How-To: Teaching Herbert to Stand

Herbert learning Stand

The first trick I decided to teach Herbert is Stand. It's probably one of the easiest tricks to teach your hamster, since it is a common behavior that they do often. Herbert is constantly standing at the edge of his cage asking to come out to play once he wakes up or standing at the edge of his playpen when he hears my voice nearby.

Once you have gathered your training supplies, which consist of your clicker, treats, a secure location for your hamster to train (a playpen, bin, or cage), and your hamster, you can begin.

Here are the steps to teach your hamster to Stand.

1. Pick a level and stable surface to have your hamster stand on.
2. Have a treat in your hand. Show it to your hamster.
3. Lift the treat above your hamsters head.
4. When your hamster's front paws come off the floor and he is standing, click and then give him the treat while he is still standing.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until your hamster will do it without you having to have a treat in your hand.
6. Practice Stand on different surfaces.

Herbert learning Stand on different surfaces.

Notes:
*Make sure there isn't anything around your hamster that he can use to cheat by placing his front paws onto to help him balance.
*Keep your training sessions short, 10 minutes tops. Hamsters have short attention spans. It might take several sessions until your hamster is standing without a treat in your hand.
*Only add your command when you are 100% sure that you can get your hamster to stand. Your command will come before you give your hamster your hand signal (lifting your hand above his head).

How-To: Training Hamsters 101

Training your hamster should be relatively easy once you know the basics. He will respond best to positive reward based training. What does that mean? When he does something you like, give him a treat. Don't harm him. Hamsters often scare easily and harming him in any way will hurt your relationship with your new friend.

Herbert eating a carrot

First thing you will need to do is find out what kind of treats your hamster likes best. These will be the treats you use to reward him for doing the behaviors you want and like. It will also sometimes be the treats you use to get him to do the behaviors you want. Each hamster is different so take the time to try different foods and find out exactly what are your hamster's favorites. Also, keep in mind that your new friend is very small. You will need to make your treats small too. You might need to break up your raisin or peanut into 8-10 pieces so you can get the most out of your training treat.

Herbert getting ready to train

Next you will need a clicker. A clicker marks the good behavior and is always followed by a treat. Often it helps training progress faster. Use something that is soft sounding, not loud. A loud noise might scare your hamster. I am currently using a click pen as a clicker. Every time I click the pen Herbert gets a treat. He loves it!

Lastly you will need a place to train your hamster. You can train him in his cage or in a training arena or playpen. I would start in his cage and once he is comfortable with playing in his playpen start training there as well. Once he knows how to do his tricks in those two places start to practice in even more places!

So there you have it. The basics for training. Now you can get started.