Im so confused

[Alcatraz]

There is a technique called "power pause" you should try. Check out the link or run a search for anything related to it.

www.birdtricks.com/training-course/powerpause.html

[Michael]

No, that is completely irrelevant in this case. Samuel is able to approach and even hold the bird, but just not for prolonged periods of time. Negative reinforcement taming therefore is unnecessary. Positive reinforcement training is definitely the way to go in this case and practicing the basic training skills outlined in my training guide should definitely help.

[Alcatraz]

Irrelevant? Reread Samuels situation, forget about the video title and actually watch it. Its completely revelant to establishing a relationship

[Michael]

That's not establishing a relationship. That is negative reinforcement. That does not establish a relationship in any way whatsoever. It just negatively reinforces tolerance. That is required to get close enough to really skittish or aggressive parrots in order to begin positive reinforcement training. Samuel has been able to touch, handle, and feed the parrot, so therefore he does not need to reward the parrot by going away.

[Alcatraz]

(Face Palm)

That's not establishing a relationship. That is negative reinforcement. That does not establish a relationship in any way whatsoever.

That comment is beyond comprehension.

[Michael]

He was able to approach the parrot before. He just needs to take a break and then go back to using positive reinforcement techniques already outlined. Using negative reinforcement will only teach the parrot to tolerate his presence and not develop any kind of relationship. The negative reinforcement technique you mentioned is only for the purpose of getting within a few feet distance. Once you can be in the proximity of the parrot, target training with positive reinforcement is not only more effective but also going to teach the parrot to look forward to seeing you. Whereas the use of negative reinforcement (by leaving parrot alone as reward) will not make it looks forward to seeing you (what's there to look forward to? that you'll eventually leave it alone??).

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Using negative reinforcement will only teach the parrot to tolerate his presence and not develop any kind of relationship.

To pick at a nit, it is developing a relationship, but it may not be making the relationship better. I think any interaction between two beings is a relationship and pretty much each incident affects the quality of that relationship. I don't disagree with the recommendation, just on the concept of "relationship".

[Michael]

Ok, ok... But you still get my point that it doesn't develop a good relationship. I guess you can have a negative relationship too, so you are technically correct.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Ok, ok... But you still get my point that it doesn't develop a good relationship. I guess you can have a negative relationship too, so you are technically correct.

Technically correct, but a pedantic old fogey, there you have it... Actually what was kind of motivating my comment is that when someone once told me that any time spent with a horse is time spent training, intentionally or unintentionally, it really made me think a differently about what I did even when I was just hanging out at the barn. I think with parrots any time we spend is also intentional or unintentional training and it relationship building whether on purpose or not. Does that sound a bit less petty?

[Michael]

Yes. I agree with that statement. However, a very important thing to keep in mind is that what we do in their presence can have one of 3 effects:

1) Positive (parrot wants to be with you more)
2) Negative (parrot wants to be with you less)
3) Neutral (parrot is indifferent)

The first and third are ok, but we must avoid the negative as much as possible. This means don't let the parrot see you when something scary is going on. Of course it is important to desensitize parrots to things (vacuum cleaners, boxes, etc) but the important thing is to introduce negative things so gradually that they are bordering on indifferent.