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Vanya's Clicker Training Adventures

vanyasmom

Walking the driveway
Joined
11/7/17
Messages
160
Location
Florida
A couple weeks ago, I brought this delightful little budgie home from the pet store. Vanya is young, under three months as he has not had his first molt. His head strips still go down to his cere. I am so grateful for all the tips and advice that I have received simply by reading this forum's threads, and going back pages and pages. I am new here and do not know how to tag people to give them credit, so forgive me for not doing so. I do prefer when possible to give credit where credit is due. So if someone can tell me how to tag someone, that would be appreciated.

Anyway, as I am new to discovering just how extremely intelligent and talented my little budgie is I am willing to "experiment" a bit, to see just how much he can learn from via "monkey see, monkey do" as John on here put it. The only way I have to do that is via You Tube videos. I think that they DO actually seem to help.

At first, the clicker's noise was scary. It took a bit for him to get desensitize him to the sound of it. So, our first few days with the clicker were just click and treat. And sometimes we back up to just click and treat and usually warm up with about 3 or 4 of them. He gets 1-3 bites now during the warm ups. I actually watched a video and counted bites that were given so I could know what to do.

For the past week, I have been working with clickers and started target training with a chopstick. Vanya is doing very very well. One of his big rewards is his cyber buddies - the talking budgies and playing buddies he gets to watch throughout the day. He loves his "friends." I figured that while he learns to trust me, and gets used to life here. He could have some carefully selected bird friends via the internet. I had heard/read that another bird especially one of his own species can teach him to speak much easier than I can, so while I am talking to him also, his friends talk to him all day long. He has already started to mumble a bit.

I had been able to give him millet from a spray of it, keeping it at a distance to him. And he also was only stretching or taking a step or two toward it at the very most. That was even this morning. I had tried to put my other hand in, to desensitize him to it, but it seemed to make him nervous. He had, on different occasions when I would try the other hand in there just resting between the stick and him, touched my hand with his mouth. And of course, for his bravery he would be clicked and rewarded, even though he checked out my hand rather than the stick.

There were also times it seemed that he didn't really understand what the point of these interactions were. And even when I got home he wasn't that interested in doing a full 5 minutes. We did a set of beak the stick and get a treat. Then the phone rang, most likely a sales call. but, he was not interested in continuing after we took a few minute break. We would only do maybe 10 reps at most and he would get a couple bites of millet each time. Then take a break. Then normally do another 5-8 reps.

So, I turned to the internet to see about clicker training and target training. And taming.

Late this afternoon, I found some clicker training videos - showing birds doing the target training with a chop stick. All of these activities are happening inside the cage for Vanya. But, the budgies in the video, like most of his talking and playing cyber buddies, got to be out of their cages and seemed excited about the clicker games they were playing. Vanya got to watch birds eating out of their owner's hand, being hand fed little seeds of millet, as well as flying to the shoulder of their owner, flying back to the cage, getting to eat more millet, identifying a colored milk jug cap from other colors, eating more millet, riding a little cart, eating more millet, being praised. He also got to hear the verbal cues.

After we watched about 15 minutes or so of that, I told him it was his turn. This time, he was interested and wanted to do it. I got brave and offered a much smaller piece of millet, like a very large cluster. He was more brave about taking that from my hand. Then, I made sure to include a taming video that showed a budgie eating from the owner's hand along with his cyber buddies (it takes about an hour to go through all the different friends of his). I put that on while I went to church.

Tonight after we watched a regular movie, when I was putting out all the lights, about 9 pm. He seemed to want a bit of interaction, so we did another 5 minute session. This time, I used a small cluster and he followed the stick a much farther distance - like a good 5" or so each time. Once, he even crossed the cage to beak the stick. And after the taming and training videos, I opened the big doors, rather than the smaller ones, so that Vanya and I could do our session. The bigger doors open differently. They don't "jar" the cage like the smaller ones do due to the hump that secures the door.

I think that when he saw and heard other birds doing what we were trying to accomplish, that he realized that the stick is the key to getting to do more interesting things. In fact, in one of the videos, the budgies, each on command, raise their wings to the back. I noticed that Vanya seeing them do that, raised his too. I had noticed that often he would get in the same position as the budgie in the video. Not all the time, but sometimes. I also noticed that at first he had been climbing on the sides of the cage more and doing somersaults when excited, but since none of the budgies in the videos do that, he runs up and down his spiral rope perch, ---- they run around on their feet or fly.

I am so happy with his progress. I think he is doing really really well. He is a smart little guy. He is just wonderful. I am not in a hurry. I know that when he is ready and feels more comfortable, he will step up and back down. And one day, he will get to fly, outside his cage. In fact, one phrase that one of his buddies says is "open my cage"

Again, I am so grateful for this forum. As Vanya progresses, I will make some videos. It will be fun to document his progress.
 

