So, I finally got Bondi to perform the entire Mailbox Routine on camera. This routine is very advanced in my opinion. Bondi already knew dozens of behaviors and this one became frustrating for her. I literally gave her about 4 months off from doing it before attempting it again and getting real results. See, Bondi is the type of bird that once...

Distractions can really put an abrupt halt in training. For example, I had three birds out while attempting to work with just one of them. I didn't plan it that way - I had them all out flying around and then Bondi told me she wanted to work on her "roll over/play dead" trick so I began training on the hallway floor. Well, once Bandit saw Bondi ...

Photo  by Dave Location: Orlando, FL Lawn Mowing: Galah "Bandit"   Putting natural behaviors on cue is FUN and EASY! You need to know the basics of clicker conditioning and you're ready to go. I'm going to explain the steps I took to do so with my rose breasted cockatoo, Bandit, and how you can follow what I did with your own bird at home!   St...

I'm a HUGE believer in working with your bird's NATURAL capabilities and habits. For instance, my cockatoo "Bondi" is most talkative in the car above other places. So, since we were on a road trip from Washington to Arizona, I thought I'd use that to my advantage and grabbed my training bag with me up front. Now, she is mostly talkative with D...

 Photo by Mona Location: Daytona Beach, FL Receiving a Kiss: Rose Breasted Cockatoo "Bandit" While giving a parrot seminar in Daytona Beach, Florida I realized how un-fun many bird owners tend to be. A very common question was, "My bird doesn't want to come out of its cage to be with me, why?" Now obviously, there can be a list of reasons for t...

Photo by Dave Location: Spokane, WA Pictured: African Grey "Cressi", Galah "Bandit" & Macaw "Jinx"   Remember my "Bathing = Bonding" post about how I used the act of showering/bathing my birds to get them to be OK next to one another, even though outside of that environment they hated one another? Well, I decided to try that AGAIN... and it...