Training A Parrot To Lie On His Back
Barbara Heidenreich explains how to teach your Parrot to lie on their back. “Uh, excuse me! You need to stop being so cute. Really. I am having a tough time getting to all those other responsibilities I have.” I think that is the inner dialog I have whenever I am working with Jackson. But seriously […]
New Years Resolutions For Animal Trainers
Barbara Heidenreich has new year’s resolutions for animal trainers. It’s that time of year again! The New Year reminds us to do better, be better. And this can certainly be applied to many things, including our lives as animal trainers. For the third year running, here are some New Year’s Resolutions for animal trainers……… 1. […]
Making New Things Fun For Your Parrot
Barbara Heidenreich explains how to make new things fun for your Parrot. My Parrots just blow me away sometimes. Or perhaps it is better to say that training with positive reinforcement blows me away. I recently brought Delbert, my Yellow-naped Amazon Parrot to a new location for a photo shoot. He is fully flighted and […]
Parrot Training And Handling Guidelines
Here are Parrot training and handling guidelines for you. Susan Friedman, PhD and I developed these guidelines to use when involved in a training session with your bird. We have been fortunate to teach a number of workshops with hundreds of Parrots and have applied these strategies with good success. We hope you will find […]
New Year’s Resolutions For Animal Trainers
Barbara Heidenreich has some new year’s resolutions for you. I had a lot of fun coming up with ideas for last year. Here are ten new resolutions for 2016. 1. Learn a new term. There really truly is always something new to learn. You may finally know the difference between negative reinforcement and positive punishment. Perhaps […]
4 Ways To Use Foraging To Get Good Behaviour
Here are 4 ways to use foraging to get good behaviour. Foraging is often looked at as a fun way to provide enrichment for your Parrot. I am all about Parrots having fun, but I am also very interested in teaching my Parrots to be well behaved. Believe it or not, foraging activities can also […]
5 Things You Need To Know About Parrots
You may be new to sharing your life with Parrots or you may be an old pro. Or perhaps you have never even considered a Parrot. Either way you may be surprised to learn a few facts about Parrot behaviour that make them a bit different from your average companion animal. Here are a few […]
Overcoming Fear Responses. Two Tools Every Animal Trainer Needs
Barbara Heidenreich has advice on managing fear responses. Positive reinforcement When it comes to animal training you often hear people sing the praises of positive reinforcement. Me too! I love it. But there are two other tools that I can’t live without, systematic desensitization and classical conditioning. Try saying those three times fast! They sound like […]
Animal Training Quips: Set Them Up for Success
Of course you want your animal to be successful…but what the heck does that mean?? Do you want him to graduate college, become the CEO of a major corporation, or get 1,000 likes on his photo on social media? You hear people say that all the time when it comes to animal training. It sounds like a […]
Is Animal Training Really All About Relationships?
Barbara Heidenreich reveals if animal training really is about relationships. I often hear trainers say animal training is all about “relationships.” I must admit I often say the reason I got into animal training is I love the relationship you can develop with an animal. But talk about vague! Let’s be honest here, there’s is […]