 |
| My girls on the new T-Stand |
The project for this morning was to create a better T-stand. Hubby cut and glued and drilled and I did the introductions. That's Lucy (CAG) in the foreground and Gracie (TAG) in the background. Their old stand (shown behind the new one) was to small for Lucy to "turn around" and a little too high for me for training.
Progress with Coco (the cockatoo) is slow as molasses in January in Alaska. (Groan!) But, there is progress. I offered a treat and said "step up" at least 40 times (over 2 days) for every single time he stepped up to get the click/treat. Today, he tried out the new stand and seemed REALLY REALLY happy to be there! He ran back and forth, targeting for click/treat and did the cockatoo-bounce-thing and looked the happiest I've seen in days. Inch by inch... Brought Coco a new preening toy recommended by Jean at the bird shop. Thanks Jean! He seems to like it!
Gracie (TAG) barks out a Woof! every time I come near her... wanting a click/reward, but I only give her the reward after I've asked her, "What does a doggie say?" We practiced "turn around" and targeting on the old stand and she did super-duper. On the new stand, she could only woof! We did the proper sequence to get "woof!" and I gave her a cashew... a bigger prize than a sunflower seed. She targeted and got a peanut! Double-training: She should learn to love the stand right away doing something familiar AND getting the best rewards for her work. <% Added a new calcium perch for her favorite perching area. Her nails are tacky and she loves to chew. She likes it!
Bobby (TAG) got a shower yesterday and then emptied two water bowls, bathing in his cage! OMG! He was so happy! We're only doing non-threatening training until he settles down like wave, turn around, and what-does-a-kitty-say. I fixed up a couple more foraging toys. They're old, but he hasn't seen them for a few weeks. He got a new "bucket" toy that hangs down from the top of the cage with cool junk in it to rip out. He mouthed it a couple of times, but no panic. GO BOBBY!
Lucy (CAG) only tried to break the chopstick once this morning. I turned away and came back to find her waiting to get a re-try on the training. She's been compliant and sweet ever since. We are not introducing a lot of new things yet. My goal is to get her attitude non-negative-reactive and to get her to do the tricks she already knows... WHEN I ask for them. Lucy's cage is stuffed with stuff. She gets a bucket like Bobby's to "talk into" as soon as her new cage arrives. She loves to "echo" into the metal bucket and I love to hear her.
Food: Birds had poached fish with their veggies and fruit this morning and they got a little scrambled egg. The Timnehs, in particular, seem to be more protein driven and Lucy, more fruit inspired. Coco likes warm proteins if you hold them for him (groan again). Dry kibble is what we have offered all of the time. They're still not diving into it very well. They like the Natural Gold better than the Harrison's.
Training Course: I got the course and listened to the DVD and additional audio CD's that were sent. They have some good information, but are at a lower level than what I have taught my birds already via information found for free on the Internet and through books I've bought. Disappointed.
Goals for the week: Get Gracie to turn around better on command and reinforce target training and woof. Bobby will get at least two showers this week. It calms him. "Tread water" and keep him interested, but not overly stressed. Lucy will train better on the new stand as she get used to it. Turn around needs to be practiced and I want her to "wave" a little better. She's been lazy with it. Coco: Continue to step-up retraining and target training on the new stand. Laugh more. Play more. Make training more fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment