Hiking with harness

[Aggie]

Just wanted to share with you all what a great day we both had yesterday Just so proud of my little green dinosaur.


(1st rest stop enjoying the sun)

We did a 6 hr hike followed by afternoon tea. Total time spent in harness was 9hrs including driving. This is 2 hrs more than his last hiking day out.


(Enjoying high tea at the tea house)

On the way down into the rainforest the field was very open so winds were high. I ended up having to cuddle Echo into me. He never allows this during day. Its all about being mr independent. It was nice to see how comfortable he was with me protecting him from the wind.


(Kisses and conversations while we hike)

Around midday he got a little unsettled so i got the umbrella out for some shade. Well the little bugger decided to grind his beak before having a little nap on me. Guess the ride wasnt too bumpy. Woke up wanting to have the biggest conversation. I was even given a lovely ear nibble and some hair adjustment lol.

Echo did so well. Was relaxed the whole time. Said 'look' a few times when excited over something. We stopped every 30min so he could poop, drink and snack. At the tea house he was allowed to be with other guests outside under cover. He got a little scone as a treat (FYI never eats this type of thing). Apprehensive about the rocking seats but by the time we left he was thoroughly enjoying it. He was on best pooping behavior too and managed not to make any modifications to the cane chairs (unlike home).

When i picked this little guy up 15 months ago at 4 months old i never thought we would be doing things like this. I had hoped to take him camping etc but in a cage with some harness time included, but definitely couldn't imagine to the extent of 9hrs!! Even with all my research I never realised the amount of intelligence, enjoyment, companionship and enrichment he was capable of. Im in awe of how adaptable he is once trust and bond established. So easy going and happy to go with the flow. My friend was even able to handle him once he got use to her.


(Echo waiting for his snacks will friend takes in the views)

Our next adventure is to meet one of his insta friends for a play date. Hope they hit it off as they dont live far away and id love for him to have some interaction with his own kind.

 

[sunnysmom]

That's so great. Hopefully, I will be able to do this with my bird some day.

 

[Hotpockets]

This is so amazing! This is exactly what I hope to do with Roy one day. Right now he only goes places in his soft carrier, but I can see how much he wants to be outside. We just got his aviator harness yesterday so the training has begun!

 

[Hotpockets]

Btw, what is your instagram handle? I'd love to follow another birdy person and see more gorgeous pics of your handsom Fellow and his adventures! PM it to me if you like .

 

[Wendy27]

Curious- does Echo chew on harness when he wears it for that long period of time? I have my eclectus wearing a harness as well - but we just walk around my front and back yard because I am afraid he'll chew the harness while I am driving somewhere. Thanks!

 

[MommyBird]

I'm almost speechless at your lovely photos and story.
SO WONDERFUL!
Thanks for sharing!

 

[WallyLoopey]

Loved reading about your adventure! Amazing!

 

[Aggie]

Curious- does Echo chew on harness when he wears it for that long period of time? I have my eclectus wearing a harness as well - but we just walk around my front and back yard because I am afraid he'll chew the harness while I am driving somewhere. Thanks!

Thats so fantastic!! And provides so much enrichment for your eckie

My boy does try occasionally. But i would consider us still in training to be honest. I tell him to stop which he responds with the cutest sqeaks but will usually stop. Occasionally i have to get my finger and tap him on the beak with a firm 'No'. This really annoys him so he growls at me but only once my back is turned hehe. Basically he knows hes not to do it. If I'm wearing sunglasses he does it more as he thinks i can't see him.

Several things that i notice makes him chew more:
- reaching limit for the day (we have built up to 9hrs over 16 months )
- being bored
- new feathers coming in the area from a heavy molt. They rub on it and it hurts (Went through a stage where he just couldn't bare to wear it)
- it gets in the way while trying to groom
- if hes hot and wants to be in the shade.
- bad mood. He just doesn't have patience for it.
- long time inbetween sessions. We do daily unless a bad experience happened then we try again in a few days.

Its all about routine. We have the same getting it on steps. Always on the same shoulder and the same que words out the door. We use as many distractions as possible. Our dog helps as hes busy calling him and looking for him. We always collect yummy things to eat. Stop and say 'hi' to as many people. Echo now understands the word 'look' and will stop whatever hes doing to check out what i want his attention on. Early days we also took snacks but now he gets an almond when harness off for his great behaviour.

