Vanhimself wrote: Wow these are some really interesting opinions.

I got a few other T's and did tons of research and now I am scared to handle my curly. I think my GBB is even more docile. ANyway keep us posted. I really want to read more.

I definetly thing doing too much research can be a bit of a hinder at times. All depends on your research, but sometimes what the majority of people agree on is not necessarily the truth, or it might not be the truth for you.

One the factors that I have isolated in my training with dogs is that your attitude has a lot to do with it. What you feel towards the animal has a big effect. And I think that has to do with the T's as well. So that is a point to take into consideration.

It is still early stages of my training, but my Lasiodora parahybana has stopped trying to bite me. I will keep you posted.

As scientific information it will be interesting , but for me i enjoy my tarantulas as they are naturally. Also Dogs are very different to Tarantulas, they have evolved to have a pack leader, tarantulas on the other hand have to be reclusive and defensive by nature to survive, they have very different threats to what dogs do.Just my 1$

Btw, what is your experience with old world Tarantulas? what species have you worked with...?

Reynolds wrote:
Btw, what is your experience with old world Tarantulas? what species have you worked with...?

Just the Horned Baboon when I was a kid, and then I have a King Baboon, but haven't started working with her yet.

On training of your Tarantulas, I don't think you can train them per-say, just get them used to being handled.
But the main key is how you get them to get onto your hand or out the enclosure, once a spider flicks hairs, gives you a threat pose, or bolts to get away or shows it's fangs then you now you have down something wrong and the spider is upset, scared, wants your blood or just not in the mood, increasing your chances of getting tagged or uitracted hairs in the face.

It's easy enough to hold any Tarantula just like going out side and picking up your True spiders, there intend is not to bite you, but a wrong move from your part just might change that happy go lucky spider that it bites you.

I have handled all my tarantulas in my collection from the most aggressive to the never ending uitracting hair flicker,(always done this outside on the grass and once the spider is out its enclosure) In the back of my mind I now there is always a chance that the tarantula being handled on the day decides to bite you, takes off due to getting a fright, Whatever happens that day is not planned.

But I can say, My girlfriend holds her spiders she takes them out picks them up and even spoke Baby talk to them, loved them, (I think if she could of hugged and kissed them she would of.) :whistle:
Her spiders are calm, cool and collected never flick, never show signs of aggression.
My spiders on the other Hand don't get touched the only time they get touched is when they get moved into another enclosure, and I use a paint brush.

But I think it comes down to the owner, If you want to make a system like this I think you should give it a try and do it,
Keep records of everything you do even record your findings there are people out there that love to hold there spiders and if your system works, to make it allot easier to achieve this goal them cool,

But as you said

Robert wrote: When I was a kid I had two Horned Baboons. From what I have now read, they are not easily handle able. Nowdays I have actually developed a bit of a fear for some of my T's, and part of that was the opinion I had created about their behaviour through what I had read.

OK. So tonight I think I made a breakthrough!!!

I think I isolated the link between rat training and Tarantula Training. We might even be able to get a T to run a maize. Now how cool would that be?

I was handling my 6 year old Salmon Pink (Lasiadora Parahybana if you must know). I have been trying to handle her for a week, and she just scares me. She can take off like a shot. She can stand up at me. She can flick. And she can hiss. And she does them all in one sitting. And did I say she scares me? So today I decided "Enough! Today she goes on my hand!". So I pushed through all of her defence machanism and got her onto my hand. And she was fine with it, and she just sat there. And I kept her there for a while, and let her go back home. Man, that was good!!!

So some of this is on video. But it is going to take some serious editing, as there were just too many times when I was totally out of range. I still have to figure out how to shoot while I do my stuff. Especially when you have a fully grown Salmon Pink on your hands.