January is often considered “Train your Dog” month. It makes sense; start a new year with a new plan to train your pup to sit, heel, and come when you call them. However, dogs aren’t the only pets who need a little training. Whether the benefits are purely to keep your pet from being bored, or to protect them from harmful situations, it’s quite possible to train your cats, fish, and reptiles too.
Training Cats
While cats are known for basically doing as they please, it is possible to train them. For instance, cats easily learn to use their litter boxes, find their food, and understand feeding times.
However, I’ve trained my own cat to sit on a towel in order to keep her from getting too close to the stove when I’m cooking. Through the use of treats, she learned quickly that “towel” was her place and now she willing goes there.
You can also train cats to do tricks through the use of training treats too. They’re very food motivated even though they’re extra stubborn!
Training Fish
You can train your fish to recognize you pretty easily. Fish have great vision and can differentiate between faces. Because they learn your routine, you can “train” them to come out and play when you get home from work, for instance.
More exciting, though, is that you can train a fish to follow your finger, eat from your hand, and even jump through hoops! Check out this video for ideas.
Train Your Reptile
Finally, if you’re a reptile enthusiast wondering what your own pet is capable of, we’ve got a few ideas for you. Snake training is really more about teaching the pet to trust you and to feel calm in your presence and their environment.
It IS possible to train snakes to tap certain objects. Like most pets, they’re food motivated and willing to learn for people they trust!
If you have any questions about your pets feel free to stop in and chat with our pet professionals!