Btw if you have an aviator harness which i highly recommend it would take him a while to get through it. Always inspect before and after. The black elastic cord however your bird should never be allowed to play with even when harness not on as they can fray it very easily. It also pays to recall train just in case with something that gets the bird to come 100% of the time. For echo its me singing into a coloured cup (go figure) as treats aren't always responded too (guess hes too well fed)

Your doing a great job!! Just keep it up
Remeber consistency creates better results for all. The bird knows the boundaries and you end up with better behavior from your bird.

 

[Wendy27]

Thank you - great information!

 

[TikiMyn]

That is fantastic!! It looks just like a fairy tale! Please keep sharing your adventures, I adored Reading your story!
It is so impressive that he wears the harness for so long, well done! Do you have any tips to get them used to wearing the harness? Both my lovies put their head through the head loop willingly, and we are now working on letting it stay there.

 

[Aggie]

That is fantastic!! It looks just like a fairy tale! Please keep sharing your adventures, I adored Reading your story!
It is so impressive that he wears the harness for so long, well done! Do you have any tips to get them used to wearing the harness? Both my lovies put their head through the head loop willingly, and we are now working on letting it stay there.

Thank you it wasnt always a fairytail.

I got discouraged several times throughout. Echos behavior was terrible at one stage. Biting and screaming. When we went away all of a sudden he was an angle again. Thats when i realised he needed different type of attention and stimulation. We started going out in harness. Our dog is his security blanket so helped immensely to settle him. He calls his name non stop while walking to keep him close. Its very cute. Can go out without him now but is much quieter.

I guess just keep going with it and gradually build time up to the hours you need. See the above post for all the triggers that cause chewing from my observations. The more they focus on harness the less they appreciate outside time. Be firm and consistant with expected behavior. Reward positive behaviour. We have a distraction word 'look' which was used on the dog but now echo knows theres something exciting to see (plane or koby chasing something). He knows says it to me when he sees something exciting.

Echo use to just sit there while i put it on. Now he needs lots of pats and reassurance. Thats just how it is. Ive accepted it. Of recent hes been putting his head through which is great but im still holding his body as comfort. My AV said just keep going when i got a little discouraged. Glad i did as hes not afraid of it. Just doesn't love it but will tolerate it to go out. We try do same rountine. I use my ensuite to put it on in as thats his favorite place in house. So we already start on a positive. He gets an almond on return and whatever we've collected as well.

Tomorrow we go on another big adventure and to visit a friend. Will post story on return.

 

[TikiMyn]

Thank you it wasnt always a fairytail.

I got discouraged several times throughout. Echos behavior was terrible at one stage. Biting and screaming. When we went away all of a sudden he was an angle again. Thats when i realised he needed different type of attention and stimulation. We started going out in harness. Our dog is his security blanket so helped immensely to settle him. He calls his name non stop while walking to keep him close. Its very cute. Can go out without him now but is much quieter.

I guess just keep going with it and gradually build time up to the hours you need. See the above post for all the triggers that cause chewing from my observations. The more they focus on harness the less they appreciate outside time. Be firm and consistant with expected behavior. Reward positive behaviour. We have a distraction word 'look' which was used on the dog but now echo knows theres something exciting to see (plane or koby chasing something). He knows says it to me when he sees something exciting.

Echo use to just sit there while i put it on. Now he needs lots of pats and reassurance. Thats just how it is. Ive accepted it. Of recent hes been putting his head through which is great but im still holding his body as comfort. My AV said just keep going when i got a little discouraged. Glad i did as hes not afraid of it. Just doesn't love it but will tolerate it to go out. We try do same rountine. I use my ensuite to put it on in as thats his favorite place in house. So we already start on a positive. He gets an almond on return and whatever we've collected as well.

Tomorrow we go on another big adventure and to visit a friend. Will post story on return.

Thank you! I am excited to see your new adventure! Have fun!

 

[Aggie]

Todays adventure lasted 10hrs in harness. Thats 1hr more than previous. Total 5hrs hiking, 3 hrs driving, 2 hours lunch and visit.

