Name training

[WinX]

Does anyone have any step-by-step pointers on training your rats to learn their name and respond when called?

[cerulean.blue]

It's basically classical conditioning. Give the rat a treat every time you say its name. Only let the rat whose name you call have the treat, and give the rat the treat every time it performs the correct action. It learns to associate its name with getting a treat. Eventually you give the treats randomly with calling its name, sometimes just pet your rat. Don't skip the rewards completely, or the rat will learn to ignore the name again. You should also start associating it with other good things (handling time, games, petting), so the rat doesn't forget it. You can also train a rat to come to a squeak toy, which is pretty much the same method.

This all works better with short, frequent training sessions, rather than one long training session.