one step forward two steps back

[Sugarised]

Anyone find their chin does really well one moment and you think you have a breakthrough then suddenly you realise its going backwards?

I have been training starrkey with very simple things. In the cage its to greet and out of the cage is ''no''. Fantastic, included with positive reinforcement this guy is on a roll.

But with those advancements he's actually getting worse for being held and escaping. I know he's testing the boundaries but arrrghhh, combined its lethal as its won't come out to play...then escapes to play when he decides then gets narky when i try to get him back in his cage. It started at 4am its 5 to 5 now.

When in his cage he'll be all loving, nibbles, sqeaking and will sit on my hands and scramble to crawl up my arms, but anything i plan on the routine isn't on his cards gah!

Patience is a virtue i don't posess when its an hour of him bouncing about under my bed, now he's in his cage looking at me all innocent doing the ''who me?'' face hahaha

 

[Tennyson]

Oh yeah...one of my chins is like a devil in chins clothing While she is in the cage she's all cute and calm and relaxed, and the minute I want to take her out she flips...and then once out she is calm and relaxed again, until the time comes to go home...and then she is a maniac again! I have to be very careful not to lose her or its a long long time of chasing for me

It's like flies--they just don't want to go where you want them to...they fly into a window for an hour, and the minute you open it it's like, "oh no bucko, I'm not falling for that!" as they run away from the open window lol

 

[kimbt622]

yep, chins will do what they choose. they don't particularly care what you have planned haha. it can be frustrating but you need to be patient and breathe. as for him going under the bed, i would try to block it if you can or put him in a different room for playtime. they WILL go under the bed if they have access and will only come out on their terms. my boys will usually come to me with a shake of a cereal box or something, but that's only if they feel like it. (except my oldest boy but he's just a fatty )

 

[caiti]

I put pillows right underneath the edge of my bed and anything I can find that will fit to block Chloe from going under my bed. Because, as you know, once they get under there it's a pain to wait to get them out. I put her travel cage, my laptop case, books, anything--I'll even ball up my sheets and stuff them under my bed if I'm going to do laundry afterwards . I also have my bed up in a corner so I only need to block off two sides of it.

 

[Laurie]

my Bobo is the biggest ****** in the cage. She bites me when I feed her, she stills sprays on me occassionally, and she kacks at me all the time. Unfortunately her behavior is now learned from GiGi her daughter who used to love scritches now just tries to nibble me. But once Bobo is outside the cage she is very loving and even snuggly with me.

I just know what I've got with her and still give her kisses through the cage even though I know I could get bit. She's my first chin and really holds my heart.

 

[Huffnpoof]

Why not train her to go back in the cage on command?

 

[Sugarised]

oh i try to block under my bed, he always finds a way in! its when he gets out in the flat, i live in a studio flat, so he goes for his runs in the bathroom...but if he gets out of his cage thats a whole chinny obstacle course to find him around!

I'd like to train him to go to his cage, or be able to tempt him with the shake of a cereal box, but he's not one for pursuasion haha! I suppose i'd complain if he was dull rather than providing me with all these antics!

 

[Sugarised]

. (except my oldest boy but he's just a fatty )

haha gotta love those fatty chins! I love animals that love their bellies and just sleep without a care in the world watching everyone else work around them, they're classic!

 

[Huffnpoof]

It's totally possible to train a chin to go back to its cage on command. If you think about it, your boy is hiding under the bed because you can't chase him when he's under there. You can use the whole "I don't want to be chased" to your advantage and teach him that the cage is his safe spot, not under the bed. I would start by giving him access to his cage and only a small area outside around the cage. Using a playpen is ideal if you have one, but a single room works too. Let him run around and then say "Go Home" and walk towards him. If he turns towards the cage, back off. If he heads in any other direction, follow him until he heads toward the cage. He'll learn quickly that running in the direction of the cage means you stop chasing him. Once he is turning pretty regularily towards the cage, go ahead and don't stop following him until he takes a few steps towards the cage. Then keep following him until he goes in the actual cage (have a few shreded wheats sitting at the entrance too). It's important at this stage not to actually close the cage door. Once he goes into the cage, back off and leave the door open. He'll learn that he can get you to stop chasing him by running in the cage and that you won't close the door so he can go back out when it's safe. After he does this reliably 3 or 4 times, you can go head and close the cage door, but in the future remember to keep things variable. Sometimes, halfway through your playtime at night, practice saying "go home" and have him go to his cage and let him out again. This makes it unpredictable to him and he won't actually know when he's going in for good.

 

[Sugarised]

lol he runs everywhere BUT towards the cage....y'seee i went under the bed, so that when he went under there he realised i too could get there, so it wasn't a hidey spot, if he went towards the bathroom i left him (mainly so he'd go in and i could shut the door) as that's his playroom- but he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, if he had gone towards his cage i would have been extatic and treats would be a plenty- unfortunately he preferred to run under the bed with me, sniff my face and hop past me! (BUT this did lead him to the bathroom and thus success!)

Lol i need as many training tips as possible, as i've never had my own pet before and training this lad is pretty tough considering he's not up for bribary! Although tonight he sat in my hands in his cage, so i gave him treats and a rest, short sweet bursts is what i'm going for...just need to teach him being picked up is good as it means playtime without causing himself a potential injury!

oh and not liking to be chased- i swear he thinks its a game! he springs around everywhere, popcorning and wall surfing. Its when he sits on the u-bend i know he doesn't want to play anymore and kacks at me...though he doesn't realise this whoooole time i was trying to catch him so he can go in the cage!

I think, Huffnpoof i need to designate a day where i can put the cage in the playroom for your training tip, so that he can learn it there, and get it sorted; and then maybe be trusted in the larger room after should he escape again!

cheers for the tips