Is it possible to teach "No" ?

[jackih]

I understand the concept of training and the basics of positive reinforcement and negative punishment, but sometimes the details of exactly how to do something specific are more difficult to pin down. For instance, is it possible to train your bird to learn that "No" means not to do something? Or is there some other way to discourage some unwanted behavior other than by just removing the stimulus or antecedent?

My example is that my canary-wing likes to make a beeline for my tablet and chew on the case. I don't mind if he tries to bite (or lick, which he sometimes does too) the actual tablet screen itself, but he really doesn't care about that part, he just wants to chew on the edge of the case, which is actually picking off small pieces of the plastic and making sharp edges. I tried to distract him by having a game for cats on the screen where there are a few colorful fishes and bubbles to pop, but he only looks at it for a few seconds and goes right back to the edge of the case. I have been gently pushing away his beak with my finger while saying "No" when he does this and sometimes he seems to give up a after a few tries and goes off to do something else. But sometimes this makes him seem to want to do it even more! And of course even though he doesn't really care about what's on the screen, the bright colors and scrolling or videos will attract his attention and then he wants to come over and chew. If it gets really bad, like he just won't stop after a few times of telling him no and pushing away, I do remove him from the tablet area or I close it, but I'd like to know if I have any hope of getting him to stop if I say "No".

 

[JLcribber]

I'd like to know if I have any hope of getting him to stop if I say "No".

Not a hope in H-E-double hockey sticks. It's exactly the opposite. Drawing any kind of attention to an undesired behaviour is a "drama" reward to a parrot. A reward does not have to be good or bad. Just a reward. When he heads for the tablet, you "react" by either going over there and moving him or say no. Both were the exact reaction the bird was looking for. It's actually "reinforcing" the behaviour and will increase.

Change the antecedent. The bird can't chew a tablet that is not there (or have access to anyway).

 

[JLcribber]

If you leave candy in a bowl on the table and tell your child not to eat any and then leave, how long before the child eats the candy? (Not very long )

 

[Milestone]

Birdy knows what "No" means but only for a brief bit, then he's back at whatever he was doing.

And it's impossible to stop him from attacking my phone or iPad. I feel your pain.

 

[jackih]

If you leave candy in a bowl on the table and tell your child not to eat any and then leave, how long before the child eats the candy? (Not very long )

Well, I'm not expecting him to not TRY to do something, but I'm hoping to be able to stop him if he does try by saying No. In your example, I'd hope that if I came back in the room and said to stop, the child would stop. Basically, he only tries to bit my tablet case when I'm using it. If I'm not there, or not using it, he doesn't really care about it, so I would like to be able to say no and redirect him and have him not continually trying to bite it.

 

[Mizzely]

What are you offering to chew on instead?

Instead of telling the bird simply "no", give him a "yes". There needs to be a give and take. The images on the tablet aren't fulfilling the same needs : your attention and something to chew.

 

[JLcribber]

so I would like to be able to say no and redirect him

redirecting him (changing focus) or removing the antecedent is the way. Saying "no" is not going to help one bit. He'll do it more. You can try but (we told you so).

 

[cassiesdad]

Instead of telling the bird simply "no", give him a "yes". There needs to be a give and take.

This is the exact way to handle the situation...positive redirection.

To me the way you use the tablet confuses your bird...he sees the video, and wants to interact with it...and one way they interact with something is mouthing or chewing an object that piques their interest. He's not going to "get" anything from you if you say "no", so you must remove the tablet from his reach to stop the chewing.

 

[janicedyh]

Kiwi is not hard to distract, she mainly wants to peck at the screen or try and see if she can look behind the computer to see the other side of whats on the screen. Nelson wants to chew everything so I prepare. I always have something to play or chew for him when he is with me while I am on the computer. Most of the time I end up picking up whatever he is playing with from the floor. His biggest game is throwing things off the desk...kinda gets old..but...no chewing on cords or the computer. Kiwi did chew the corner off my tablet cover but shes a bird and its my fault for not expecting it. I just told her she was a little stinker, learned my lesson and don't give her the opportunity to do it again.

 

[camelotshadow]

Not a hope in H-E-double hockey sticks. It's exactly the opposite. Drawing any kind of attention to an undesired behaviour is a "drama" reward to a parrot. A reward does not have to be good or bad. Just a reward. When he heads for the tablet, you "react" by either going over there and moving him or say no. Both were the exact reaction the bird was looking for. It's actually "reinforcing" the behaviour and will increase.

I know alot of people do think there bird is capable of learning he meaning of no it ismore likely to reinforce the very thing you want to stop by the immediate attention & strong word which could mean to a bird////Hey they like it & I'll do it more!

Change the antecedent. The bird can't chew a tablet that is not there (or have access to anyway).

I have to agree

I know alot of people do think there bird is capable of learning he meaning of no it ismore likely to reinforce the very thing you want to stop by the immediate attention & strong word which could mean to a bird////Hey they like it & I'll do it more!

 

[Mizzely]

Think of it this way.. instead of preventing a behavior, encourage a different behavior. It's much easier on you both! You can't explain to a bird why it can't do something.

 

[schnitzle]

@Monica

 

[camelotshadow]

Think of it this way.. instead of preventing a behavior, encourage a different behavior. It's much easier on you both! You can't explain to a bird why it can't do something.

Good words...yes prevention is the best remedy (don;t get in a position to get bit)
You should never respond to screaming or unwanted sounds.
You encourage by treat or praise the sounds & behaviors that you want to reinforce.

 

[Monica]

My thoughts on this have already been suggested... that is, rewarding an alternative behavior!

 

[Flipburry]

I seoncd this

Think of it this way.. instead of preventing a behavior, encourage a different behavior. It's much easier on you both! You can't explain to a bird why it can't do something.

 

[schnitzle]

We found out accidentally that he's scared of a certain red wash cloth. So now the tablet sits on the red wash cloth and guess what? No more biting of the tablet case!

 

[Monica]

Although a lot of people are fine using a method like that, it's not one that I'm personally a fan of. It can cause undue stress in a bird. Stress is not healthy.


I'd rather put the tablet away or teach the bird to pay attention to something else instead.

 

[Lwalker]

Because I don't work at home, my computer time can be limited. I have an expensive laptop paid for by work and they would not understand beak marks. When my birds are out and about the computer is away and it is bird time. When the birds go to bed it is me time and the computer comes out. The two don't cross paths and we have no problems.

 

[Laurie]

Along with offering an alternate behavior you can teach a "drop" behavior.

You basically, teach your bird to drop whatever is in his mouth in exchange for something else. Eventually, you can space out the time between the "drop" and the reward so that the cue can be used to get him to stop chewing. After the reward you should then offer the redirection activity or better yet make the reward the same thing as the redirection and cue it with the the word "drop".

Or if it makes you happy you could cue it with the word "no" Then you could trick people into thinking that you bird knows what it means to when you say "no". Which he does. Sort of. Because you taught him

 

[Mer Boy]

Along with offering an alternate behavior you can teach a "drop" behavior.

You basically, teach your bird to drop whatever is in his mouth in exchange for something else. Eventually, you can space out the time between the "drop" and the reward so that the cue can be used to get him to stop chewing. After the reward you should then offer the redirection activity or better yet make the reward the same thing as the redirection and cue it with the the word "drop".

Or if it makes you happy you could cue it with the word "no" Then you could trick people into thinking that you bird knows what it means to when you say "no". Which he does. Sort of. Because you taught him

I like this idea! You can teach the behavior using a small object (e.g. foot toy) and then generalize it to other objects (e.g. tablet).