The momentum of success is powerful. Every time I read another success story of people applying what they learn through the Bird Tricks training program, it inspires me to work harder with and devote even more time to enriching the lives of my own birds. I hope it makes you feel the same.
I particularly love this next story about a resourceful 15 year old girl who got her cockatoo to eat his veggies, all through the power of flight training.
MEET PUPPY
Tina Skembes is 15 years old and lives in New South Wales, Australia with her sister, mum and dad. She is the primary caregiver and best friend to a gorgeous Red-tailed Black Cockatoo named Puppy. Due to Tina’s commitment to training Puppy and lavishing him in the attention he demands, she has established a close bond, built on trust and respect. Through Tina’s dedication, Puppy now enjoys a fully-flighted, healthy cockatoo lifestyle.
Hi, Tina! How did you come to adopt Puppy?
I bought my Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Puppy, at the end of 2011 and instantly fell in love with him. Before I got him, I did lots of research including visiting pet stores and zoos so that I could see how this species interacts with humans and also checking out their different personalities. I found that the Red-tailed Black Cockatoos are a quieter species of cockatoo.
While at a pet shop, the owner let me hold a female black cockatoo, which I loved!! I was so excited because this was the first time I was lucky enough to touch one. Soon after, my vet helped us find a great breeder who sold Red-tailed Black Cockatoos. We soon purchased Puppy and brought him home in October 2011. I was so excited !! 
Have you had birds before or any animal training experience?
When I was younger, we had many animals including chickens, finches, a dog, rabbits, lizards, and fish. At the age of six, I had a budgie named Snowy. However, she wasn’t friendly so we never took her out. Many years later, we found a cockatiel. She was gorgeous, but she only ever liked my parents and not me nor my sister. One day, while I was in Year 6, I found a baby bird in my front yard. It turned out that she was a Koel. I took her in and hand-fed her myself for two months, but unfortunately she passed away very early on. From here on was when I became obsessed with birds. For my twelfth birthday, I got a white cockatoo which I loved but he passed away shortly from a virus that was incurable. While searching for another bird, I began trick training my dog, a Jack Russell named Cross, and I absolutely loved it. He was taught sit, drop, dance, stay, jump, play dead, and many more tricks.
What motivated you to begin training Puppy once you brought him home?
The main problem we faced was Puppy’s stubbornness. Sometimes he wouldn’t want to do anything at all and would much rather be left alone.
Another major problem I had with Puppy is that he wouldn’t even look or touch ANY veggie or fruit I gave him, the only thing he would eat were seeds. If I tried giving him an apple or a vegetable, he wouldn’t dare look at it and would soon throw it away. I kept trying and trying, but nothing seemed to work. I remember reading a blog post by Bird Tricks that said a bird that can fly is more likely to eat vegetables because it needs the nutrition. A bird that is always flying will need to eat healthy foods like fruits and veggies to build up its energy. Puppy had one of his wings clipped and on that wing were three flight feathers, so I decided that I wanted to teach him to fly.
How did you begin your training with Puppy while you were waiting on his wings to fill in?
I had watched almost every single video that Bird Tricks had uploaded on YouTube in the hopes of one day teaching him tricks. I have always watched bird shows in hopes of one day reaching the goal of having a bird fly to my arm. I knew that it takes persistence, positive reinforcement, and patience. The first three to four months of having Puppy, he wasn’t able to fly so I continued searching YouTube in order to learn a few techniques.
In order to teach Puppy to fly, as well as other tricks, I ordered the Bird Tricks Trick Training Course and One Day Miracles and was so excited to see it when it arrived at my front porch. I don’t quite know how, but Puppy has always known how to shake from day one, so from this course I learned how to properly cue Puppy by saying, “shake” and he would rise his right foot in the air. I also taught him to fetch by holding a wooden ball which he then grabs and places into a cup. He is still perfecting this trick but is doing great. My next mission was to teach Puppy to fly.
