Begging when offered a treat

[cml]

Stitch, our little 13 week white-fronted amazon, has been doing great in taming and he is quite welbehaved so far. Ive described a few problems we had last week in an earlier thread but that is fine now, he can do the step up perfectly now without any biting .

The problem now is that when offered a treat , Stitch starts to beg for more food. He looks exactly like he did when the breeder was handfeeding him when we visited him a few weeks back, prior to getting him. It feels wrong to continue training when he does this as it feels like rewarding his begging.

We are trying to get him on a pellet diet, but have swtiched to fresh fruit and vegetables in the evening as we can tell he hasnt eaten much during the day. We have also given him pellets with seeds mixed in. His weight has been stable, but he doesnt care much for the pellets.

I am looking for suggestions how to handle training when he starts begging, and how to tackle the begging itself. For now we have lifted him to his food bowl to show him where the food is (which he knows as he is also flying to it himself, but we want to reinforce it).

Your insight is much appreciated!

[GlassOnion]

I think you should comfort feed him with a spoon. Many young birds still crave the comfort of warm mushy foods and it only strengthens the bond between you two. I know a handful of people who have adult birds who still occasionally enjoy some warm spoon feeding. Try oatmeal, mushed pellets in juice, etc.
Lovingly nurtured birds grow up to be confident, curious adults.

[cml]

Thank you GlassOnion!

Maybe he's regressed a little as he's in a new environment.
Ive read this thread: http://theparrotforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2178 which says you SHOULDNT handfeed yourself but we can try it (my fiancée took a crash course at the breeder) a little and see if that helps. How long should we continue doing that?

He CAN eat himself, he eats everything but pellets, and by that I reckon he is independant. While writing this he is happily eating his seeds mix ^^.

How would I tackle that he starts begging when he gets a treat? I dont want him to think that just because he gets one its okay to start begging. Also what do we do when he starts begging during training, is it a good idea to lift him to his food bowl?

Cheers.

[cml]

This is an old thread, but rather than opening a new one I am gonna post here.

Stitch has been really attentive and response to training and we are progressing very well. Harness training is good.

The problem is that he has started screaming WHILE training. Not when actually performing the trick but afterwards, in the seconds before he gets a treat. Its the classic sound AH-AH-AH, which he did when he was hungry, but ALOT louder.

EDIT: Forgot to add that Stitch has a constant supply of pellets.

What im doing in repsonse is to stop training, I dont want to praise screaming. Please advice with any tips you've got! =)

Thanks from me, my ears and Stitch!

[liz]

Stitch is still a baby. refer back to GlassOnion Aug 16th. When his belly is full of warm food he will be better able to consentrate.