My 4 Biggest Pieces of Advice When Training a Bird

Because the end goal is outdoor freeflight with Morgan, every indoor situation needs to be looked at in that respect. Now what would this look like outdoors?  You don't turn your back on your bird, or stop watching your bird outdoors when free flying. So this behavior outside could lead to fly offs or losing track of the bird's flight pattern....
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Training Sessions That Lead to BREAKTHROUGHS!

Does everyone else feel the new energy about Patty?! Patty still struggles with: Pulling the treat away when it's in sight and in reach of the bird Using luring over training/teaching  Backing up for flights at the wrong time (do this when the bird is about to take off, before the bird takes off or when the bird just takes off but NEVER when t...
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How to Ask a Bird To Step OFF Of Your Hand (And How NOT To!)

Everyone involved needed this session to fill their souls. Morgan included. Sometimes the shorter sessions make it easier to squeeze more positivity into them, and leave the bird and person wanting more next time.  Patty's lessons:  1. Hold foot immediately when Morgan steps up (thumb immediately down on foot.) this makes Morgan feel more se...
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The Difficulties of Handling a Handicapped Parrot

When a bird is handicapped in some way, we tend to "baby" it. Treat it differently then we would another bird. And sometimes this is necessary (different types of perching for specific injuries, softer foods for beak deformities, etc.) but most of the time, it is not necessary and we are only making things harder on the bird to be a bird.  Such...
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5 Mistakes That Will MESS UP Your Relationship With Your Bird

The 5 major mistakes made in this video: 1. Encouragement placed at the wrong moment. 2. Using the same language/cue for multiple behaviors. 3. Accidental bridging (bridging is marking the exact moment in time with either a clicker or the words "good girl" that the bird did the behavior you want to see repeated.) 4. Not properly catchi...
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The Big Day: Will Morgan Choose Her Trainer Over Her Owner?!

The day is finally here - asking Morgan to fly to her current owner over her trainer for the past 2 weeks and 6 days, Jamieleigh.  Her owner, Patty has had Morgan for 4-5 months and in that time had her toe amputated and toweled Morgan to give her meds for two weeks.  Her trainer, Jamieleigh, has had Morgan 2.5 weeks and has become her favorite...
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