Clicker training applied to pet birds
Clicker training for a parrot is no different than the same techniques used for a dog, cat, or other pet.
Considered one of the most positive and effective ways to train animals of all species, clicker training is easy to perform and can be performed by literally any pet owner. In this article we’ll take a look at how clicker training works, what you need to do it well, and how you can start using clicker training to teach your bird just about any trick you want, right now!
Clicker training supplies
First things first: What do you need to train your pet bird? Obviously, a clicker is useful! Clickers come in many different colors and designs and can be found at most pet supply stores for a very affordable price.
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What you need to know before choosing a bird as a pet
When choosing a clicker, be sure to click it a few times to see if it is soft enough to use comfortably. Some clickers have more resistance than others and can cause discomfort if you have to apply too much pressure with your thumb to make a sound. You should also be able to immediately hear the «click» sound – the whole logic of the training is to be able to click at the exact moment when the animal has correctly done what you want to ask it.
Once you get the clicker, you’ll need to find some healthy and tasty treats to reward your feathered friend for a job well done. When choosing foods for training your bird, keep the following in mind:
- Choose a healthy, nutritious reward. You will repeat training sessions with your bird many times throughout the day, so you want to make sure that the reward you give your pet is not only tasty and satisfying, but low in fat and high in nutritional value. A good choice for treating birds is fresh food such as fruits and vegetables, occasionally with seeds or nuts for the purpose of strengthening them and providing variety.
- Cut the treats into small, easy-to-eat bites. If your bird gets full too quickly, he won’t be interested in doing what you ask to earn more treats! To maximize training sessions, use small pieces so that the bird is rewarded with a tasty snack without becoming full in the first few minutes. Small morsels of apple or pieces of grapes are excellent training foods that will satisfy and reward the bird without making it full too quickly.
Once you’ve chosen your clicker and tasty bird treats, you’re ready to move on to the next phase of your bird’s clicker training, conditioning your pet to the clicker! You’ve got the clicker, the treats, and your cock – so how do you get started with clicker training? Before you can train the bird, you must convince it to recognize you as a positive entity.
To achieve this, you need to go through a period of conditioning the bird to respond to the sound of the clicker. Conditioning the bird to respond to the click is actually a fairly simple and enjoyable process. To get started, simply repeat the following steps:
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- Click on the clicker.
- Give your bird a treat immediately.
This may seem too simple to be of much use, but what you’re doing here is getting your bird to associate the sound of the clicker with getting a reward, which is the absolute cornerstone of clicker training.
The reason animal trainers use clickers is essentially to replace the need to carry treats with them at all times. It is also much easier to quickly reward a bird for correctly performing a behavior with a quick «click» than it is to rummage through a bag of chopped fruit, find a small piece, and place it in the bird’s beak. With proper conditioning, the clicking sound will be a pleasure for the bird and will allow it to «mark» correct behaviors.
Repeating steps one and two listed above will help your bird form the association between «click» and «reward» needed to allow you to use the clicker to teach him the behaviors you want.
Once you notice that the bird waits for the reward every time it hears the «click», you will know that the association has formed and you can start using the clicker to train the bird to do almost anything you want – always remember to mark each correct behavior with a click and end training sessions with lots of treats and praise!
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Check out this great parrot training video on YouTube as an example of what clicker training can do for you and your bird!
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