We at Parrotdise Perch love to talk about training.

Once you start training your Parrot you will wonder why you did not start sooner. You only need about 15 minutes for a training session and most Parrots can learn a really cool trick in that time or less. Your first few training sessions will be more about you learning to be a good trainer then your Parrot learning a new trick. So if you do not get the behaviour you are after, change what you are doing because it is not your Parrot that is doing something wrong. Here are some suggestions for successful clicker training.

• Practice without your Parrot to improve your mechanical skill,
• Plan the training session, determine what behaviours you will reinforce and when,
• Start with the easiest Parrots and easiest behaviours,
• Keep it positive - never use positive punishment,
• Keep it honest - avoid luring unless you know how to do it correctly,
• Make it worthwhile, try a variety of reinforcers to determine the one most liked,
• Use small reinforcers and reinforce often, especially early in the session,
• Short sessions in less than 15 minutes are best,
• Prepare the environment for success by removing any distractions.

Most of all have fun. Training your Parrot is a great way to interact during out of cage playtime.  For additional information on training your Parrot check out Barbara Heidenreich's Parrot Training website.