Comments on: I’m BAAACK… and I paid for it http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/im-baaack-and-i-paid-for-it/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:51:04 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Diana Fischer http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/im-baaack-and-i-paid-for-it/comment-page-1/#comment-11642 Diana Fischer Sun, 17 May 2009 10:42:59 +0000 http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/im-baaack-and-i-paid-for-it/#comment-11642 For all of you who have adopted abused birds, and they are very nervous and difficult to handle, I am a dog behaviorist who trains abused dogs and have many adopted animals. The word for this is ,"TIME!" Before initiating any form of training, just let the bird be! Feed it, clean the cage and spend time in the room doing things around it, but don't try and get it to love you or do anything other than just, "BE!" This could be a period of weeks, or months If you do that, it will become interested in you. If an abused animal or bird does not want to come to you, do not try and make it come, as you will only make it more afraid. Any animal or bird will want to come to a person who just lets it be who it is without venturing into any training. That does not mean not talking to it, and being near it. Your bird needs to feel that it is safe and that you are not going to expect things from it. One day, in a few months, it will venture closer and closer, but do not take this as an OK to touch it, or you will have lost all those months. While cleaning it's cage and feeding it, one day it may approach your hand, and touch it. allow it to do this without touching it back, it will not be ready for that, and you will lose all those months, even if it puts it's head down for a scratch. It will soon want to just get on your hand, as if it were a perch. Leave your hand where it is and don't move it out of the cage. Let the bird explore your hand on it's own. Soon it will come onto your hand quite often, and it is then that when it gets on your hand you can do the , "step up," Just as it is enjoying this, place it back onto it's perch and take your hand out of the cage. Do not do this again that day. Continue this for a week or so, and when it is getting on and off your hand in the cage, you might try a little touch to one of it's feet. If it allows this continue this for a few weeks until you can stroke it's feet without it being upset. Now leave it for a few days without doing this anymore, even if you are dying to do it again. You have to stop doing what it likes so that it is dying for you to do it again. Next step is to do move in it's cage, like moving things around and so it gets used to you doing things around it without touching it, as your bird must feel safe that even though you are in it's cage that does not mean you are going to force it to do things. If it gets on your hand, gently put it back on it's perch, and if it comes back, repeat this, so that your bird becomes desperate to get on your hand, your bird needs to feel close to you, but in it's past life, it was mistreated by humans so it never felt safe. The next step is to touch it's head if it puts it down for a scratch, while on your hand. Then you can start moving it around the cage and placing it in different areas, and then doing this again and again. Now leave it for a few days. Then let it get on your hand again and move it around for a few days and towards the door of the cage. Then take it out of the door and put it back into the cage. Continue this for a week or so until it is confident moving in and out of the cage on your hand or finger, but don't place it on top of the cage. Leave off for a few days, and try touching it's chest, and head, and feet. Move it in and out of the cage. Leave off for a few days, and go back and repeat all these moves, and have it step up and down on command stop befor the bird wants to stop and leave off for a few days. What this will do for your bird is build a real desire to have you handle it, as just as it is getting to enjoy this, you are stopping thus increasing the birds desire to be with you. When it follows commands well , stepping up and down and passing through the door and back. Six to eight months, your bird is ready for out of the cage, as it will feel very safe on your hand by this time, and you hand will become your birds safe harbour.It will also be used to you touching it on the feet chest and head, so if you do touch these areas while moving it in and out of the cage it won't freak out, because your hand, instead of being some kind of weapon as it had been in it;s previous life, it will be the safe place now, the good place now. Your bird is now ready to explore the out side of it's cage for a few minutes. Then leave off just as it begins to enjoy this, as it will increase it's desire. This training is like great sex. You give it a taste and stop. Bad sex is when you are rushed into something you are not sure about, great sex is when you are denied the whole process for ages until you are so crazy for it you think of nothing else. This builds such a strong bond between you and your abused animal and so much trust, that your bird is ready to do anything you want. All animals and humans share this. Most people do not understand this as no one has ever done this to them. They have always been rushed or felt rushed or done things to please others, and they have never been denied sex, by the man they have gone out with. Even the ugliest man on the planet can make a woman crazy for him with this method, and any animal who is allowed to go at it's own pace will also respond to this kind of training, especially as it is just getting used to it, you stop. The stopping the the treat or training tool, is the key to trust. Without trust your bird will always wonder how far this is going to go, and draw back. We as humans, want to move too fast, and if they give an inch, we want more. Never allow them to give an inch in the beginning, always stop before they even want to. Always stop play just as they are enjoying it, always stop training when they are enjoying it. Never, ever go as far as you want because you are making progress, that is the most important time to stop training. As you go along with your bird, never train every day. training is going to be that special time you spend together, and special is not all the time. You have to keep desire going, by withdrawing all the time, just as they are loving it. Good books, good music and good sex, have cliff hangers to draw you into it, and that is what training is all about, drawing your bird to a cliff hanger of pleasure and stopping. I took three years to train my bird. She is an African Grey, she is not the slightest bit nervous about anything. She does everything with me now, takes her shower with me, and sleeps with me under the covers at night. She loves nothing more than to be close to me. She never screams, or is demanding, as she knows she will have plenty of time with me. Even f I am busy working in the day, she knows she will be sleeping with me, so she is quite satisfied. Train for a life time together, not for a week or two. There is no rush, except the rush you put on yourself and your bird. My demonstration dogs take three years to train, and that is because I use the same method. I could train them in a year, but I choose to train for a life time of work, not a week or two, and that means training and stopping training and stopping. I do the same with horses, I train and then I leave them in a field for six months and I train again and leave off. If you want steady and a bird that feels no stress as training is incredibly stressful, and can make your bird sick from stress. GO SLOW. You are not in a competition, with anyone. Your bird is something you love, and if you love it, you will bring it along slowly, at it's own pace. Your bird does not have to be a star. It may become a star, but only if you do things with it for pleasure and for mutual enjoyment. Your goal should be a happy bird, not a bird to impress others. It is your bird, and you have it because you love it and you hope it will love you too. Love grows, and it takes time for that bond to become strong, even between humans. There is no such thing as instant love. For all of you who have adopted abused birds, and they are very nervous and difficult to handle, I am a dog behaviorist who trains abused dogs and have many adopted animals. The word for this is ,”TIME!”

