Wordless Wednesday: Kids who click!

The library at St. George’s Junior School in Vancouver, British Columbia adopted three rats earlier this fall. The students have had lots of fun so far interacting with the rats. For example, a fourth grade class was reading a book where rats didn’t have that great of a reputation. So, they got to meet the library rats and discuss people’s perceptions about rats. Then, each student wrote a report from the point of view of one of the library rats.

The students have also been exploring the world of animal training and practicing by clicker training the library rats! In the photo above, the rat is learning how to go through a small tube of paper. The students use Rice Krispies and sunflower seeds as rewards.

I think this is pretty awesome. Most people discover clicker training as adults, many times after they have tried (and seen the unwanted side-effects) from traditional training methods based in force and punishment. I would love to see more people teaching kids early on how to train and interact with animals in a positive way.

Clicker training is a great way to demonstrate that you can get a lot accomplished with animals (and humans) by focusing on rewarding the behavior you want to see, rather than punishing “bad” behavior. In addition, I think clicker training is a great way to teach young people about problem solving and team work.

You can see more pictures here. If you want to read more about the rats, check out Curious [St.] George, the blog of the St. George Junior School’s library. I’ve been chatting with one of the librarians and she says that they will continue to post updates about the rats on their blog.

(Photos used with permission from Curious [St.] George.)

This post is part of the Blog Paws Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.
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12 Responses to Wordless Wednesday: Kids who click!

  1. Ann Paws December 5, 2012 at 11:07 pm #

    Aww how cute! I got my first pet rat about 3 months ago and was doing some research on clicker training her. Then a few days ago, I learned that you can even clicker train chickens! Very amazing. Stopping in from the blog hop!

    • Mary Hunter December 6, 2012 at 12:33 am #

      Hi Ann,

      Thanks for stopping by.

      Yes, chickens are quite trainable! Many dog trainers practice training them (such as at workshops given by Bob Bailey and others) to improve their dog training skills. A chicken is fast — so it’s a great way to practice good timing and other mechanical skills.

      Very cool that you are interested in clicker training your rat. Would love to see what you train, once you start training her. 🙂

      I have videos of some of Amy and Georgie’s tricks on this page, which you might find interesting / useful, if you are just getting started. http://stalecheerios.com/clicker-training-pet-rats/

      cheers,

      Mary

  2. christie December 6, 2012 at 1:36 am #

    Very cool! Who knew rats were good with clicker training.

    Christie from lifewithbeagle.com

    • Mary Hunter December 6, 2012 at 1:42 am #

      Rats are very good with clicker training!

      They are also very good (as my rats have taught me) at helping people improve their clicker training skills. 🙂

      cheers,

      Mary

  3. Marta Banat December 6, 2012 at 5:37 am #

    That’s so cool! I had a rat as a teenager and she was absolutely amazing 🙂 Very smart animals.

    • Mary Hunter December 6, 2012 at 9:52 pm #

      Hi Marta,

      Thanks for stopping by! I’ve had rats for about 2 years now. Before having them, I never imagined just how smart and creative they really are. They really make great little pets. 🙂

      cheers,

      Mary

  4. snoopy@snoopysdogblog December 7, 2012 at 2:34 am #

    That’s cool that the kids are learning how to train in a pet friendly way!! 🙂

    Wags to all

    Your pal Snoopy 🙂

  5. Novroz December 8, 2012 at 1:23 am #

    This is a very good post. I agree with giving reward rather than punishment

    • Mary Hunter December 8, 2012 at 10:51 pm #

      Yup, I agree with you! Rewards and positive training methods are much more effective than punishment. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. 🙂
      cheers,

      Mary

  6. Sue Reiter December 14, 2012 at 3:11 pm #

    Hi Mary, I am a friend of Karleen Hayden. I am about to start clicker training my classroom rat, Butterscotch! This is going to be interesting!,
    Sue Reiter

  7. Veterinary Imaging Consultant January 4, 2013 at 12:12 am #

    I’m glad more kids are getting into training pets rather than playing internet games and other activities. How old are these kids?

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