How did you begin your flight training with Puppy?
I was a little worried that even when his wings grew out that he would never fly because he wouldn’t have the strength or interest to do so, but I still tried to teach him as I knew that he would have a better life. I started by putting him on a perch and placing a chair about 20 cm away from him. I then lured him to jump to the chair. After about 2 months, the chair would gradually increase in distance. Soon he was flying one meter at the most. However, he was NEVER flying to my arm even when I placed it in front of the chair. But I kept trying until one night he flew from his perch to my arm (about 30cm). I was overjoyed as I knew that this was a big success.
As his wings started growing in, I began setting up chairs to encourage flying; similar to what Jamie did in her blogs on Rasta. I placed chairs on tables around the laundroom and kitchen. Then I would place Puppy on top of them and call him down to my arm. He loved to fly these distances. After about a year and a half, his wings had fully grown through and he looked spectacular. Puppy now enjoys flying free in the laundroom. He flies from his cage to the chairs and back, sometimes even doing a full circle. He also flies to my arm when I call him. Puppy picks up flight tricks very quickly. He knows commands like , “go chair”, “go cage”, “go perch”, “ go shoulder”, and of course, my favorite, “Come”. I taught him these commands by always repeating these words while he flew to them. After a year and a few months, he was finally flying around the entire house with fully grown wings.
That is so awesome! What an amazing job you’ve done! Have you noticed any positive changes in Puppy’s behavior since he’s started flying?
Puppy is now eating almost any type of veggie or fruit that I offer him!! He loves broccoli, peach, mango, corn and celery. I can’t believe that more than one and a half years ago, Puppy wouldn’t even look at the fruit and veggies being offered, and now he is more than happy to eat almost any type of veggie. During flight training exercises I would sometimes offer Puppy different veggies and fruits like apples, carrots, bananas, broccoli, corn, celery, peaches and cucumber (this is his favorite!)This was a huge success for me and it has also given me more knowledge on the proper diet of birds.
As well as flight being very good for him, I also benefited from this because it allowed me to control his flight. I am now able to capture amazing photos. I would stand behind the chair and call out, “go chair” and just before he reaches it, I’d quickly capture the photo.
After completing these goals, the main difference that I have noticed from Puppy is his colour and also attitude towards certain things. His feathers are much more vibrant in colour and are better shaped. Another difference is that he is more willing to try different types of foods which are much better for his diet.
Congratulations, Tina! What’s next with you and Puppy?
He is still learning some more tricks but one of my favorites are the flight commands he knows like go chair, go cage, and come shoulder. I am currently working on teaching Puppy to spin. Puppy may know many tricks, however, this is one I find a little difficult.
You can watch a video of some of the things I have taught Puppy here:
For now, I have been feeding him fresh veggies, fruits, pasta, and rice which he loves !! I have purchased the Bird Tricks Feeding Program and am so excited to give it a go. Through Bird Tricks, I have really come to realise how important many elements are for birds like diet, sunlight, and, of course, training. Puppy is an excellent flier and thanks to Bird Tricks, I will never clip his wings again but instead always have him flighted. Puppy is a friendly bird towards my family and he just loves the attention. Puppy sleeps beside my bed on his perch every single night. Puppy never screams in the morning as he is always with me, usually asleep instead. I think that this really shows the amount of trust and the close bond that we share.
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Congratulations on your many successes, Tina!
I’m so thrilled about the life you have ahead of you with Puppy.
Please do keep us updated with all of your future successes!
– All of the photos in this post were provided by Tina Skembes –
Chrissann offers private behavioral consultations for the furred and feathered in the British Virgin Islands. She is passionate about applying the science of behavior to animal training and has received the following training certificates; “Behavior Apps: Training with Art and Science”, Certificate of Excellence from Natural Encounters Inc, “Living and Learning with Parrots – The Science and Technology of Behavior Change” and Certificate of Excellence from Behavior Works.