Before initiating any form of training, just let the bird be! Feed it, clean the cage and spend time in the room doing things around it, but don’t try and get it to love you or do anything other than just, “BE!” This could be a period of weeks, or months

If you do that, it will become interested in you. If an abused animal or bird does not want to come to you, do not try and make it come, as you will only make it more afraid. Any animal or bird will want to come to a person who just lets it be who it is without venturing into any training. That does not mean not talking to it, and being near it.

Your bird needs to feel that it is safe and that you are not going to expect things from it.

One day, in a few months, it will venture closer and closer, but do not take this as an OK to touch it, or you will have lost all those months.

While cleaning it’s cage and feeding it, one day it may approach your hand, and touch it. allow it to do this without touching it back, it will not be ready for that, and you will lose all those months, even if it puts it’s head down for a scratch.

It will soon want to just get on your hand, as if it were a perch. Leave your hand where it is and don’t move it out of the cage. Let the bird explore your hand on it’s own. Soon it will come onto your hand quite often, and it is then that when it gets on your hand you can do the , “step up,”

Just as it is enjoying this, place it back onto it’s perch and take your hand out of the cage. Do not do this again that day. Continue this for a week or so, and when it is getting on and off your hand in the cage, you might try a little touch to one of it’s feet. If it allows this continue this for a few weeks until you can stroke it’s feet without it being upset.

Now leave it for a few days without doing this anymore, even if you are dying to do it again. You have to stop doing what it likes so that it is dying for you to do it again.

Next step is to do move in it’s cage, like moving things around and so it gets used to you doing things around it without touching it, as your bird must feel safe that even though you are in it’s cage that does not mean you are going to force it to do things. If it gets on your hand, gently put it back on it’s perch, and if it comes back, repeat this, so that your bird becomes desperate to get on your hand, your bird needs to feel close to you, but in it’s past life, it was mistreated by humans so it never felt safe.

The next step is to touch it’s head if it puts it down for a scratch, while on your hand. Then you can start moving it around the cage and placing it in different areas, and then doing this again and again.

Now leave it for a few days. Then let it get on your hand again and move it around for a few days and towards the door of the cage. Then take it out of the door and put it back into the cage. Continue this for a week or so until it is confident moving in and out of the cage on your hand or finger, but don’t place it on top of the cage.

Leave off for a few days, and try touching it’s chest, and head, and feet. Move it in and out of the cage. Leave off for a few days, and go back and repeat all these moves, and have it step up and down on command stop befor the bird wants to stop and leave off for a few days.

What this will do for your bird is build a real desire to have you handle it, as just as it is getting to enjoy this, you are stopping thus increasing the birds desire to be with you. When it follows commands well , stepping up and down and passing through the door and back. Six to eight months, your bird is ready for out of the cage, as it will feel very safe on your hand by this time, and you hand will become your birds safe harbour.It will also be used to you touching it on the feet chest and head, so if you do touch these areas while moving it in and out of the cage it won’t freak out, because your hand, instead of being some kind of weapon as it had been in it;s previous life, it will be the safe place now, the good place now.

Your bird is now ready to explore the out side of it’s cage for a few minutes. Then leave off just as it begins to enjoy this, as it will increase it’s desire.

This training is like great sex. You give it a taste and stop. Bad sex is when you are rushed into something you are not sure about, great sex is when you are denied the whole process for ages until you are so crazy for it you think of nothing else. This builds such a strong bond between you and your abused animal and so much trust, that your bird is ready to do anything you want.

