Saturday 11 January 2014

Clicker training parrots ~ How to end a training session the right way

Now you're probably thinking to yourself, there's a right way to end a training session!? Well don't be too alarmed, because there really is

Okay I'm going to give you a scenario and Clyde, my OWA, will be my example yet again (note this didn't actually happen)

Clyde already knows how to step up and we have started on recall training. Clyde recalls twice brilliantly but on the third try he isn't successful and is unsure. I end the training session because I fear he's stressed and I put him back in his cage and leave him be

You're doing it wrong Daisy! Here's how it should look...

Clyde recalls twice brilliantly but on the third try he isn't successful and is unsure. I ask him to step up and give him a reward. He is then put back into his cage 

See what I did? I curbed his anxiety by changing what trick I was asking him to do

If you end your session on a bad note, your bird won't want to work for you. S/he'll be thinking 'what was the point in that? I didn't get anything out of it!'. If you change your tactics and end on something good then your bird will feel rewarded and will be more comfortable the next time you have a session. Make sure you end on something your bird knows and is good at!

Another thing I would like to add here is that you should not keep your training sessions longer than a couple of minutes. If you push your bird s/he won't respond as well to training as quite frankly, it becomes a bore. You can have short sharp training sessions throughout the day. I recommend doing one before the morning meal and before their evening meal. Keep it engaging and fun


Blue throated macaw recalling free at Loro Parque




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