I have a male cockatiel roughly 9 months old. He will sometimes allow me to touch his wings briefly, and he doesn’t mind his harness as a nearby object or even really as an object laid over him (although he’s not planning to just stand for fun under anything). So obviously we have a LOOONG way to go with harness training.
It occurred to me today though that his main motivation (other than seed) is me. (I taught him to eat pellets by eating a few in front of him.) And he likes to do what I’m doing. (He likes helping me with laundry or anything else he’s allowed to do. And he likes to eat with me, to the point that he won’t beg for my food when I’m eating even if he has pellets easily accessible.)
So I suddenly wondered if it would have any impact if I used some similarly colored ribbon to make myself a harness like his. If I put it on in front of him and had an obviously enjoyable time, I wonder if it might motivate him at all to try. Obviously still slowly and step by step.
Does anyone have any thoughts or input on this? I know it’s a bit far fetched and it won’t do the trick on its own...
It occurred to me today though that his main motivation (other than seed) is me. (I taught him to eat pellets by eating a few in front of him.) And he likes to do what I’m doing. (He likes helping me with laundry or anything else he’s allowed to do. And he likes to eat with me, to the point that he won’t beg for my food when I’m eating even if he has pellets easily accessible.)
So I suddenly wondered if it would have any impact if I used some similarly colored ribbon to make myself a harness like his. If I put it on in front of him and had an obviously enjoyable time, I wonder if it might motivate him at all to try. Obviously still slowly and step by step.
Does anyone have any thoughts or input on this? I know it’s a bit far fetched and it won’t do the trick on its own...
