# Naturally alpha?



## Snake eye 3 (Mar 21, 2014)

Doesn't just handling your rat naturally make you the alpha? Physically picking them up, and taking them out of the cage seems like enough? With posts of aggressive rats and establishing dominance made me wonder this. Are there things that I should be doing? Our rats are approaching 4 months and I just want to do everything I can to keep their hormones in check. Thanks!


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## lalalauren (Jul 3, 2013)

I'm also doing everything I can to keep my 7 month old boys' hormones in check so I don't have a repeat of extreme bullying like I've had before. They're good boys, but sometimes do get a little rough with the older ones. One of my older boys is a total wimp, and I don't like it when he gets picked on, but it can be enough for me to say "no!" and put my hand between the two to get them to stop fighting, lose interest and walk away. 

I do handle my little boys a lot to maintain alpha status. I find that heavy petting and picking them up when they're doing something and just holding them until they stop squirming to get back to the interesting thing and start climbing all over me because I'm more interesting...that sort of thing seems to be working for now!


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## ahrat (Aug 12, 2013)

I pick them up, put their back in my one hand, then scratch their belly with the either. It's like pinning/power grooming. You can tell in the beginning that they don't want it to happen, but then as you do it more, they just accept it.


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## HeatherElle (Aug 16, 2012)

ahrat said:


> I pick them up, put their back in my one hand, then scratch their belly with the either. It's like pinning/power grooming. You can tell in the beginning that they don't want it to happen, but then as you do it more, they just accept it.


We do this too.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

First of all, when a rat thinks he is the alpha nature gives him a burst of hormonal strength to make him stronger and faster and more aggressive so that he can be an effective leader. When he gets dethroned he loses the hormone boost and usually returns to normal. Hormonal aggression usually starts as a normal reaction to a power vacuum in the rat's social order.

That said...

I don't like to point fingers or assign blame, but as this seems like a relatively safe thread to clarify matters where no one will get offended, I'll say that neglect often precipitates alpha confusion.

Many people buy rats because they want a pet that will play with them when they want to play and stay quietly in their cage when they are busy... People don't realize how fast time flies and a week or two blows by and aside from food and water and a few skritches here and there the rats are left alone. I know people aren't trying to be uncaring or neglectful. But with two jobs and final exams coming up bad patterns develop. So naturally one rat becomes the leader over time... Many people don't even notice the problem until one rat is screaming for help and getting beaten up every day.

So yes, if you do daily play sessions and are hands on with your rats you most likely won't have alpha issues.

The second type of rat parent is the one that's too hands off and doesn't control their rats. Yes they open the cage for playtime, but then they sit back and watch, choosing to be a spectator rather than a participant... Not really neglect, but certainly not parenting.

The third cause for alpha confusion is trust training. This is when someone adopts a neglected rat that's already gone alpha and tries to trust train it by being kind and submissive to it rather than establishing house rules. Some of the worst biting rats we've dealt with during immersion were likely neglected and then victimized by trust training. Trying to get an aggressive rat to trust you is like putting gasoline on a fire.

And the fourth is fear of rats... some folks are actually afraid of their rats and they back down as soon as the rat pushes them... the rat becomes more dominant and eventually becomes unmanageable. 

The last and more unusual reason for rats to go anti-social is PRO... positive reinforcement only. It assumes rats are stupid animals so you really aren't trying to understand or communicate with the inferior species. You simply reward behaviors you like. As the rat isn't getting any sincere communication and feedback it gets frustrated and starts acting out. In other words no one is really trying to understand the poor rat and address his or her concerns. There are rewards, but only for what the humans want. To make it worse, even if behavior modification ever did work long term, by being politically correct and not having the option of negative reinforcement the human winds up trying to reward a hostile and out of control animal... This goes sideways fast.

Before I developed immersion with my brilliant rat partner Fuzzy Rat, it became clear that some folks always had great rats, both boys and/or girls. These folks lived in happy mixed human and rat families. Then there were the folks that had seven neutered rats, all of which had aggression issues... These were either the most unlucky people in the world or they were doing something terribly wrong while other people were considered rat whisperers. It's true that some folks just have a way with animals, but it isn't magic.

Fuzzy Rat taught me that rats have a certain way they see their world and a way they need to live in societies and interact socially with their human and rat family members. Like humans all rats are different, some prefer to be reclusive others like constant companionship. Some are docile by nature while others are awaiting an opportunity to become an alpha to their pack. The rats personality has much to do with which rats become alpha confused and aggressive. But it's usually humans that create the circumstances that precipitate the coup.