7 comments
You have truly inspired me. I also have just purchased the Bird Tricks videos and CD’s and your story has encouraged me. I will try very hard to be successful with my training efforts of two Congo African Greys. They are amazing at speech but do not know any tricks - yet.
Tina well done, I have several , my Green wing Lucy is my favorite . She is 13yrs old . She has a vocabulary of over 100 sayings . She will say hello, how are u ,are u felling ok ,or be quite I have a headache . GOOD LUCK MARYANN
Well done Tina! Training plays a central role in animal care and enhances the pleasure of the pet-owner. http://www.pawfectionpetswalsall.co.uk
Well done Tina, keep up the good work and you will have this beautiful friend for many years. I also have a red tail called Ebony. Her story is different to Puppy. She was a rescued bird with extensive injuries so she cannot fly and is very clumsy like a bird with clipped wings she can fall easily and needs extra care. She came to live with us 26 years ago. she is now 32 but was reared in the bush. She still does not like much fruit but does eat veges and sprouts, nuts, pasta and most things that I also like like fish, Lamb chop bones (not the bone part but chewing it), cheese, toast and vegetable porridge with seaweed and spice mixes. I try to make her life as varied as possible. She comes to work with me every day and loves entertaining my customers. She loves riding in the car but hates red lights and the brake. She wonders why I don’t just fly over slower cars in front of us. She shouts at red lights until I tell her “eb we have to wait for green light” In my shop she tells me to check people who are stealing and then points to them. I think she thinks I am not looking after her things. After 26 years I have learned a lot of her words. She speaks parrot and gets very excited when I learn a new parrot word. I have learned hello, where are you, come here, what ARE you doing and among other things, lets go now. When people don’t see her she waits until they pass her on the way out then call them. They always stop and look with amazement. They cannot believe how quiet she is until she wants to be seen. When people are stealing she has a quiet short and urgent little sound like a parrot growl then she points her beak in the direction I should go. When I do things she disapproves of she says “caaa caar” like she is breathing it out very quietly. She was so excited when I learned this one and stopped what she did not like. Now if she is doing something I don’t like like chewing my ear when I am driving and I say Caaaa Caaaa she stops immediately and turns around before standing to attention. Now I listen to all of her small commands and always try to work them out. I am learning faster and faster. Most of her request are made very quietly but clearly. She is louder when I don’t understand. She always uses her beak to point. Like come here she points from me to her or look there she points from her breast to wherever she wants me to look. Maybe you can learn a private conversation with puppy. Combine English from us with parrot from her and it still amazes me just how well we can communicate. You can see some pictures of my gorgeous girl on http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=40244630@N00&q=Ebony Just ignore the ebony wood pictures and scroll down. I sell African art. When I ask her to show her frock she holds a tail feather and fans her tail. She only does it if she likes her audience. She also likes children and will let them pat her but is very careful of adults she does not know. Would you believe there are people who say to her “will you bite my finger?” before presenting it to her. This is the only time she bites hard and draws blood. These people then shout at me. Most have more brain. Normally she simply pushes annoying hands away then says Waaa. Have a wonderful life with your gorgeous boy. Ann
wow how nice i work with my macaws an cockatoos ,its so enjoyment they can do just about anything ., take care an god bless
What a magnificent bird. I did not even know that there were any Calyptorhynchus in private possession in the US. The National Zoo had one back in the 1970s, but I have not seen one since.
What a great storyTina!. I have always had cockatoos and parrots since being given my first Pink and Grey Galah at aged 9.(I am now in my seventies) My R/Tailed black cockatoos are in my breeding aviaries, males are extremely friendly, insisting they sit on my shoulders whilst I am in their yards, the hens prefer to perch and accept titbits. The Red Tails can be very noisy in suburbia though, I hope your neighbours are not too close! Tina, you will have an interesting future being a lover of birds! Thank you for sharing your story.
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