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How to Train Your Pet Mouse...Say What??

I decided to start my blog by sharing an artical about training your mouse. I have a pet mouse named Mickey and I am wondering if it's possible to train him to do tricks. I found this story about training mice. People out there that have pet mice, please read this artical I found.

While it is typically rats that are trained, it is also quite possible to train your pet mouse. In fact, these little creatures can be some of the most fun pets once they are trained. You can get them to do things such as sit in a shirt pocket or on your shoulder as you move around doing your ordinary activities. It is not all that difficult to train a mouse but you will need a great deal of patience.
To begin with, understand that your mouse is going to be motivated by treats as its reward for being smart. So your first step when you want to train your pet mouse is to buy an assortment of its' favorite treats. Have them handy where you can reach them easily.

The next step is to build trust between you and your pet mouse. This is the part where you are going to need a great deal of patience because it usually takes awhile before you see that first result. Put a treat in your hand and place your hand into the mouse's cage. Now sit back, read a book or magazine, and wait. Eventually, your mouse is going to crawl into your hand to take that treat from you. When that happens, replace the treat with another one and repeat the process.

Establishing familiarity is vital when you decide to train your pet mouse. If your mouse knows you and begins to form a bond of trust with you, the rest of the tricks will come easily. Once you get it to hop into your hand the first time, you will be able to build on that. Soon, it will be hurrying to climb into your hand because it has been taught to believe that there will be tasty treats there all the time.

Take this a step further. Move the treat about halfway up your arm. Your mouse will start to crawl there to retrieve it. Before you know it, you will have the mouse scurrying up your arm to find the treat that is waiting on your shoulder. This is how you can train your pet mouse to sit on your shoulder. It is all very easy to accomplish as long as you have patience and treats.