Paandajean
Strolling the yard
I've had Jade now for 3 weeks - she's always been forced to come out of the cage, so when I brought her home from the rescue I decided that that was no more (and that was the reason she was lunging at my hand) so I decided to build our trust. My boyfriend was working in Europe 2 out of the 3 weeks thus far that we've had her so I was going over what I did to build trust, and I thought I'd share my progress with you guys. Through video! My boyfriend was very "let's just take her out" and I'm glad that he was out of town for this period of time so I could show him the progress she has made just through positive reinforcement (and a big bag of pine nuts).
I started by giving her pine nuts, her favorite treat, just whenever I thought she was being good, so she would know that my hand does not equal bad things. This was usually through the cage bars. I had her following me around the cage because she knew I had pine nuts. I picked up on her putting her foot to the cage when she was begging for a treat, so when she did that I would say "foot" and give her a treat, and praise her like nobody's business. I did this SO many times so it would be engraved in her mind. Foot action = treat.
Instagram
When I felt she was comfortable with my hand, I would place my finger through the bars ever so slightly (because she still tried to bite, in which I would take the treats away and try again in a few minutes), so when she would do "foot", if she touched my hand while doing it she would get a treat. If she touched me I would say "touch" or "touch foot".
Instagram
She's still getting comfortable with coming in and out of her cage, but when she does, we spend a lot of time training. We've gotten to this point right now, and I have her traveling to touch my hand also. She's doing great and I hope one day she takes the plunge to step up!
Instagram
Instagram
And just for fun, she really likes to whisper when she gets head scratches.
Instagram
I started by giving her pine nuts, her favorite treat, just whenever I thought she was being good, so she would know that my hand does not equal bad things. This was usually through the cage bars. I had her following me around the cage because she knew I had pine nuts. I picked up on her putting her foot to the cage when she was begging for a treat, so when she did that I would say "foot" and give her a treat, and praise her like nobody's business. I did this SO many times so it would be engraved in her mind. Foot action = treat.
When I felt she was comfortable with my hand, I would place my finger through the bars ever so slightly (because she still tried to bite, in which I would take the treats away and try again in a few minutes), so when she would do "foot", if she touched my hand while doing it she would get a treat. If she touched me I would say "touch" or "touch foot".
She's still getting comfortable with coming in and out of her cage, but when she does, we spend a lot of time training. We've gotten to this point right now, and I have her traveling to touch my hand also. She's doing great and I hope one day she takes the plunge to step up!
And just for fun, she really likes to whisper when she gets head scratches.