.

As to leashes.... first I don't trust them. Your betting your rats life on it's inability to do what comes most natural to a rat; squish out of something. And second I've noticed that dogs that are always kept on leashes are more prone to run away when they get free than dogs that normally free range with their masters, which never seem to run away. Years ago when I was young, I'd walk my dog in the state forest and when we reached the edge of the woods I'd just say "go" and my dog was gone, as soon as I whistled I'd hear scrambling somewhere in the distance and she would dash back to me from wherever she was exploring and she would stay with me until I gave the the "go" command again. We put away the leash when she was about 4 months old and for the next 14 years she never ran away again. Rats aren't dogs, but as there's no extensive body of work on shoulder rats, I take my inspiration wherever I can find it.

Whatever your rats special challenge turn out to be, it's the same procedure. You go to your safe site and work on it together. And you learn, and your rat learns and you either succeed or you fail or you lean to set safe limits. In our house Amelia is the superstar, she causes very little damage (except for stealing and hiding things and food) and comes promptly when called, outdoors she's a mess; indoors Fuzzy Rat usually ignores commands, slices wiring and shreds documents to build secret nests. Outdoors she's the perfect puppy, she responds to commands, walks at heel, greets strangers and all but takes care of herself. That's why safe site experience is so critical and the key to shoulder rat success. It's the freedom to fail that allows the true shoulder rat to succeed.

Until you can get to your safe sites, work on bonding with your rats. Work on commands, like "come to daddy", or "come to mommy" and "up on hand" and get them to respond to their name (or similar hand signals if necessary). Don't worry about anything else other than the safety and security of your safe site. When you get to your chosen shrub or tree and you carry your rat around a little on shoulder and start letting him explore on the ground or in or under the shrub you just play it by ear. When he gets a little too far you call him back and when he comes you treat him like a king... In the worst case scenario, you run the little bugger down, squee-dunk him back into his carrier and take him home. With acres of open lawn that's actually not as hard as it sounds. BTW, did I ever mention that it's nice to have a kid along for the running down and squee-dunking thing if it comes up? Well if I forgot, it is. Kids also have a real blast with rats at the safe site, and you will have great fun watching them play together.

Animal handling is a team effort, both you and your shoulder rat learn and evolve together. There's no way your rat can predict how you will behave at the safe site and you don't know your rat yet. Right now it's all the unknown land ahead, the permutations of your future are mind boggling and maybe a little frightening. And if you aren't concerned and alert bad things will happen. So it's good to be a little afraid, it will keep you sharp.

Fuzzy Rat is now an old lady, she can't climb trees, and her large tumors make it hard for her to even walk and explore. Most of her life is behind her, and when she started out to be a shoulder rat at barely a month old she faced a very uncertain and dangerous world. Yesterday in the hallway she weebled to the front door and wanted to go outside where her life was and I suppose where she still thinks it is. If your rat has what it takes, you will never regret the decision to go to the safe site and you will never look back. Win, lose, or draw a rats life is short and a true shoulder rat should not waste it in a cage. Sure Fuzzy Rat lived life on the hairy edge and cheated getting killed dozens of times, but now that shes old and sick and tired imagine her memories and the thrills and love she shared with her family. 

Take a close look at the recent photo of Fuzzy Rat, a commercial feeder rat pup with no future and a life expectancy of just days or hours. She's never had anything to lose but here she is now after a truly amazing life. Where ever you are thinking of going she's been there and done that. And shoulder rats aren't an urban legend any more and she's affected people throughout her travels. And now there's a safer method for training shoulder rats based on her adventures. Maybe Voda is on the verge of a fantastic life too, always be aware, and careful and cautious and ready to react and learn and add lots of love and patience and let him grow up to be what he's meant to be.

Although there remain tales untold, chances are that Fuzzy Rat won't be adding many new chapters to the shoulder rat knowledge base, perhaps little Voda, another orphaned commercial feeder bin refugee will carry the torch forward. I can't imagine a better mascot for a rat rescue or a better reason to train a shoulder rat. And if he works out, and if you ever print a promotional t-shirt of him keep me in mind. 

There have probably always been shoulder rats, and there will always be more the object of having a safer training methodology is to try to make an otherwise risky process safer by sharing our experiences and learning from each other. My recommendations on which rat is most likely to be the best shoulder rat wasn't intended to imply that no other rats can be shoulder rats, just that you get a good head start by choosing the right rat up front. If your perfect shoulder rat turns out to be jet black, you get to deal with much more complicated human interactions and limitations on where you may be allowed to go, your life doesn't get impossible just more difficult. I can see where red eyes, near sighted or deaf would also pose challenges, but not necessarily wash a rat out completely. If you understand your rats limits and conscientiously manage them a slightly marginal rat can be successful too.

I'm not advocating stupidity either, if your rat can't cut it at the safe site, the game is over, quit while your rat is still alive.


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## Kaliloca (Jan 24, 2013)

Ruka said:


> He is a very large eared Dumbo too..
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I really don't know if Dumbo rats are more prone to being deaf. I just think it's interesting that we both have Dumbos and they both seem to be deaf. 

We took Armageddon outside in a small holding cage this morning. We waited for him to fall asleep. Then my hubby lit a fire cracker and tossed it on the ground. It was the closest we could get to the sound of a "gun" firing. It was about 7 feet from where Armageddon's cage was. It made me jump, so I'm glad I wasn't holding Armageddon. 

Armageddon didn't wake up. I put a cheerio in front of his face.... He woke up right away. I'm convinced he is actually deaf. Of course, I already knew he is. I'm also convinced her REALLY LIKES CHEERIOS. LOL. 

If you want to continue to test for deafness in Voda, then go for it. I really don't think you need to "test" him any further. It really is "obvious" if he can hear you or not. 

So, just enjoy your special rat. If he's deaf, then he's just more unique than the average rat. It won't change if he can be trained. It won't shorten his life span. I actually think it might make the bond between the two of you even stronger. He'll learn to watch your every move and wait for a hand signal. Much like a dog will wait for you to throw that ball for him to fetch. 

The good thing is you found out early. So, you can adjust your training methods if needed.


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Rat Daddy said:


> Well there's an easy test for deafness. I've seen it done in old cowboy movies using only a Colt 45 fired off in the next room. I believe that it might be handled less dramatically and with less plaster damage if you were to omit the large caliber handgun, and substitute a loud whistle or such.
> 
> The actual history of shoulder rats likely goes back way before Jack Black. Shoulder rats keeping company with lonely old widows turns up anecdotally in witchcraft folklore pretty much since rats appear on the scene. Perhaps there's good reason to believe that shoulder rats were actually the first 'domestic rats'. But as things might not have worked out so well for the "crazy rat lady" or even the "crazy cat lady" three hundred years ago in an unenlightened age the myth and the legends might be a little bias.
> 
> ...


Yeah, he is totally deaf... I still want to attempt training for him though. What precautions should I take?

I can't imagine a better mascot or reason to train him either! And I would totally make promotional t-shirts of him!! 

Have you ever considered of writing a book on the experiences of shoulder ratting? I would buy it. Lol


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