Hey guys! So, I have run into my first hurdle with my CAG, Quendi. A bit of background, she is almost 5 months, so she's still a baby. I've been trying to take it easy with training, just doing the usual step up procedure to be able to move her from her cage to play gym to scale perch for weighing and so forth. All of this with clicker/treat reinforcement. We have also been working on targeting, an easy feat as she is quite willing to try to get the stick so she can tear it to pieces (she has been unsuccessful in that so far...lol).
My problem is this. Quendi is more than willing to step up on her terms, when she feels like it. She asks to go in her cage several times per day, and will step up quite willingly to do so. Of course, getting her to step up to leave the cage is never a problem. However, she is not so compliant when she does not want to leave where she is (as you have likely guessed, this is most often a problem on the play gym). I have been careful not to always make it so when she leaves the play gym she goes to her cage, so I am pretty certain that is not the issue.
While I don't want to allow her to get away with ignoring me when I ask her - as I know she will eventually figure if she sticks it out long enough, she will win out - it eventually gets to a point where both of us are frustrated by the whole proceedings. She has a stubborn streak a mile long, and it is not a question of her being confused by what I am asking of her. Tonight, in particular, we spent over 20 minutes on this. I tried to get her to target a few times to refresh and give her a chance to decompress, but she never did comply. I guess my question for you is, what do you do in such a situation? I do not want to force her, but I feel at some point, you are just moving downhill. Is it okay at that point to step away and allow yourself and your bird to relax and unwind, or will that lead to future problems down the road?
She is so young, and I really want to do this right since it is really setting the tone for further training in the future. Quendi and I appreciate any help you might be able to provide. Thank you!