Training a Parrot No or Leave it with Positive Reinforcement

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Avian Behavior International

Күн бұрын

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@esoteric9333 3 жыл бұрын

2:21 is killing me 🤣 The testing and immediately looking at you for a treat is just hilarious and so very Bird!

@heatherwolf4551 4 жыл бұрын

I just came across this video a few days ago, and had a serious "why didn't I think of that?!" moment. I'd been racking my brain trying to figure out how to train my little GCC how to NOT attack bare toes, and this video was a ding, ding, ding! We didn't have much problem with it last summer, but she was a baby bird still. Now she's 1, and she is out for blood when it comes to bare toes. I have no idea what it is about toes that causes her to be so aggressive (same with balls, especially if they jingle). Over the last few days I've been training her "no", and she's picking it up! We're to the point where I say no, and am able wait a few moments after she responds to click. I'm beginning to see a barefoot summer on the horizon! Edit: I had already trained her to fetch, which I used to then train her to drop something (I ask her "can I have it?" and hold out my hand for her to drop it), and she does it nearly every time, so I think that has helped a lot with her picking it up so quickly.

@kristinapahordemaiti885 4 жыл бұрын

@Avian Behavior International Thanks for this great video! However, I am wondering how should one respond if the bird doesn't want to drop the thing/stop biting the plant (my problem) and come to you/look at you. In the video, your bird is always responding. He might touch the object, but eventually he always comes to you. So, should I start training with a small thing (not a plant obviously) that I can take away (if I see that the bird will go for it) or just keep saying no until he finally comes to me?

@loveyourparrot_ 5 жыл бұрын

Great positive training info!

@livi88888 3 жыл бұрын

Interesting, I’m willing to try this. I have a couple of fully tame lovebirds that know how to step up and fly to me on command. However, I find that positive reinforcement training doesn’t work when they are doing a hormonal activity like searching in cavities around the home. Sometimes to get them out of a space I can’t reach, I feel like I have to use something they are afraid of (a broom) to snap them out of this very intense focused mindset because they ignore commands and even ignore treats right in front of them. Same goes with trying to stop a bird in the middle of shredding, I can’t redirect her focus so best I can do is quickly try to remove the item. Thankfully it only comes up occasionally. Do you have suggestions on what I can do if food rewards aren’t enough to attract their attention?

@esoteric9333 3 жыл бұрын

What helped me with my birds hormonal behavior is targeting. Once you have a really good reinforcement history with targeting, it will redirect their attention better than a treat on its own. Instead of thinking necessarily about the treat, they're thinking about the action that is very engrained. And if you notice they are about to go somewhere they get nesty/hormonal around, see if you can distract them before they get to that point. I found it really helpful to have a separate container of super high value treats. My birds both recognize the sound when I rattle it, and it gets their attention.

@tuliko8678 5 жыл бұрын

This was very helpful and makes so much sense... will definitely help me with my new RFM baby ;) and will also start applying to my puppy! Xoxo

@avianbehavior 5 жыл бұрын

Glad you found it helpful. I always get so much inspiration from dog training, and vice versa.

@juliadettore603 4 жыл бұрын

How do you avoid having the bird then focus on these items? Wouldn't this eventually teach them that they get a treat when touching these "bad" items?

@avianbehavior 4 жыл бұрын

That's a good question! The point of this training is that there is always going to be something in their environment that we don't want them to mess with, whether it's for their safety or for our sanity. Making it a negative situation by yelling No! or trying to pull the item away can actually make the problem much worse. We could get bitten, we could have them become more possessive over it and they could do more damage or swallow it, or it could impact our relationship in other ways that has increased and sustained fallout over time. By teaching No as a way to look to me for information as to what to do next, we can redirect them to look for better things to occupy their time and replace the problem behavior.

@killuhcali 4 жыл бұрын

@@avianbehavior I was thinking the same as the above question, What happens when the bird doesn't get a treat and you say no? Wouldn't the positive reinforcement begin to have less value? One might not always have treats on hand as well. Thanks

@avianbehavior 4 жыл бұрын

@@killuhcali Yeah, that's a great question! Once you establish this kind of training, you don't always have to have a treat. Reinforcers can come in lots of different ways, it depends on what your bird finds valuable. Because "No" means that something positive will happen instead of the bird getting fearful and stressed, he has a better relationship with you and more reason to find smaller interactions more reinforcing. Sometimes we can't keep them away from everything dangerous, and teaching NO! doesn't mean they seek dangerous things, it means they look to us for more information to be redirected and we can then set up the environment to help them be more successful. I have more information on the blog at avianbehaviorlab.com