Some success harnes training i think? (had our first outing)

[Nir]

Just had our first outing tonight in his harness. We were training and it was going well. he wasnt biting the harness every time he put his head through. so i figure i try to put the whole thing on. well i did and since i never actually put it on before, i kinda struggled on how tight it would be. but eventually got it on but he HATED IT so much and was biting the strap to take it of. so i figured that since this was a horrible showing that i would try to show him by taking a walk outside. so we went outside (it was night so it was dark but nice winds) and it seemed like he enjoyed it? but i am sure he was scared. we just walked up and down the block and he was just on my shoulder holding on but as soon as i went back in he was biting the harness trying to take it off and i did. i feel like i might have pushed him a bit fast. but anyway i gave him lots of treats afterwards so hopefully he liked the outing enough to put it on again. if not then i will have to take couple steps back for awhile. what you guys think?

[Dasphatness]

Just had our first outing tonight in his harness. We were training and it was going well. he wasnt biting the harness every time he put his head through. so i figure i try to put the whole thing on. well i did and since i never actually put it on before, i kinda struggled on how tight it would be. but eventually got it on but he HATED IT so much and was biting the strap to take it of. so i figured that since this was a horrible showing that i would try to show him by taking a walk outside. so we went outside (it was night so it was dark but nice winds) and it seemed like he enjoyed it? but i am sure he was scared. we just walked up and down the block and he was just on my shoulder holding on but as soon as i went back in he was biting the harness trying to take it off and i did. i feel like i might have pushed him a bit fast. but anyway i gave him lots of treats afterwards so hopefully he liked the outing enough to put it on again. if not then i will have to take couple steps back for awhile. what you guys think?

I am in the process of having my Melody harness trained. We have been hard at it, roughly 15-45 minutes every other day. Her first encounter was a bit harsh, as she was more curious about what it was more so than wearing it. Very much to be expected. Id be quite frightened if this snake like thing was near me. We broke the ice by simply placing the harness in eye sight of her cage, and with each day I moved it closer and closer. Eventually it was just placed on top of her cage, and after a day or two, it was offically a toy. Once that bearier was broken, it got a lot easier to involve a harness.

I further enriched her experiences with the harness by involving it with our daily activities. Morning scratchies with the harness wrapped around my hand for her to unwind and untangle while I drink my coffee; or bath time with the harness sitting on the perch near her. Shortly after a couple days of this, she was willingly putting her head through the loop because there might be treats involved if she does, plus it was a fun game to play with me.

I can now get it on her without any real struggle. Getting her wings through is still the hard part with her, as she doesnt mind me touching her wings when its cuddle time, but when the harness is involved she gets nervous still. The key is to cuddle for a good 15 minutes before harness time. Get your birdy all buttered up. If she panics while the harness is being placed on, get your best scratchies going asap. Keep it possitive, keep it fun, and involve as many enriching activities as possible.

The last outing we had was a few days ago at the local Petsmart. She was quite taken aback by all the attention she was getting. A bit nervous a first, but then blissed out of her mind with all the scratchies she was recieving from all these strangers lol. I feel that this not only broke the ice on going out, but the socialization she got in really helps her trust more and bite less. (As rare as biting actually is)

Just take your..or I should say, you bird's time. Melody and I have been working on this for roughly 3 months before we could step out. Keeping the experience possitive is the key!

Best of luck!

[janetafloat]

as soon as i went back in he was biting the harness trying to take it off and i did

Well done, Nir, for getting him that far but you may find he's regressed a bit after this. What you describe is pretty much how things went with Alfie and after that he got a lot warier of the harness and I had to back way up. Mind you, he then was poorly and had to have a course of antibiotics so that didn't help anything at all and I've had to go back to the beginning and start training him to let me touch his body again. I figure we'll get there, it's just a question of taking it slow and keep working at it.[

I can now get it on her without any real struggle. Getting her wings through is still the hard part with her, as she doesnt mind me touching her wings when its cuddle time, but when the harness is involved she gets nervous still. The key is to cuddle for a good 15 minutes before harness time. Get your birdy all buttered up. If she panics while the harness is being placed on, get your best scratchies going asap. Keep it possitive, keep it fun, and involve as many enriching activities as possible.

