An interview about hobbies with pets

[ampsum]

Hi!

I'm an animal carer student from Finland and I am making my final project on what people have as hobbies with their rabbits and rodents in different countries. For the project I would like to hear not only the organization's but also the enthusiasts' answers to some questions about the hobby. So I would be very grateful if as many persons as possible who have a hobby with their rabbit / rodent (competing or not!) would answer at least some of the following questions. It's also okay to answer via PM or e-mail ([e-mail])! Thank you already in advance!

Which country do you come from?
What pets do you have?
What do you have as a hobby with your pet? Do you also compete in it?

With how many pets do you have the hobby?
How long have you had the hobby and how did you get interested in it?
Was it easy to find information about the hobby, especially in the beginning?
How did you hear about it for the first time?
Why did you choose just that hobby, what was so interesting in it?

How long are you ready to travel to get to competitions and what has been the longest distance so far?
Have you competed abroad? If not, are you going to compete abroad?
How often do you compete with your pet or if you don't compete how often do you practise with it?
How do you prepare your pet for the competitions?

Have you trained your pet because of the hobby or otherwise?
If you have trained which method have you used (clicker..?) and what have you taught the pet?

Is there something else you would like to say about the hobby with a pet?

Yours sincerely Maija R.

[gerbilmama]

Hello,
I would be glad to answer as best I can.

1.I come from the United States
2.I have 19 gerbils
3.I have a lot of activities I do with my gerbils. I let them run up my sleeves as well as the inside of them. We have running ball races as well as chewing races. We also teach them a little bit of agility (jumping as high as they can onto our hands). We go to a gerbil show every year where gerbils are entered in the chewing and running contests. We also show our gerbils in a contest that judges gerbils based on temperament and appearance. This is also held at the gerbil show. My hobbie is to rehab troubled, aggressive, and anxious gerbils.
4.We do this hobby with all of the gerbils
5.I've had the hobby for a year and 6 months. I was lonely at home and wanted something to keep me company. So I did a bunch of research and brought home my first pair of gerbils, Sammie and Cammie. My love for them escalated from there.
6.I found information about gerbil agility, chewing contests, and running contests as well as the show fairly easy. Deciding to rehab gerbils was a personal decision that I came up with on my own.
7.I heard about gerbil agility and their fun activities from the internet and gerbil show demonstrations
8.I have always found gerbil behaviors to be interesting and I wanted to learn everything I could about gerbil behavior and communicating with them
9. It really depends on the amount of money at the time. The longest distance has been 3 and 1/2 hours.
10.We have not competed abroad. Maybe someday
11.We are entering our own gerbils for the first time into the gerbil show. Last time we went and observed everything so we could learn.
12.I make sure the gerbil eats a good healthy diet, they get plenty of dust baths for a nice coat, and I spend lots of time with them to make sure they continue to be hand tame. I do all these things normally anyways though.
13.I have trained them a little bit in agility.
14. For the gerbils that love to jump I have placed my hand above them so they would jump into my hand. I would keep testing the boundaries to see what distance they were comfortable with jumping. Now they jump at the ready to get into my hand considering the distance is agreeable to them.

15. Living and working with, as well as loving on 19 gerbils is the greatest treat I could have ever been given. They give my life such meaning and purpose and they brighten the most darkest of days.

[blackwolf]

Which country do you come from? Im from Estonia
What pets do you have? i have 2 gerbils
What do you have as a hobby with your pet? Do you also compete in it? I do a little agility with them. Yes, there´s not much competes in estonia but Jessy vlub sometimes have competitions.

With how many pets do you have the hobby? 2
How long have you had the hobby and how did you get interested in it? I´ve done it about year now and i saw a video on youtube about gerbil who did agility and i was stunned. Then i tought-when i ´ll have gerbils-i´ll do that too.
Was it easy to find information about the hobby, especially in the beginning? Not really. It´ s pretty easy hobby and youtube is full of videos gerbils(or other dodents doing) doing agility.
How did you hear about it for the first time? *
Why did you choose just that hobby, what was so interesting in it? I´ve always liked agilty, it´s hobby with my dog too.

How long are you ready to travel to get to competitions and what has been the longest distance so far? Not far, i dont own car and i cant travel alone(without parents) and i think my parents wont come woth me.. Lol so far is about 100 km only xD
Have you competed abroad? If not, are you going to compete abroad? No and no...
How often do you compete with your pet or if you don't compete how often do you practise with it? I try to practice every day, and i dont compete much. I think thats a little bid too much stress for them.
How do you prepare your pet for the competitions? I practice, practice, practice.

Have you trained your pet because of the hobby or otherwise?*
If you have trained which method have you used (clicker..?) and what have you taught the pet? I´ve used treat. They dont know commmand or that, they just jump over where is nessesearly or cross the blank.

Is there something else you would like to say about the hobby with a pet? I dont do that hobby cause i like it, i do it because that looks fun to my gerbils too. It needs brainwork and fastfeets.


* Didnt get that Q. (sry, my english is not very good. )

[vilmaxiii]

i come from Canada
i have gerbils only
my hobby is pet owning and breeding on small scale .working or gerbil in captivity documentary

i now have 5 gerbils one breeding pair and a female that had pups got her from pet shop and my belldandy and odin.

its been about 4 years owning gerbils. i used to have and breed rats. i stopped for a while then when ready to have pets i feel in love with a gerbil in the pet shop.
for info i got a simple book, did more research and learning form my gerbils as i go.

i loved bonding and watching gerbils they are very interesting and social. and darn cute

i drove 3 hours to a show once the next one will only be 45 mins away im pumped!
i have only competed once but i don't really have any super good showcuality as right now I'm only having them as pets till i have pups from my pair.
i go to shows once a year cause there are not to many around

i trained belldandy and Thor to climb up my arm ans sit on shoulder awaiting a seed they are the only ones that successfully do this..lol
food can just about get them to do that trick every time
having a pet is very rewarding and comforting!! i love animals and having one or more as a pall is awesome!