All animals and humans share this. Most people do not understand this as no one has ever done this to them. They have always been rushed or felt rushed or done things to please others, and they have never been denied sex, by the man they have gone out with. Even the ugliest man on the planet can make a woman crazy for him with this method, and any animal who is allowed to go at it’s own pace will also respond to this kind of training, especially as it is just getting used to it, you stop. The stopping the the treat or training tool, is the key to trust. Without trust your bird will always wonder how far this is going to go, and draw back.

We as humans, want to move too fast, and if they give an inch, we want more. Never allow them to give an inch in the beginning, always stop before they even want to. Always stop play just as they are enjoying it, always stop training when they are enjoying it. Never, ever go as far as you want because you are making progress, that is the most important time to stop training.

As you go along with your bird, never train every day. training is going to be that special time you spend together, and special is not all the time. You have to keep desire going, by withdrawing all the time, just as they are loving it.

Good books, good music and good sex, have cliff hangers to draw you into it, and that is what training is all about, drawing your bird to a cliff hanger of pleasure and stopping.

I took three years to train my bird. She is an African Grey, she is not the slightest bit nervous about anything. She does everything with me now, takes her shower with me, and sleeps with me under the covers at night. She loves nothing more than to be close to me. She never screams, or is demanding, as she knows she will have plenty of time with me. Even f I am busy working in the day, she knows she will be sleeping with me, so she is quite satisfied.

Train for a life time together, not for a week or two. There is no rush, except the rush you put on yourself and your bird. My demonstration dogs take three years to train, and that is because I use the same method. I could train them in a year, but I choose to train for a life time of work, not a week or two, and that means training and stopping training and stopping. I do the same with horses, I train and then I leave them in a field for six months and I train again and leave off. If you want steady and a bird that feels no stress as training is incredibly stressful, and can make your bird sick from stress. GO SLOW. You are not in a competition, with anyone. Your bird is something you love, and if you love it, you will bring it along slowly, at it’s own pace. Your bird does not have to be a star. It may become a star, but only if you do things with it for pleasure and for mutual enjoyment.

Your goal should be a happy bird, not a bird to impress others. It is your bird, and you have it because you love it and you hope it will love you too. Love grows, and it takes time for that bond to become strong, even between humans. There is no such thing as instant love.

]]> By: Paul in Ontario http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/im-baaack-and-i-paid-for-it/comment-page-1/#comment-9749 Paul in Ontario Thu, 22 Jan 2009 03:46:07 +0000 http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/im-baaack-and-i-paid-for-it/#comment-9749 Hey Chet, I'm wondering if you'll be updating dear ol' Bean's tale and get us up to date on how his training's gone and if he's stopped plucking. I expect that 9 months past his last update he's probably a wonderful, warm and friendly bird by now but I'm still really curious to see what happened, how you got him to begin trusting, some of the "aha!" moments you undoubtedly ran across as he taught you a few new "how to train" trick too. Yours and patiently waiting for my Training package to make it across the border, Paul in Ontario, Canada Hey Chet,

I’m wondering if you’ll be updating dear ol’ Bean’s tale and get us up to date on how his training’s gone and if he’s stopped plucking. I expect that 9 months past his last update he’s probably a wonderful, warm and friendly bird by now but I’m still really curious to see what happened, how you got him to begin trusting, some of the “aha!” moments you undoubtedly ran across as he taught you a few new “how to train” trick too.

Yours and patiently waiting for my Training package to make it across the border,
Paul in Ontario, Canada

]]> By: Peg Capalongo http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/im-baaack-and-i-paid-for-it/comment-page-1/#comment-9703 Peg Capalongo Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:48:52 +0000 http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/im-baaack-and-i-paid-for-it/#comment-9703 Hi Chet: I have just adopted an 18 month old Congo Grey names Ashye. It has taken her several weeks to be comfortable and happy in her new environment. Her owner hand raised her and has now left her to go back to Paris. She started plucking feathers, but I seem to have diminished that behavior by giving her lots of love and toys. I can pet her int he cage, but when she is out of the cage it gets tricky. Her previous owner apparently taught her to fly by having her on his hand and throwing her int he air. This means that the only time I can get her to step up is if she has flown and hard landed somewher. As soon as she steps up, she takes off again. My questions are: should I have her clipped? and how do I get her to step up and not fly off. Thanks, Peg Hi Chet:
I have just adopted an 18 month old Congo Grey names Ashye. It has taken her several weeks to be comfortable and happy in her new environment. Her owner hand raised her and has now left her to go back to Paris. She started plucking feathers, but I seem to have diminished that behavior by giving her lots of love and toys. I can pet her int he cage, but when she is out of the cage it gets tricky. Her previous owner apparently taught her to fly by having her on his hand and throwing her int he air. This means that the only time I can get her to step up is if she has flown and hard landed somewher. As soon as she steps up, she takes off again. My questions are: should I have her clipped? and how do I get her to step up and not fly off.
Thanks,
Peg

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