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Post by mistywaterwoman on Dec 24, 2011 10:06:11 GMT -5
Do you have any apple sticks or something wooden for them to chew? How about bitty bagels? You can put chewing items in an empty peanut butter jar and rattle them, too. Just make sure they get a chewing "treat" every night after you put them back in the cage, and rattle the jar before you do it. I promise you that in less than a week's time, they will associate the sound with the treat, and they will KNOW they get it in the cage, so they'll run back. Chins are ridiculously smart.
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ylbremik
Chinnie Pal
Misty & Ember
Posts: 70
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Post by ylbremik on Dec 24, 2011 10:27:08 GMT -5
Sounds good. I tried rattling the food bag and the little bag of sticks. They didn't budge, so I scurried them into the carrier and put them back. Then, I gave them a stick and they loved me again. I hope the process works, because it's always a killer to try to put them back!
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Post by tweetysoprano on Dec 24, 2011 19:49:38 GMT -5
I trained mine to associate "me holding them" with playtime. I carry them from cage to play area. Then I sit on the floor and ay with them and they happily jump and play on me an my shoulders so I just wait until they are on my lap and pick them up and put them in the cage. Then they get a treat. So they associate being picked up with something good.
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Post by mistywaterwoman on Dec 24, 2011 22:17:18 GMT -5
Yeah, but you get to do one at a time, Autumn. That would be a bit trickier with two at once, lol.
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Post by tweetysoprano on Dec 25, 2011 0:56:12 GMT -5
You are correct lol. Didn't think about that. What's funny is Spazzy is the one who will jump into my arms from the cage but she is not a fan of being held for longer than 10 seconds. Allie runs from me but after I pick her up she cuddles and cuddles and loves me petting her head and back. And Allie LOVES strangers. Spazzy detests them. Allie lets strangers pet her in my arms but Spazzy kacks.
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Post by mistywaterwoman on Dec 27, 2011 11:43:53 GMT -5
Just goes to show how different their little personalities can be!! Amy is a holy terror, destroys everything she sees, and rarely lets me pet her, but let a GUY come in to visit and she turns into such a little tramp!! She loves men, for some odd reason.
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ylbremik
Chinnie Pal
Misty & Ember
Posts: 70
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Post by ylbremik on Dec 30, 2011 10:43:56 GMT -5
YES! It's starting to work! I've been shaking the food bag, and Misty comes back. Three nights in a row! Ember doesn't follow the sounds as much, but she is easily shoo'ed in, but last night she was so tired, she was already lounged out on the top shelf sleeping before Misty even came back in, haha.
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Post by tweetysoprano on Dec 30, 2011 12:41:38 GMT -5
Yay, congrats!
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Post by mistywaterwoman on Dec 30, 2011 21:39:57 GMT -5
That is awesome!! I told you it wouldn't take long!
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Post by Tara on Dec 30, 2011 23:42:18 GMT -5
Yay!!!
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Post by resilientrosie on Dec 31, 2011 17:18:43 GMT -5
Just as with any animal, it is repetition and association that trains them. Rattle the bag (or jar or can) and then give them a treat. Once they have that figured out, they will know that the noise is positive. Then you can use that like clicker training. You can teach them other things, such as climbing on your hand to get the treat. Or lure them into a carrier or large dust bowl. (Just like Pavlov's conditioning.)
Which brings me to another suggestion (did anyone mention this? Maybe I missed it)... use a dust bath to get them back into the cage! Well, that is if they are using the bath regularly and understand it. They are still pretty young, right? Well, if they don't already, they will soon come to love their baths and scramble to get near the dust bath whenever you pull it out. Now shake THAT like you did with the treat jar. They will learn to associate that sound with a lovely roll in the dust. Then when they are out playing, give it a shake and when they climb in use it as an elevator to their cage. Just be careful that they can't jump out when you lift it or they could get hurt.
Personally, I use the "treat and scoop" method to pick up Fin and Desi to get them back to their cage. Milo and Oliver use the dust bath method. Jasper is just hard enough to get out of his cage for playtime, so it usually isn't too hard to cox him back to it - it's his refuge.
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