aggression towards props

[Giantmoa]

so I thought I'd start training my gcc more advanced tricks like retrieve, etc. I'm using a mini white wuffle ball at the moment but the problem is that she has decided it is her enemy. She attempts to bite and attack it, often chomping on my fingers instead. as you can imagine, training this trick has gone nowhere lol. is there anything that will stop/discourage her from attacking it? Or any other good small balls that I could use instead? most balls I've tried are too difficult for her to pick up... and any tips on teaching retrieve are appreciated too!

oh and has anybody else had an issue like this? thanks

[lzver]

Yes, I was having the exact same problem. It was discouraging and I took a break from clicker training after a few weeks of getting no where. I was trying to get Jessie to target to a stick, but anytime I put it near him, he would puff his feathers up, get aggressive and try to attack it. He is a very classic Senegal and he is phobic towards anything new and different.

Just tonight, I decided to try again. Instead of taking him out of cage, I decided to leave him in his cage where he is comfortable. At first when I showed him the stick, he would puff up and try to attack it. After a few minutes of showing it too him, he started to get more sensitized and stopped puffing up and showing aggression. So I clicked and gave him a treat when he didn't react. Once we got to that point, I would move it closer and closer and kept clicking and rewarding for each time I brought it closer and he didn't react. I was finally able to get it just outside of his cage and when he touched it for the first time, I clicked, gave him a treat and got really excited. Now he is consistently touching the stick when I ask.

I have realized that I cannot push Jessie to a point where he's not comfortable. Training with him is going to take lots of little baby steps.

[Giantmoa]

Glad to know I'm not the only one! I've decided to bring out the big guns and defrost some frozen corn for training (she'll do her tricks in record time for it ). I'm hoping it will be a bigger motivater than beating up the ball will, but boy does she like beating it up! I'll see how this goes tomorrow. I guess I'm a bit spoiled since she learned "wave", "high five", "turn around" and all of those simpler tricks so quickly! =)

[Michael]

Look at my harness article where Kili became phobic of the harness and see if that same technique helps you overcome aggression as well. Kili has never been aggressive towards props (people and birds yes, but not props) but she has been phobic. She acts tough but she's such a chicken on the inside.

[Trish]

Hello all,
New to this forum but just had to say that I have one "phobic" bird. Smart~yes, but does not accept props at all! She is only 1 yr old and talks really well...knows a few tricks but when I try to add any sort of prop?
Trish & her green monster

[thegreatkatsby]

Earlyn hates.... everything. I had a roommate though who figured out that if we talked to her and make sounds like it was a game, she would eventually realize it wasn't something that was going to attack her.

Of course, it goes without saying that you have to have trust established with the parrot first. Before we were "friends" I doubt there was anything I could have done to calm her down. But now I show her the object, let her react (pulling it back as soon as she pulls back), and then slowly reintroduce it while talking about how neat it is or how much fun it's going to be. Offering treats helps too.

The most AMAZING thing that has helped with stuff like this is target training. If I can convince her to "touch" an object for a treat (usually a designated target training stick at first), I can then teach her that "touching" things will result in treats... and that means I'm halfway there!

Regardless, she will never, ever, ever touch the squeaky mouse ball. It is her mortal enemy.