sunnysmom
Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
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That is so wonderful!
Nice! I can touch my Opies beak but if I try to stretch for the head he shifts just out of reach.@Elysian It takes a lot of patience and persistence with him. I say ‘touch beak’, and then reach out to lightly stroke his beak. If he accepts it without trying to draw blood, I tell him “Good Boy!!!” and he gets a treat.
I started pushing it a bit and tried to gently stroke just the top of his head. I say ‘touch head’, and reach out with one finger to stroke the top of his head. Typically he twists around to try to bite me and pulls away. If that’s the case, I’ll move on to another trick or some targeting so we end on a positive. Yesterday and today, he actually let me stroke his head gently two or three times without complaint. He gets a big, excited “good boy!!!” and a treat or two. I hope this helps!
This may sound silly, but when I say Touch Beak, I’m touching my own nose before touching his. When I say touch head, I stroke the top of my own head first. My Opie will never be cuddly, but I do want his vet trips to be less stressful for all involved.Nice! I can touch my Opies beak but if I try to stretch for the head he shifts just out of reach.
I don't know why I never thought to add a cue word my attempts. Starting on this tomorrow!
Thank you so much! What a kind thing to sayHe is adorable. He's very lucky to have you.
I did same thing with Inca, my cue was kissing sounds. After two or three session, he became a scritch bug.@Elysian It takes a lot of patience and persistence with him. I say ‘touch beak’, and then reach out to lightly stroke his beak. If he accepts it without trying to draw blood, I tell him “Good Boy!!!” and he gets a treat.
I started pushing it a bit and tried to gently stroke just the top of his head. I say ‘touch head’, and reach out with one finger to stroke the top of his head. Typically he twists around to try to bite me and pulls away. If that’s the case, I’ll move on to another trick or some targeting so we end on a positive. Yesterday and today, he actually let me stroke his head gently two or three times without complaint. He gets a big, excited “good boy!!!” and a treat or two. I hope this helps!
Now Inca has invented his own cue sounds for scritchy, hahahaI don't know why I never thought to add a cue word my attempts.
Aw no I'm so sorry to hear this. It's always upsetting when they have off days like this.Opie was a maniac this afternoon, and I cannot figure out the reason. He bit me, and I just missed his signals some how. He was alarm calling for 5 minutes straight, and I was never able to figure out a reason. He was more vocal than usual today.
I was not wearing clothes he hadn't seen before or the 'wrong' glasses. I put the new portable ramp down, but he could only see a small portion of it from his cage. I did not roll either of them down it, but I did walk up and down it myself a bit so they could all get used to the sound.
No changes in food, no other new sites or sounds or smells that I can determine. I am finding this just heartbreaking for some reason, too! I thought he had come to trust me to a certain extent by now, but today was awful!