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Author Topic: Oops! I'm a bad daddy...  (Read 1589 times)

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Jasonred79

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Oops! I'm a bad daddy...
« on: September 23, 2014, 10:54:27 AM »

So, today Popsicle was nibbling on me and he bit me too hard so I told him "ouch!" and I told him to be more gentle. And he gave me an apologetic look and resumed nibbling MUCH softer, so I petted him and called him good boy.

...

When I shared this incident with my mum, she was like "Shouldn't you teach him not to bite people at all?"

...

DOH!!! Me is a bad parent!!! OOPS!!!
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kageri

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Re: Oops! I'm a bad daddy...
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2014, 11:08:59 AM »

Actually "bite inhibition" is the main way you train dogs.  Rather than no bite you train a soft bite and steadily ask for a softer bite as they improve.  The thinking is that if you teach absolutely no bite the animal is going to end up in a situation at some point that it feels the need to react.  If they are taught various levels to react they will know how to bite softer to get their point across instead of just latching on because they were never allowed to test the strength of their bite.  It's not so much of an issue with chinchillas since they rarely bite hard when stressed anyway but the logic can be applied to such animals as well.
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GrayRodent

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Re: Oops! I'm a bad daddy...
« Reply #2 on: September 23, 2014, 11:50:38 AM »

I totally agree and I do that with my chinchilla as well. Nibbling and pulling is a part of chinchillas' mutual grooming practice. It is only when they exceed the human threshold of comfort that should be corrected. If you stop him from doing that altogether much will be lost. This is different than biting.
A chinchilla that bites from aggression is going to act quite a bit differently and a completely different approach is taken to correct that.
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Jasonred79

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Re: Oops! I'm a bad daddy...
« Reply #3 on: September 24, 2014, 01:07:35 PM »

So... I'm a good daddy? YAY!!!

... and Popsicle thinks I'm a chinchilla too eh. ... well, yeah, I suspected as much. Other than chin scratches, his favorite form of cuddling seems to be when I rub my face on his fur (on his back usually) or nibble his ears with my lips. He's very receptive to my picking him up after his dust bath and stroking excess dust out of his fur. And he gets me to remove shed tufts of hair. ... He think's I'm his roommate/ herd mate/ whatever a fellow chin is called; and that I'm grooming him, right. ... well, I *am* grooming him, so, erm, yeah.

So, I always wondered whether he was mounting my hand or such but I've figured out he's grooming me back. lol. ... lol, after I yawn and get tears on my face, he'll come up to me and wipe away my tears, he's such a sweetheart!
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GrayRodent

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Re: Oops! I'm a bad daddy...
« Reply #4 on: September 24, 2014, 02:02:32 PM »

Mounting is a bit more extreme than mere grooming and that usually brings, let's just say, quite undesirable behavior. Stroking your chinchilla down the length of his back may provoke that if you are not careful. If you copy your chinchillas grooming motions he'll usually groom you back. (Personally I do that with my fingers, not my mouth, but that's just me!)
« Last Edit: September 24, 2014, 07:50:17 PM by GrayRodent »
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kageri

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Re: Oops! I'm a bad daddy...
« Reply #5 on: September 24, 2014, 04:27:25 PM »

I have the same disagreement over horses.  I always let mine nibble clothes and hands like grooming so long as they behaved but some people would freak out that they weren't disciplined to not put humans in their mouth.
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GrayRodent

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Re: Oops! I'm a bad daddy...
« Reply #6 on: September 24, 2014, 07:47:59 PM »

There was a time when my mom's horse swallowed her long hair all the way down to her scalp. She thought he was just nibbling. Beware!

Also note that horses are unlike chinchillas in that they can cause life-threatening damage to a person with their teeth. Some horses are not as tameable as others. It is very important to know your horse well before you trust it enough to nibble and mouth on you. Not all horses should be allowed to do that.
« Last Edit: September 25, 2014, 08:01:19 AM by GrayRodent »
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Jasonred79

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Re: Oops! I'm a bad daddy...
« Reply #7 on: September 25, 2014, 03:43:57 AM »

Mounting is a bit more extreme than mere grooming and that usually brings, let's just say, quite undesirable behavior. Stroking your chinchilla down the length of his back may provoke that if you are not careful. If you copy your chinchillas grooming motions he'll usually groom you back. (Personally I do that with my fingers, not my mouth, but that's just me!)

Please elaborate!
Yeah, my preferance is hands too, but Popsicle seems to think I'm his same species, so he's happiest when treating me like he would another chin. Or something. I dunno. Like he likes to make a game out of playing tag or hide and seek, and will pretend to be surprised or startled when I catch him out in the open and jump and make a frenzied dash to a hiding place. Then when I go and find him, he'll come out on his own, give me a "we're buddies!" look, bump noses with me (like a chinchilla version of fistbumping), and then it's back to playing hide and seek.
... He's a real character... lol...
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GrayRodent

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Re: Oops! I'm a bad daddy...
« Reply #8 on: September 25, 2014, 07:37:13 AM »

As far as grooming I'll put my face right next to him over the shelf of the cage while he is grooming himself and grab his fur where he is grooming with my fingertips and pinch some together while gently pulling, just like he does with my arm hairs. He'll stop grooming himself and start grooming the top of my hand and then start going back and forth.
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LYChinchillas

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Re: Oops! I'm a bad daddy...
« Reply #9 on: October 19, 2014, 12:27:18 PM »

Yeah, my chins are in and out when it comes to nibbling. I have a black velvet male who LOVES eating clothes and seems willing to nibble on skin (not even just nails or fingers, but smooth skin such as on a forearm), but he's special in that sense haha.

One biting story about him though - he started fighting with his cage mate almost a year back, so we had to separate them completely. A few months back, the black velvet darted from my grasp and got into the other male's cage section, and upon separating them he bit me very hard and aggressively on my finger, thinking I was his nemesis. Needless to say, there was lots of blood and I initially felt like I would need stitches because it was quite deep, but it healed without much fuss. Those who asked what happened were quick to say "oh, well don't you think that maybe owning chinchillas isn't such a great idea?" or "yikes, chinchillas.." and I was even quicker to say - no, it was a mistake on MY part to have allowed them to come into contact again at all. But it IS a lesson for me in general to realize firsthand how deeply and strongly chins can bite, and how truly aggressive they can be towards each other when they feel threatened. Thankfully no chins were hurt!

But with my other 4 chins, they are very sweet and have never bitten nor nibbled on me or my clothing - my ladies prefer to lick, actually!
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