MommyBird

Biking along the boulevard
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You are doing a wonderful job. Vanya is a lucky little budgie.
to tag someone you type the @ symbol then start typing their forum name. It will automatically show choices after a few letters and you can pick.
@vanyasmom
 

WendyN

Biking along the boulevard
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Yes, you are doing a wonderful job!
 

vanyasmom

Walking the driveway
Joined
11/7/17
Messages
160
Location
Florida
Today he went into his new play area for about 4 hours. Thanks to the clicker training and target training, and getting to where he would come to me to get millet when I say come here -- the distance is only a few inches - maybe about 6-7" in the new area. Vanya got up on a perch to go back into his regular cage so he could go to bed. I first tried without a perch and he wanted to come but just wasn't sure. So, I tried again with a perch. He got on. He got off of it when I began move him back through the open door to his regular cage. I lined up 2 doors of the cages so I would have access to both cages if need be. I secured the cages to each other, and the doors open. The second try with the perch - with him munching on millet as we went back in - was successful. So, now we get to add in getting on and off perches. :)
 

vanyasmom

Walking the driveway
Joined
11/7/17
Messages
160
Location
Florida
Today, he went back in his play area today. He found out that if something scary happened such as Wet Romaine Lettuce in a dish coming into the play area, that he could fly quickly back to the safety of his cage. Which he did. He did quite by accident land in it though, and just as quickly get away from that very scary stuff. I did get him to come over to a bowl of water without lettuce into it. He got a drink, then hopped back up on his perch.

But, the BIG NEWS is that he got down off the perch onto my hand, which was next to another perch, so he had a choice where to go to eat some millet. He took a few bites then got back up on the perch. However, when we did it the next time, I had to put him back on the perch he came from to land on my hand to eat millet. I said "go back" as I put him there. When he stepped off my hand and onto the perch, he got to eat lots of millet. Well, he got half a cluster each step. Half for getting on my hand, the second half for returning to the perch. I watched a girl putting her budgies through their paces of commands, they were more advanced at this, so only got a bite of millet for FLYING to and from her shoulder from the cage. For me and Vanya, this was a HUGE step, in my opinion. So worthy a huge treats each time.

Also, when I would sit down and reach for a millet cluster. He would stop what he was doing and come over toward me. We did this exercise about 5 or six times today. When it was time for bed, I had him get on my hand, but in a different location. My hand was through the open door of the main cage into the play area. And I was pleasantly surprised that with very little hesitation, he climbed down to my hand. He gently beaks me as he is climbing on. Then, I told him to "go back, that it was time for little birdies to go to sleep." Then he went to bed. :)

It was great!!!!

At least he is associating me with millet. And that is a good start. I am totally THRILLED!!!!!
 

Tiel Feathers

Joyriding the Neighborhood
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Really great progress! :starshower1: You're doing wonderfully with him!
 

vanyasmom

Walking the driveway
Joined
11/7/17
Messages
160
Location
Florida
Yesterday, the day after he threw a temper tantrum because I encircled him, not touching him, just with my hand around - more as a barrier in an attempt to get him back into his other cage - the two had been adjoined. I go in detail about this in another thread. I anticipated that I would need to back up and mend fences.

As it turned out, I had a LOT of errands to run, then church that evening, then another errand. So, I didn't spend as much indirect time with him as normal. Also, we only did one training session. When I first presented my hand, he wasn't sure. So, I click treated him a few times on the perch. Then clicked when he would come when called. When he flew back before I said go back, he didn't get a treat. I know he is a highly intelligent animal. So, I am counting on that he knows the difference between or can learn the difference between being rewarded for doing what I asked. And simply doing something because he felt like it. I wouldn't reward my dog just because she decided to sit down. But she will get rewarded if she sits when I say "sit".

And I kept the session brief. I went back to using the clicker and would click when he would land on my hand. And would click when he returned to the perch when I would tell him to, although he only did that on cue a couple times. And instead of holding the millet in the same hand as the perch hand, I held it in my other hand, so both hands were in the cage. My left hand was the perch hand, as always, and my right held the clicker and millet.

Then today, again I was out the better part of the afternoon, due to holiday activities. He was much more interested - and I spent more time, just being near him. We did 2 brief sessions. I was very pleased that he did it on verbal cues alone today again with both hands. I figure I will not always have the clicker and really want him to know to come when called, and go to your cage. Not because he would be doing something "wrong" but because I have a dog that may need to come inside, and I don't want to take the chance of leaving him out all day with the dog inside. Not that she would hurt him, but I just would not feel okay about that.
 

vanyasmom

Walking the driveway
Joined
11/7/17
Messages
160
Location
Florida
I put a wooden perch with bark on it by the door, mostly so Vanya could be on it and look down into the new foraging for food dish. This morning I did reward his efforts of getting closer to the new, scary stuff. (part of a paper towel, new dish of food, etc) I did reward him through the bars with millet.

I did spend a lot of time, "helping" him to see that there was food in there as it was his very first time. Then this evening, when I sat down to eat in that chair and then to interact with him later, he came right over. He actually started looking for the millet treats.

Tonight, I changed the puzzle on him. While I was in here wondering if he would be able to figure out the crinkled paper, when I went back in the other room, I saw one pile of crinkled paper on one side of the cage and another section somewhere on the other side. OK, that didn't happen from flying. He did that. Good, smart little guy!!!! :)

So for treats and interaction and learning time, I opened one of the candy cups and let him eat the prize out of it while I held it partially open for him, so it could be like "He" found it. Then, we opened the one with the oats in it - not as exciting as the millet one. Then, I picked up the crinkly paper cluster and held a millet cluster at the edge, so he could find the treat in the crinkled paper. Then we did it again with a millet cluster, this time in the middle of the handful of crinkly paper. He liked that game. He sat happily on my hand and enjoyed "finding" the millet in there.

I am so pleased that he was so eager to do things with me. I actually had both my hands together to do the paper and the millet. It is a wonderful feeling knowing that they want to do stuff with you.

He will very soon - as soon as I can get a few more things ready for him - be able to let him out for a bit.
 
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