TRICKS and HARNESS problem

[HeartHaze]

ok so my first problem with Quincy is where he does his tricks. he knows wave, turn and shake hands already. he does it whenever he's in his training perch but when i put him on a table or bed or someplace else he doesn't do any tricks. i'm not quite sure how to deal with this.

2nd problem with Quincy is when i train him to wear his harness. he's not afraid of the harness anymore and he even willingly slips his head into the harness. my problem is when i remove it from him. after he slips his head into the harness. he panics when i remove it from him. it's like... head into harness >> give treat and eat treat >> remove from head=panic

i would really appreciate your replies. thank you

[Michael]

Just train the tricks over again on the alternative surfaces. Just use the methods you used to teach the parrot the trick initially and it will go much quicker and it will quickly figure out what you want it to do.

As for the harness, you gotta be careful about how you remove it. In some ways it is easier to slip the collar on than off as it gets caught on feathers when backing out. Just practice and be careful. You can try rewarding the parrot with another treat after taking it off.

[HeartHaze]

ill do that with the tricks. thanks

with the harness problem.. if i reward him when he puts it off wouldnt that make him want to put on the harness and remove it again immediately? either way.. ill just try doing it too. i think this could help remove his habit of panicking when removing the harness. if he gets comfortable when i remove the harness, ill just stop giving him treats after that and focus again on putting it on

thanks again

[Michael]

The parrot can't really remove it itself so you wouldn't be teaching it to take it off, you'd just be rewarding it for putting up with the discomfort of it coming off. I know this is a major problem on my Cape Parrot cause the harness I have is barely big enough. It goes on ok, but I have to get it set just right and pull really hard to get his big head back out of it.

[HyperD]

I think an important thing to note is that you can always start slowly extending the amount of time the harness is on before you take it off and reward...

[HeartHaze]

thanks guys. i hope he gets much comfortable to wearing and removing the harness. ill just try harder and improve my patience

[HyperD]

Patience is vital. Under no circumstance should you force the harness on him thinking he will enjoy it so much outside that he will forget it.... It will not happen.

[Michael]

Yup. Kili still doesn't exactly like her harness but will tolerate it (even despite all the training).

[JadeW]

Good luck with your training! My little baby has trouble with doing his tricks on other surfaces, but we'll have to just be patient and try re-training on the other surfaces as well. Good luck with the harness training tho!