Adopted 1 Year Old GCC Training Help

[ChromeClad]

I recently adopted a GCC from a neglectful situation. I've done a lot of research online learning about training techniques and desired behavior!

So, the problem I'm having is Pinot (My GCC ) seems to be progressing at an alarming rate. I've had him for three weeks and he already knows how to target, step up, wave, and spin. However once in a while he'll have an 'episode'. I assumed this was caused from some sort of trigger, maybe from his previous living situation but the previous owner says they have no idea what it could be. (She generally seems done with him unfortunately...)

He's just a baby (1!) so I'm worried, maybe I'm moving to quickly? I always let him have an option whether he wants to participate in the activity or not, 95% of the time he does the activity happily, he'll even dance with praise.

During an 'episode' he gets hyper aggressive toward my fingers (Not hands, fingers specifically). When we take a breath and the episode cools down he's very eager to start again for treats and praise and if I don't he'll get 'sad' (I shouldn't anthropomorphize but that's how it feels).

She clipped him very badly... an issue I find is far too common online. I'm worried that maybe there was physical abuse in his previous situation but obviously his previous owner wouldn't have mentioned that.

It sounds like a trauma problem, which I will happily work through. I'm just wondering is there a process I should take to minimize the episodes? They are consistently random (If that makes any sense ) I've tried approaching from different directions to see if that was the trigger etc, but I can't seem to pin down the exact issue.

Any comments or feedback would help!!

P.S. I took him to the vet when I first adopted him, blood work was relatively healthy for a previously all seed diet; now hes on fresh fruit + veggies with pellet base and is eating like a horse.

 

[Ali]

Bump

 

[scrape]

@Monica @sunnysmom

 

[Monica]

It honestly sounds like you are doing everything right with Pinot!


Maybe it would help to keep a journal of these episodes. Consider how long he's been out/away from his cage, the last time he ate or drank, what was going on within the environment (if there are windows outside - consider what's going on outside your windows too!), any other details that may seem important before, during and after these 'episodes'. Maybe you'll be able to find a common cause this way?

 

[Monaco]

Different food and behavior in three weeks is excellent! I bet you'll figure out the triggers over time. I've learned to acknowledge my girl's occasional tantrums by just narrating what I'm seeing. It's usually from a little distance, "okay, I see you're frustrated, I'm walking away to give you a minute..." or whatever is going on. Except for her kitchen issue. I know about that one, so I try to preempt it altogether. Once you've figured it out, you can modify it. So much of these beautiful puzzles is observation and time.

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome to the forum. Are the episodes during training sessions or just random?

 

[ChromeClad]

Welcome to the forum. Are the episodes during training sessions or just random?

Usually only during training, when we’re cuddling or winding down it’s never happened. I’m trying to pin point exactly what it is during training.. whenever it happens I just take a step back and let him cool down after 30 seconds or so he’ll start spinning (one of the first tricks I taught him) and he’ll be eager to continue. Should I maybe stop after episodes?

 

[sunnysmom]

Usually only during training, when we’re cuddling or winding down it’s never happened. I’m trying to pin point exactly what it is during training.. whenever it happens I just take a step back and let him cool down after 30 seconds or so he’ll start spinning (one of the first tricks I taught him) and he’ll be eager to continue. Should I maybe stop after episodes?

My friend who is a professional bird trainer says to always keep training sessions short- like 10 minutes. And end them on a positive note. She says typically we try to push training too far- like I bet he can do it one more time- and that's a mistake. You should stop basically while he's still interested and reward and praise him rather than stopping as his interest is lagging or in your case an episode starts. I don't know if you can predict stopping or not. But you can have 10 minute sessions through out the day. So if he seems to enjoy it, do multiple ones just try shortening them maybe? Not sure if that's the cause of the episodes or not but it might be something to consider.

 

[ChromeClad]

My friend who is a professional bird trainer says to always keep training sessions short- like 10 minutes. And end them on a positive note. She says typically we try to push training too far- like I bet he can do it one more time- and that's a mistake. You should stop basically while he's still interested and reward and praise him rather than stopping as his interest is lagging or in your case an episode starts. I don't know if you can predict stopping or not. But you can have 10 minute sessions through out the day. So if he seems to enjoy it, do multiple ones just try shortening them maybe? Not sure if that's the cause of the episodes or not but it might be something to consider.

Thanks I’ll give it a try!