It wasn't as smooth as previous hike despite being better prepared and much cooler. Everyone was a little tired before we even started. Echo got seperation anxiety when i left him with my friend to go to toilet. He knows her well, just couldn't handle having me out of his sight. After that he was irritated deciding it was the harnesses fault as he couldn't fly after me. Refused to drink but happily ate snacks. Nevertheless we preserved and it didn't result in the pak o bird needing to be used. I did have to stop him biting the harness a lot more than normal. He even growled and screamed when my friend tried to get into our car. A little chuckle as she got out and asked him if she could get in again. He responded with the sweetest coo. Funny bird.

First stop was Warburton trail for 3 hr hike. One stop for snacks.



2nd stop. We met up with one of echos instagram friends. Echo loved Daisy. Both so gentle together giving the other space.


3rd stop was the la la Falls. 1hr hike. Echo thought the waterfalls were a little scary but coped well.


4th stop was the redwood forest walk. 1hr hike. Echo loved it here the most. The smells, sounds and safety from canopy intrigued his senses.



Last stop was coffee shop for lunch and a big rest before driving home. Echo did well with people walking past very close, other dogs and traffic from the road. He enjoyed the busy atmosphere of the street watching with interest.

Great day! Echo is now so chilled in the car. Takes his spot and tugs on my ear for a toilet stop. Ive tried to use verbal cues so he knows we are going, breaking, going over bumps etc Not sure if he understands yet but it has helped to relax him.

Ive noticed he gets excited if we take a road he hasnt been on yet or seeing horses and cows in paddocks. This may be due to our dog usually barking at the animals.

Our next big adventure won't be for a while. However, we will be going for our daily walks around our wetlands

 

[TikiMyn]

Ahw I absolutely love your stories!

 

[Aubrey]

Wow! You are inspiring! You've really done quite a lot since you've acquired Echo!

Thanks for sharing with us

 

[Chopper]

This is so awesome. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Nancy B]

Ditto! I am on the fence about getting my Freddy a harness. I think I will

 

[Aggie]

Half day hike as so hot yesterday plus we took dogbit with us.

Echo was a little quiet but very happy whenever we stopped for a rest. Refused to drink which was concerning since hot but didnt show any signs of dehydration. Very forceful in letting me know he needed to poop. He tugs on my earing. Something he just taught himself to do. Yesterday was a little too hard though which is probably my fault for not understand the urgency of it. He also does it if he wants to stop to appreciate the scenery. Sometimes he just wants to sit and not hike. If i dont listen i get pooped on. Im sure im being trained too.

I accidentally tugged on his harness a few times while trying to manage both of them. Normally echo would get very upset and unsettled for a while but today he just growled at me and moved on. He also has started to fly to my shoulder when i say 'lets go' post having a break. Small wins!!

Enjoy the photos


We always stop for brunch. Echo is getting very good being settled on his own chair eating snacks. People can walk past very closely and it doesn't bother him at all.

Will have more next week as we are going away for long weekend. 4hr car trip to come.

 

[TikiMyn]

Absolutely brilliant!

 

[Aggie]

We didn't do much hiking but took a family trip over long Easter break. Most of it was spent relaxing.

A 4hr journey took us 6.5hrs by car due to getting lost. Echo decided a long time ago he prefers to travel in harness over carrier. Makes for a fuss free trip as we just jump in and out of car so we accommodate his compromise hehe Sometimes he tries to get out of harness but getting on our shoulder immediately when he sees it followed by sooking noises. He does accepts pakobird but only once out and about already.

I'm so proud of him though. Whole 4 days not a poop on anything except in his cage or where he was asked to go. He was such a good sport through whole trip. Best behavior in a long time and so much love and affection.

I did notice he didn't eat as much as on previous trips. He didn't get to fly around as much as normal so wondered if just due to decrease energy requirement or something else going on. But he was happy throughout the whole trip and is fine now. We did go camping once and the little piggy did nothing but eat everything in sight and me none the wiser kept giving him more thinking he was hungry. Well he toe tapped all night long.

Below are some photos from the trip. Hope you guys enjoy them.


Guess someone learnt to get in on the selfie action hehe


Caught talking to locals. I got a 'what' from him and this look. Lol


Tolerated this very well. Waves actually hitting back of rocks.


Made himself right at home on the cushion I was using.


Likes to sit backwards. Thought it might make him sick but it doesn't.


Another great trip. Nothing planned for a while so I might be a bit quiet for a while. I did notice his interest when driving through the city so might try him in a few short busy environments and see how he goes.