# Sophia thinks she runs the house



## vitaminmandi (Jan 22, 2014)

Every time I take her out, she RUNS up my arm and sits on my shoulder. I would have no problem with this, except for the fact that when either myself or my boyfriend tries to get her off my shoulder, she bites. She has to learn that she doesn't run this house, but I'm not sure how to teach her that. Any advice would be welcome 



Oh and here's a picture of her just because


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

That's just normal tiel behavior for a lot of them.  She likes the shoulder, she doesn't want to get off...so she's letting you know how she feels about it! If she is really biting hard and hurting you, you can use a perch to step her up. Otherwise, just ignore the nips. Birds can't really learn that we are "the boss" since in their flock structure there is no dominance hierarchy. Individual conflicts are settled by small squabbles and then everyone goes on with their lives.

However...you _could_ offer positive reinforcement for stepping up off of you, with treats. Look into clicker training, maybe.


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## CookieTiel (Feb 6, 2012)

haha, my Cookie is just like that! She sees me as her equal and does whatever she wants, doesn't listen to me at all. Does Sophia bite you hard? As long as she doesn't bite hard I would say that it's not a big deal.


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## goose'smom (Jan 1, 2014)

Henrietta does the same thing but she is learning. When she snips I let out a short squawk at her just like they do when another flock member does something they don't like. She has even gotten to a place where she will actually show some remorse. Then I say "be nice" and give her a kiss. She now knows what be nice means. I only tried the squawk thing because I had a very difficult to train dog. I had to treat him like a litter mate in order for him to listen. It's remarkable how it worked.


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## caterpillar (Oct 14, 2013)

I don't think it's necessarily an issue of being "the boss," I think it's that they may have an instinct to go to the highest place they can climb to. Ours climb up to our shoulders and start biting our ears, too. If they're anywhere that they can climb, they climb to the top. They simply don't like to be down low... I don't think they feel safe there.


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

caterpillar said:


> I don't think it's necessarily an issue of being "the boss," I think it's that they may have an instinct to go to the highest place they can climb to. Ours climb up to our shoulders and start biting our ears, too. If they're anywhere that they can climb, they climb to the top. They simply don't like to be down low... I don't think they feel safe there.


I agree. My Tony loves to sit on top of my head.


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## vitaminmandi (Jan 22, 2014)

Thank you for all the advice guys  She doesn't bite ears or anything, she just squeaks and nips when we try to get her off haha. That's her place and she has no problem letting us know!


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