So, for those of you that adopt normal, mentally well adjusted rats or pups and maintain a close and loving relationship with them and keep order in your family and are there most of the time to actually fulfill your role as leader and parent, you won't ever see alpha confusion or aggression, or if you do, it will be very mild and you will nip it in the bud intuitively before it blooms into a crisis. It's not something to worry about.

Alpha aggression is usually caused by a breakdown of social order among people's rats and the humans are usually the cause. Sometimes the fault belongs to the current owners, sometimes it lies with the pet shop, or with the former owners, but it really doesn't help anyone to assign blame. Sometimes people have situations where their rats just can't have first priority... Sometimes it's even caused by so called rat experts giving wrong advise.

Immersion works because in order to do it right, you have to change the way you treat your rats from the ground up. It requires people to think about their rats differently. They need to be hands on and present and to establish communication. And once people build loving and trusting relationships with their rats they tend to like to spend time with them. Rather than humans living one life and the rats living another the family tends to blend. People become rat whisperers and rat become people whisperers...

When I started out with rats, there were very few rats free ranging their homes and some folks considered true shoulder rats a myth. Now lots of rats practically live outside their cages most of the time and some actually do public events. 

The question that started this thread seems pretty simple and obvious to us today, since Fuzzy Rat and immersion theory, it just makes sense that if you play with your rats hands on and lead your pack every day you will be the alpha. When I first suggested it, it was heresy. Despite the scientific research done way back in the 1970's on rats people still viewed hormonal aggression in a vacuum. Aggression always meant neutering... Things are changing for the better both for rats and their humans. Snake eye 3, your question wouldn't have been asked a few short years ago, and it actually shows you have a better grasp and understanding of your rats than many 'rat experts' on other web sites do.

I doubt you are going to have any problems with your rats from your question alone.

Best luck and thanks for the opportunity to ramble on the subject without offending anyone.


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## Snake eye 3 (Mar 21, 2014)

Wow, great read Rat daddy. Thanks for taking the time to post such a great reply. I always love reading your posts and have learned a lot. I was hoping you would respond to this post. It makes a lot of sense and I feel better about this not becoming an issue.


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## cammipooh (Apr 26, 2014)

My rat, Sneezes, has been super bonded to me since day 1 and never tried to challenge my authority. He's reaching his maturity now and today he did something he's never done before- he started biting. Not hard enough to draw blood, but it left marks and hurt nonetheless. He was testing his boundaries. I immediately nipped it in the bud by pinning him the first few times he tries with a firm "No!" When he continued to try, that's when I swatted at him. After the second swat he submissed and went back to cuddling next to me. Making sure you're seen as the alpha is very important and sometimes to show that, you have to do more than picking them up and being the one that opens their cage. Making sure you're the alpha keeps a healthy, calm household.

Love, Cameron and Sneezes


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## Snake eye 3 (Mar 21, 2014)

How do you swat a rat? I can see pinning him, flipping him over, but I can't even picture a swat. But that is good to know, that he might still one day challenge me.


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## cammipooh (Apr 26, 2014)

RatDaddy mentions it in immersion training. He mentions sometimes rats need a swat or bop on the head. This is on no way aggressive or to intentionally hurt them, more as to get it through to them that they need to stop their behavior. Swatting is just like if you were to try and swat at a fly buzzing around your head, kindda just a little swing of the hand. Just as you think of a regular swat. You don't injure them or do it to hurt, it just helps get your message across to a more stubborn rat. And generally if your male one day out of no where starts to be assertive and dominate you as alpha, its because he's reached around 4-5mos. Its bound to happen, just make sure you don't let him get away with behavior. You'll want to immediately put him back in his place and don't act afraid. From most of the stories I've heard, they aren't going to draw blood or anything but you'll definitely feel the bite. That's how it happened today with mine. After putting him in his place, he went back to his sweet natured self.

Love, Cameron and Sneezes


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## Snake eye 3 (Mar 21, 2014)

Oh, ok. Thanks. It is hard to picutre bopping a rat,  but I guess I could see it if he kept trying to bite me!


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## cammipooh (Apr 26, 2014)

I didn't know that it was an option either til I read all of RatDaddy's comments in the immersion thread. They're very competent little creatures and even in their own packs sometimes the alpha has to show tough love. Like I said though, you don't do it hard, just enough to get the point across.

Love, Cameron and Sneezes


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