cat training?
Friday, March 26th, 2010 at 1:24 am
i have trained my cat to sit on comand have any ideas how to train him to do other things
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Filed under: Cat Training
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Congratulations, and good for you, wanting to spend quality time with your cat. Positive reinforcement training is a terrific enrichment for your cat, and lots of fun for you, too. Contrary to popular belief, cats are pretty easy to train (ever notice how they come running when they hear the can opener?), but the trick is: you need to train cats very differently than you train dogs. One word: bribery! Cats are suckers for delicious bribes, and once you discover whatever treat your cat absolutely loves (store-bought treats, little bits of cooked chicken, a taste of tuna, etc.), you’re half-way home.
Teaching natural behaviors on command (up, down, jump, turn, high-five paw, fetch, come, etc.) are the easiest because your cat does these things instinctively. You probably have your own training methods, however, if you’d like to experiment, here’s a couple of links with suggestions for command behaviors and training cats using a clicker.
http://www.clickertraining.com/cattraining
http://pets.yahoo.com/cats/behavior-and-training/285/tricks-and-commands
Many find a clicker useful because it costs $1, is simple to use, and the "click" sound tells your cat "you did it right" every time. I usually start with a clicker cue and then move to verbal and hand signals. Regardless of the methods you choose, you’ll find some fun behaviors for you and your cat to work on at the clicker training websites. Be patient and work on only one behavior at a time. Keep sessions short, keep ‘em fun, and give lots of praise and treats.
And honestly? It’s very satisfying (and cool) to watch the face of a skeptical guest as your cat does a series of fun behaviors on command. I’ve seen peoples’ mouths literally drop open when they watch my six cats enter a room and all sit at the same time for meals, rear up or twirl about on hind legs together or fetch on command. The cats love the attention, stimulation and exercise… oh yea, and most of all, the treats.
Have a ball!
Yes, I taught my cat "up" (rearing up on her hind legs) by saying it repeatedly and holding food above her head until she naturally does it. When she does, you give her the treat and praise. Eventually, she associates the action with the word — or at least the treat lol. My cat pretty much only does it when there’s something in it for her. But that’s just her personality, she’s a priss. Your cat may do it whenever you ask.
Train him to collect the money you should earn for demonstrating that trick and teaching the rest of the cat-owning public to provide such training.
congrats! not many will even do that.
Catch her doing something that she normally does – like sitting and say "Sit Good Sit" and give her a treat. Normally the training only works when the other animal is highly motivated by something that you can give. Dogs are gluttons for the most part – or VERY eager to please thus they are "trainable". Cats normally do not allow themselves to be in a position where they can be manipulated – dogs don’t care – they just want to PLEASE you or put food in their tummies…. Good luck.
Would be interesting to see a properly trained cat in action, wish I had the patience to train mine ha.