Aggressive target training???

[Cockatielsongs]

Hey guys,
So I'm currently trying to touch/target train my , he knows that touching the tip of the stick gets him the click and treat.
The problem is that he's not 'touching' the stick at all, he's biting. I can tell he's biting it really hard because there are deep beak marks on the stick. What do I do to stop this and just make him touch it? I'm afraid he might mistake the treat as a reward for biting or am I just worrying for nothing? I definitely do not want to encourage biting.

[janetafloat]

Yes, I know the feeling...this is what happened to my target stick Michael says that if the bird bites the stick, to click and treat just before they get to it. As you can see, I was too late for this one! Luckily they come in a pack of 6

Seriously though...it's not to be encouraged, and can definitely foster aggression...so I guess we both need to be faster on the draw!

[Andromeda]

If you are rewarding for forcefully biting the stick you are training biting and aggression.

Keep in mind that when you "click" you are capturing an entire moment, which includes the emotional state of the animal. If the animal is agitated or aggressive you are capturing that emotion and when done repeatedly that emotion then becomes associated with the clicker. Even if you move on to other tricks, you have established a history of aggression in association with the noise of the clicker. Moreover, training itself will not be about having fun and receiving positive reinforcement but rather be about aggressing.

You do want the animal to have a conditioned response to the clicker but you want that response to be positive (excitement about an incoming treat) and not negative (aggression or fear).

You can do as Michael suggests and click just prior to the bird touching the stick. Another thing you can do (and this is what I did with my Poi who was also biting the stick) is to hold the stick just barely within reach so the bird has to really stretch out its neck to reach it and is physically unable to bite because its neck is stretched as far as it can go in order to reach the very tip of the stick. Whichever method you use, make sure you remove the stick immediately after you click to further prevent a bite.

My Poi no longer bites the stick (even though I hold it fully within his reach now) so you can eliminate this behavior if you change your training tactics.

[Cockatielsongs]

Thanks guys! Hopefully my Galah will be quick to realize he just needs to touch it!

[Cockatielsongs]

Yes, I know the feeling...this is what happened to my target stick Michael says that if the bird bites the stick, to click and treat just before they get to it. As you can see, I was too late for this one! Luckily they come in a pack of 6

Ahaha he (or is it a she? is gorgeous! So cutteee aha

[janetafloat]

Thank you, Cockatiel songs, yes he's a 'he' and he is pretty cute....and full of mischief! Certainly keeps me on my toes

[Pralina]

You can do as Michael suggests and click just prior to the bird touching the stick. Another thing you can do (and this is what I did with my Poi who was also biting the stick) is to hold the stick just barely within reach so the bird has to really stretch out its neck to reach it and is physically unable to bite because its neck is stretched as far as it can go in order to reach the very tip of the stick. Whichever method you use, make sure you remove the stick immediately after you click to further prevent a bite.

My Poi no longer bites the stick (even though I hold it fully within his reach now) so you can eliminate this behavior if you change your training tactics.

Thanx. I will try holding the stick farther away, it sounds like a good idea.

I just started target training too (I got convinced finally that it is more useful than the silly tricks Ive taught them in the past ) and I had the same problem with biting the stick. they just get SOOOOO excited when clicker training, it could easily get out of hand.
im not sure how to deal with that

[macbrush]

My grey also had this behaviour at the beginning, he actually was terrified of chopsticks for some reasons. I had to not only taught him just touching would get him a click and a treat, the most important part was he had to realise that biting would NOT get him anything.

So clicking just when he touches wasn't enough, I had to withdraw the stick right after he touches it. If he managed to bite the stick, I would say "no", withdraw, and then begin again. Took just 30 mins for him to understand.

Now if I offered him something to play, and if I don't want him to bite it, I just have to say "no biting" then he would gently touches the object instead (except when he wants to bite my hand though... ).

[Wayne361]

My Senegal was deathly afraid of chopsticks at the beginning too. He was a re-home so I am wondering if he was tormented by something stick-like that resembled a chopstick in his prior life. Anyhow, that was just a hurdle to overcome at first.

[Cockatielsongs]

Thanks guys! Definitely worked! Now his up to the process of going on my hand!