aggressive goo

[nubbin]

one of my three males, Bernard, has started becoming aggressive towards me and my girlfriend if we try to touch him, its not always but occasionally he'll growl and then try to nip our fingers, is there an easy way i can quell this, ive tried positive reinforcement by holding and open hand and giving him treats when he touches it without aggression, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[malteser60]

ah, now this is where the 'dominance' hold will be useful (if done properly).

Essentially, according to Bernard you are now officially a degu and part of the group. Do I take it Bernarnd is the dominant degu? Well, he wants to be dominant over you and your girlfriend (that sounds dodgy doesn't it ). So you need to show Bernard that you and your girlfriend are 'top goos' so to speak. So, what you do next time Bernard is growling and nipping your fingers is to pick him up (using the scoop method of course), have his head pointing towards your fingers, put your other hand on top, and flip him over, so that Bernard will be lying belly up, being held in position by you.

This position is a very vulnerable position for degus, and it is used by the dominant 'top' degu to other degus to maintain his or her dominance. This method is not to be abused, because as I mentioned, it makes degus feel very vulnerable.

Anyhow, keep Bernard in that position for a couple seconds, then flip him back over again. When you do this you have to be confident and firm. He may try to struggle back, and the longer he struggles against you the less effective this method is. Then after you flip him back to normal give him lots of love and treats. What you're telling him is that you are top degu, you have proved it by putting him in the vulnerable position, and that you still love him lots - he just needs to know that you're at the top, not him.

Hope this helps.

Edit: I also want to say that by doing this you are keeping the hierarchy nice and stable, which creates a better atmosphere for all three boys and you. As degus work as a hierarchy this will be important for them. All you are doing is establishing your position in the hierarchy in the language that they know.

[w8152]

As a side note I hold mine on their back until they stop wriggling and submit. If you turn them back too soon it may be seen as a victory for them not you...

[malteser60]

Good point w8152. Once they submit then it's ok. Normally I find if you do it fast and in a decisive way they don't have much time to react and struggle. I think that's the key there, to be firm with them and decisive.