The last outing we had was a few days ago at the local Petsmart. She was quite taken aback by all the attention she was getting. A bit nervous a first, but then blissed out of her mind with all the scratchies she was recieving from all these strangers lol.

That's awesome, well done you and Melody! You've inspired me....I'm back on it....thanks!

[Nir]

well.. i dont feel like i am making much progress with this. feel like just calling it quits. will it be easier to teach him to be okay on a harness when he is older or is it easier to teach him while he is young?

[Wayne361]

You simply pushed him too far too fast IMO. Patience is required. Seems like you were doing well till you took the major leap of putting it on fully while he was protesting. The fact that he was not happy after the fact re-inforces the fact that you probably will have to go back to square one. I doubt he will want to willing put his head through loop now due to negative experience. Good luck and take things slower next time.

Wayne

[Dasphatness]

well.. i dont feel like i am making much progress with this. feel like just calling it quits. will it be easier to teach him to be okay on a harness when he is older or is it easier to teach him while he is young?

Sorry for the huge delay on a response. The best thing you can do to make this dream a reality is to put yourself in your birds situation.

"This snake like thing is scary; thus I must be frightened by it as my instincts instruct me to do.
It is scaring me because I dont know what it is, but am sure that it will eat me.
Because my human is playing with it and not me, this makes me upset. (this happened during training)
I hate this snake thing, and I want nothing to do with it! I have Spoken!" -Melody

Best way to get the ball rolling again, as far as i learned, was to involve the harness in routine activities that you and your bird enjoy doing. Make it fun for them. Involve treats. Above all, make them comfortable with the harness. This takes quite a bit of time usually. Keep training to maybe 10-15 minutes a day...maybe twice a day. My birds attention span is quite short; most are. Always end training on a good, positive note. If your bird is freaking out and you just end it there, it seemed to me that they took it as what they assumed it was...a threat that you just saved them from by placing them back in their cage! Be patient and calm the entire time.

Note: If your feathered pall is really struggling with taking any liking to the harness, dont push it on him/her. Stress is a killer.

If they are still scared of the harness, rather than trying to put it on them, just keep it in eye sight of the cage and progressively move it closer to the cage every other day or so until it is just on the cage as another toy. Follow through with my first post from there and take into consideration the advice provided above.

Iv never had so much fun with Melody until I was able to take her out and about with my family. Its much like taking your dog for a walk, and having them with you as a physical part of the family can only bring you and your friend closer together. Not to mention all the things that they will get to see outside of their cages/house is worth the effort to fully give them the enrichment they deserve.

Yes, with outside time there are outside risks, but provided the harness is applied properly and you, as the bird's keeper, take certain things into consideration before you take them out, fun and exciting adventure awaits.

People at Petsmart and the other local pet shops in town know Melody and myself, as we frequently visit. Iv noticed her nipping as also stopped for the most part. Perhaps she is becoming more trusting with strangers. Which is always a plus

All in all, it's worth fighting for. I wont say that keeping your bird safe in your house will hurt it, but I also cannot say that enriching their life by having them as a major part of your own would hurt either

Keep trying! It's worth it!

[marie83]

Hows things with the harness since that outing? Going well I hope

[Nir]

i tried again and he didnt like it again. and i figured i stop for a bit so he forgets this whole thing and i am going to restart the training maybe in another few weeks hopefully with another outcome.

also to point out. he doesnt hate the harnes. the harness is always in my desk which is where mango hangs out a lot so he sees it , walks over it on a daily basis. its just that he hates it when i try to put his head through the harness. i am just going to take it slower next time and concentrate on every step for a longer period.

[janetafloat]

If you look at Michael's blog, somewhere in the harness training section he says it's better to encourage the bird to put their head through the collar voluntarily. Though I have to say the collar is an awfully snug fit on Alfie.

[Nir]

janet, thats not possible. the coloar is 2 small for him to put it in voluntarily. he wont be able to put his head throught it unless i push the cola through his head by holding his head and sliding it in. i thought it maybe is too small but i got the recommended size for a senegal which is "small".

poor guy is always so stressed when i tried to harness train. whenever i train him with anything else like tricks or recall, he is so eager to train and loves it.