Kassiani
Biking along the boulevard
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
I've been working with Opie to enter his travel carrier voluntarily. It's like the photo except the color is black. I have a folding table that I place next to his cage and put the carrier on top of that. I tie the door open so it doesn't swing and startle him.
First, I would target him to the cage top and cage top perch/handle (wrapped in vet wrap). Then I attached a perch to the inside of the door, and I began targeting him to that. He is always allowed to *not* want to train or step onto the cage. Next, I untied the door so that I could move it back and forth gently (just a couple of inches) to allow him to get used to the movement of the door while he was on the perch.
It took a while doing the above before I could actually close the door with him on the perch -- stuffing his face with treats while he sat there on the perch with the door closed, lol! I can now close the door, secure it, and take a few steps back from the cage while he munches his treats. He is never closed inside the carrier for more than about 30 or 40 seconds.
I'm not really sure how to advance this training from here. Should I put a toy and food dish inside and allow him to get used to that? Maybe once he tolerates the introduction of the new items then leave him in there for about 5 minutes at a time? I think it will be a while yet before I can move the cage without him having a meltdown. Thank you for any help!!!!
First, I would target him to the cage top and cage top perch/handle (wrapped in vet wrap). Then I attached a perch to the inside of the door, and I began targeting him to that. He is always allowed to *not* want to train or step onto the cage. Next, I untied the door so that I could move it back and forth gently (just a couple of inches) to allow him to get used to the movement of the door while he was on the perch.
It took a while doing the above before I could actually close the door with him on the perch -- stuffing his face with treats while he sat there on the perch with the door closed, lol! I can now close the door, secure it, and take a few steps back from the cage while he munches his treats. He is never closed inside the carrier for more than about 30 or 40 seconds.
I'm not really sure how to advance this training from here. Should I put a toy and food dish inside and allow him to get used to that? Maybe once he tolerates the introduction of the new items then leave him in there for about 5 minutes at a time? I think it will be a while yet before I can move the cage without him having a meltdown. Thank you for any help!!!!