How to Teach a Pet Monkey Tricks

From the days of the organ grinders, monkeys have been trained to do tricks. Whatever the species, pet monkeys are intelligent and capable of being good companions if tamed and trained properly. But they are still wild animals, and special care is needed to make sure the relationship works for both human and monkey.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Get professional help. Unless you are experienced with monkeys, ask for help from experts on how to deal with specific situations. An exotic animal like a pet monkey is not like a dog or cat, so you must be sure you are doing the right thing from the moment you acquire the primate.

2. Wait until the monkey is an adult to trick train. Professional handlers say it's best to use their juvenile years for taming, and then begin teaching him to do tricks. Starting too early undermines the training.

3. Start simple. Begin with easy tricks before working up to ones which are more complicated.

4. Make certain the pet money knows exactly what you want her to do. Use the same command each time, and teach only 1 trick at a time. Let her master a trick before moving on to the next one.

5. Reward with food. Use a special treat your pet monkey loves as the reward for doing a trick. Hide the treat and withhold it until he does the trick. If he sees the treat it may only frustrate him and increase your chances of getting bit.

6. Repetition is key. Go over the trick again and again until the pet monkey associates your command with the action you want her to perform.

7. Take breaks. Many monkey experts find training works best when done for 15 minutes several times a day, rather than 1 long session. Otherwise the pet monkey (and you) are likely to get bored.

Tips & Warnings

• A pet monkey will do things on his own which you may consider cute or a trick. Reward this behavior, and he will repeat it.
• Don't lose your temper with the pet monkey and never strike her even if you are frustrated. She will associate your anger with the trick and all will be lost.