Giving the clicker value is simple. Food, toys, cuddles etc. Whatever it is that your bird desires the most!
By now you should already know what your birds favourite food is and I hope you found out through reading the previous blog post. What you're going to do is you're going to get a shallow dish and fill it with more than enough treats for a training session*. Have your bird on top of his/her cage or stand or whatever. Click your clicker and offer them the bowl swiftly (but not too quick so you startle them). If you've been sticking to a feeding regime, you should have little trouble getting them to eat from the dish. Do it again. Click and treat. If you're using fuss or toys then use them in the same way
* Only make your training sessions about 2-3 minutes long. Your bird will lose interest if you make them work at the same thing for too long *
Clyde working for some dehydrated papaya |
The idea is that the bird will associate the click with getting a treat. A good way to see if your bird has gotten the hang of it is to click but don't give them a treat. If they're anticipating it, or looking for it, then you know you can move on to the next step. If your bird isn't overly interested yet then don't be too disheartened. Keep it up and they will eventually catch on. The clicker is a valuable tool!
Your bird should be becoming more and more confident taking food from the bowl for a reward so as long as you feel they are ready you can take it up a notch. Show the bowl with the food in, but click and slowly offer the bird a treat from between your fingers. It may take a long time to pick up on but eventually your bird will trust you enough to take the plunge if they're really wanting that treat!
In the next blog post I will be introducing target training, as well as writing separate blog posts on how to end a training session and how to get a fearful bird out of their cage
Your bird should be becoming more and more confident taking food from the bowl for a reward so as long as you feel they are ready you can take it up a notch. Show the bowl with the food in, but click and slowly offer the bird a treat from between your fingers. It may take a long time to pick up on but eventually your bird will trust you enough to take the plunge if they're really wanting that treat!
Will do anything for a sunflower seed! |
In the next blog post I will be introducing target training, as well as writing separate blog posts on how to end a training session and how to get a fearful bird out of their cage
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