Bungle Training Success

[cycas]

Anyone who has read my regular posts about our pair of anarchic Bengals Bungles may remember that when we first had them they were incredibly rude about food.

 

If you ate at the table they would leap onto the table and try to eat off your plate. And probably eat the plate, too. If you had any food that they fancied on a plate on your lap, it would be stolen within seconds. When we stopped them doing that, they decided instead that they would leap, grab whatever was on your plate, and run off with it, growling furiously.

 

After a while we got to the point where we didn't have to shut them in the porch whenever we had a meal, (though when we had a toddler visit who wandered around the place holding food in one hand, we did have to shut them up, as they were definitely showing signs of wanting to eat her as well as what she was holding...)

 

Finally a while after that, Suma Bungle eventually decided that actually, food is nice but not quite as exciting as he had previously thought. He became a nice polite boy.

 

(I would have a nice recent photo of Suma Bungle looking well behaved here, only Kjetil Cat deleted all the photos off my sim card and I haven't taken any more yet. )

 

That left Yama Bungle. Yama *does* now know that he's not supposed to steal our food and run away with it, but he's not entirely happy about the idea. He still thinks that food is very VERY exciting. If you offered him something tasty, you'd better not be holding it in your fingers, if you want to continue to have 10 fingers.

 

We avoided this problem for ages by always feeding him food in a bowl and never offering him anything in fingers. Every so often, people would come to stay. 'DON'T give Yama treats! He'll eat your fingers!!!" we would warn our guests.

 

Inevitably, they would be bewitched by the sheer cuteness of his little blond face and his HUGE blue eyes, and would give him something held in their fingers*. And shortly afterwards, they would scream in agony as he bit and clawed them....

 

* again, would have photo, only they all got Kjetilled.

 

So, I decided I'd work on reinforcing a conflicting behaviour. I would bombard Yama with treats, as long as he had his front paws flat on the ground. I've been doing this for a few weeks now.

 

This evening, I had a steak. And I got to eat as much steak as I wanted. And then I got to chop up the rest of it, and feed it to

1) Mollydog

2) Az

3) Yama

 

Yama did not leap on my plate. He did not leap on the dogs and grab their steak. He did not try to eat my fingers. He did not try to grab his steak with claws, tearing chunks out of my hand.

 

He sat, with his four feet WELDED to the ground, stretching his neck until he looked like a tiny Bungle-shaped greyhound, and politely took chunks of steak FROM MY FINGERS!!!!

 

WOOOHOOOOO!!

[phoebejo]

Well done Perhaps that's what I should try with Athena

[K9Fran]

Brilliant!

[JulesB]

Training a cat, and not just any old cat either, a Bungle - now that's impressive

 

Can you come round and teach my ninja cat not to run at gentle Whuppety Jake and biff him please My cat would rather start a fight than have a treat

[BillyMalc]

WOW!!! Not having the foggiest about how cats' brains work, I am well impressed!!

[Sarah_H]

Hilarious!

 

I find training my Bengals similar to dogs has more effects than anything else! Jake my norty Bengal knows hand signals. A flat hand to stop him jumping up on something and a pointy finger if hes misbehaving will stop him in his tracks!

[merledogs]

Fabulous, well done Yama Bungle (and you of course)