Secret to Success 2 of 3: Clicker Training Your Parrot

Introduction: Why Do I Need to Train My Parrot?

Adding enrichment in the form of recreation and exercise is essential to your parrot's well-being. Trick training is a great way to give your parrot recreation and exercise. Adding enrichment in the form of recreation and exercise will minimize negative behaviors such as screaming, biting, aggression, and feather plucking. Plus parrots love the attention they get when they perform tricks. Kiwi, The Skateboarding Parrot was suffering from feather plucking. While his vet and I agree that there may be several factors that lead to his feather destructive behavior, one thing that has helped him recover was the addition of trick training and his skateboarding.

Why Does Clicker Training Work?

Clicker training instantly rewards a behavior so your parrot clearly understands what behavior is being rewarded. Treat training (giving a treat when your parrot performs a command) is not as effective. Your parrot may become confused about why it's getting a treat: because it turned around or because it leaned forward to get the treat. Don't get me wrong, you will still use treats but your parrot will listen for the clicker to know if it did something good and be motivated to perform because the parrot wants the treat that comes after the clicker. When I first started clicker training, I thought it was just adding an unnecessary step to reward training, but then I discovered it's one of the secret steps to successful training!

The Goal of Clicker Training.

The goal of clicker training is to teach your parrot that the sound made by a clicker means the parrot (or another animal) performed correctly. Here is what it will look like when your parrot is clicker trained.:

1. You give a command
2. Your parrot responds correctly
3. You click the clicker as a reward

Start Training With Clicker Training.

Clicker training is a great way to start training any trick. Use a clicker to reward positive approximations. (Check back to last weeks post about positive approximation if you missed it.) This can be teaching your parrot to talk, do a trick, or perform a task. 

Getting Started With Clicker Training

All You Need is a Clicker, a Treat, and a Parrot. 

Clicker: 

I really like the "Big Button" clickers. They are inexpensive and easy to use. Here's a link to this one on Amazon: PetSafe Clik-R Dog Training Clicker - Positive Behavior Reinforcer for Pets - All Ages Puppy and Adult Dogs - Use to Reward and Train - Trainer Guide Included

Treat: 

Kiwi's favorite treats are banana chips. I really like to give him banana chips because I can easily break them into small pieces so he doesn't eat too much. You never want your parrot to because full and disinterested in the treat while training. Also, keep health in mind, try to keep your parrot's diet balanced, don't give too many sugary fruits. Most of the banana chips and other dried fruit you find at the store have extra sugar and additives. To find healthy banana chips, you will need to go to a health food store or you can buy these from Amazon: Gerbs Banana Chips Unsweetened, 2 LBS – Unsulfured & Preservative Free

Parrot: 

If you don't already have a parrot, there is probably a local rescue who would love to help you become a forever home for a parrot. Contact a certified avian vet to get a referral or comment below with your location and we will try to connect you to a reputable rescue.

How to Clicker Train

1. Teach your parrot to associate the clicker with a reward. 

This is just like Pavlov's dog and Classical Conditioning [1]. Think of the clicker as being the bell. Now click the clicker and give your parrot a treat. Do this a few times until your parrot begins to expect a treat after it hears the "click" of the training clicker.

2. A Command + A Click + A Treat

Now, add an easy command such as, "turn" or "target" (subscribe to read next week's post on Target Training). Every time your parrot makes an approximation or a step towards your command, give a click, then follow with a treat. Read more about approximations in the previous blog post. You want to click the clicker instantly so your parrot knows what it did right and you don't give a click for it doing the wrong thing. Here's an example:

Your teaching your parrot to turn around. You should instantly click when your parrot moves its head in the way you want it to go. If you click too late you might unintentionally be reinforcing your parrot to return to its original position. Write me a comment if you want to make a video of dos and don'ts. 

3. A Command + A Click

Now that your parrot is getting the idea that the click means it did good, after your parrot makes an approximation toward your command, only give a click (no treat). Every other time give your parrot a treat, then go down to every 3rd time, 4th time, etc. Ultimately you should only use the clicker but it's still good to end training with a positive treat.

Conclusion

Parrots are very intelligent creatures and need lots of recreation, and exercise. Trick training can be a good way to challenge your parrot and interact with it. The easiest way to start trick training is with clicker training. Train your parrot to know it did well when it hears a "click" of the clicker. 

I would love to hear about your success! In the comments, post your videos and photos of you and your parrot practicing clicker training.

Sources

[1] Ivan Pavlov and Classical Conditioning: Theory, Experiments & Contributions to Psychology - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com. (2020). Study.Com. https://study.com/academy/lesson/ivan-pavlov-and-classical-conditioning-theory-experiments-contributions-to-psychology.html#:~:text=Pavlov%20said%20the%20dogs%20were,an%20unconditioned%20response%20(salivation).

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