Turn around with verbal command

[aviv]

Hi Michael and everyone,

My Grey is pretty new- ~3 mo old, and I've been training him for a week or so.
He totally got the chop-stick targeting (w/ clicker), and loves it.
I used the chop-stick to train him to turn-around on the perch, as you suggested in the blog-
it works well- but he will sometime wait for 10-20 seconds before turning (in the meantime I give the command, every 2-3 seconds).
I then started use my finger only (putting it behind the parrot), without the chop stick. Well, here he's a bit slow- it can take 30-40 seconds (sometimes even more) for the bird to actually obey the command- but it works.
Then.. when I'm trying just with a hand gesture, or just with my verbal command- nothing
I get the feeling that he doesnt understand.

is it only because I'm jumping ahead too fast? I mean. I cant seem to "bridge" from the finger (as chopstick replacement) to a gesture or a verbal command. Is it only a matter of repeating over and over until he gets it, or is there some training tip / suggestion I should follow?

[Michael]

is it only because I'm jumping ahead too fast? I mean. I cant seem to "bridge" from the finger (as chopstick replacement) to a gesture or a verbal command. Is it only a matter of repeating over and over until he gets it, or is there some training tip / suggestion I should follow?

Yup, probably. Don't forget that Truman is a bit older and more experienced with other tricks by the time I taught him turn around (although it is an easy trick to start off on). One of the difficulties in teaching a youngster like yours is that they have a short attention span and little motivation for formal training. You can't withhold food from them, heck he just learned to eat on his own a few weeks ago. You can keep trying with the trick but I wouldn't push it too much. It's more important at this age to focus on building a good relationship and good habits.

[aviv]

Don't forget that Truman is a bit older and more experienced with other tricks by the time I taught him turn around (although it is an easy trick to start off on).

Hehehe, yeah. I saw the training video, and got so frustrated that my grey is so "slow" on his responses, while Truman caught it immediately

I wouldn't push it too much. It's more important at this age to focus on building a good relationship and good habits.

Yeah good point. I'm perfectly ok with pushing the training to down the road.. I'm hoping this little guy will be a long-term companion. However I read that training is important to keep the Grey from being bored. The truth, is that he's getting something new every day (new perch, new cage, meet new people) so his environment is very "unstable" at the moment - do you think I should push training in a few months?

[Michael]

I didn't even begin formal training with Truman until about 1-2 months since I got him at 4 months old. He was just too young to train. Instead I just played with him, handled him, etc. At this age he's just learning how to move around, what different foods taste like, what textures things feel like. The bird is an information sponge. It learns just for the sake of learning and not for direct reward. This is why trick training isn't important yet. For now, just let it learn about the house, people, different foods, being touched in different places. Put a harness on and take it outdoors. This is the age when the bird will watch and learn anything. When it gets older it will clam up and be scared of everything it did not experience now. So the most important thing is letting it experience everything. Let it touch and play with anything that's ok. On the other hand keep it away from things you don't want it messing with. When it gets older it will naturally be more reserved about messing with that stuff. Introduce as many healthy foods as possible now cause when it gets older it may refuse to eat anything else.