Larry & the Rats: Good Terrier vs Good Boy

There are rats in a Larry’s house. Pet rats.

Meet Stella & Stitch

Poor Larry is caught in a conundrum. He is an excellent Terrier. And every instinct in his little body is telling him that if rats are in his house, it is his job to get rid of them. He is to chase them down, catch them, kill them. That is his job. He knows it.

However, while he is a good Terrier, he also desperately wants to be a “good boy”. And his people are telling him “no” when he jumps at the cage. They are holding the rats and petting them, and letting them crawl over them. And they are telling him he’s a good boy when he sits or lays quietly in the presence of the rats. They hold the rats and let him sniff them. He’s even gotten to lick a rat. (Whether he is trying to be social or deciding on the best wine pairing is something C and I are still debating.)

Larry is actually adapting to the rats very well. They have been in the house less than two weeks. We have rules to ensure the safety of the rats. They live in Pop Tart’s room. Unless either C or I is in there, her bedroom door must be closed. Larry is allowed no access to the rats without adult supervision, even if they are safely in their cage.

Also, our daughter is not allowed to be the one to “introduce” Larry to the rats. If he wants to sniff them (or lick them) C or I need to be holding the rat.

The first couple of days they were in the house, Larry could not settle. The first day, even if he was closed away in our room, he’d lie staring at our bedroom door. If allowed in the hallway, he would lie staring at Pop Tart’s door. He would scratch at her door and try to get in.

Mom, there’s a rat crawling on you…

Now, he settles just fine, and only stares at her door for a short period of time right after it has been opened and closed again. He can be calm enough around them that they will stretch out from one of our hands towards him, like they might want to walk on him. (I don’t think we’ll ever allow that. No matter how good he is, he’s still a Terrier. Plus, their claws are sharp and his coat is thin. We’d rather not set him up to fail or get all scratched.)

There are rats in Larry’s house. Pet rats.

You can see the tension in him, the fight between following his instincts and his training. For now, the training is winning. He listens to us; he sits; he lays down. He’s stopped jumping at the rat cage every 30 seconds. But it’s still hard, so hard to ignore all those instincts, all that Terrier nature.

And that means, no matter how good he’s being, it will always remain our job to be vigilant, to maintain an environment where being a “good boy” can always win.

Stella

Stitch