# Does he loose trust? And is target training okay?



## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

OK. So now I have seen a video on training and I am trying it on cookie. But the thing is I was feeding him cornflower seeds which he won't eat and he hisses at me and probably tries to bite when I am reading to him. (reading was step one in the video) Does this mean he looses trust everyday? I mean he does sleep sometimes while I read but he hisses and bites too. Should I sit far away from him? And can somebody tell me if he will actually touch the target stick? And how should I reward him if he does touch it. And WHAT stick should I use? I used a popsicle stick and carved it into a pointy stick but that seemed extremely dumb. Please answer whoever views this post. Thank you. P.S forgot to tell you that he is not making any progress except not totally running away from my hand.


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

Please reply soon. I mean it.


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

You are going too fast. If he is still hissing at you when you are close by, keep doing it. The more you push him, the more you are reversing everything the reading did. I know you're anxious to make progress, but he isn't yet


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## yokobirdie (Jul 9, 2014)

I use chopsticks to target train Yoko, and maybe reward him with scritches behind his crest. Yoko also likes sunflower seeds as a special treat.  Good Luck, Nimra!


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

How long have you owned Cooke?

I also feel that you are rushing things, and this will only make the bird more afraid.

You need to find how close you can be to him without him getting him upset. Then, you need to stay there and only very gradually come closer. I mean over a period of days, not minutes.

If you are trying target training, you need to find out how close you can have the stick without him getting upset. Then, move it closer, over a period of days.

Training a bird is not only training the bird, but also training oneself in patience.

It certainly seems much too soon to reward him by stroking his crest, as someone else suggested. A bird that is not tame is going to find that scary, not rewarding.


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

I'm sure you guys are trying to be helpful, but how come I am rushing over? Did anything in my letter tell you guys I am not patient? I tried both too see which one is better. And thanks for the idea of chopsticks. The question is where to get them? There is no Chinese restaurant over here. Only Chinese food. So if you are telling me that I will get them in a restaurant I am afraid the idea will not work. Any other ideas? I mean about chopstick. Oh and one more thing: I am sorry if I am being rude to you but I am nine and eventually, I can have a bit temper and anger. I have no patience inside me so I am not really keen on training cookie. Anyways thanks for the replies and tips.


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## yokobirdie (Jul 9, 2014)

Hmm... maybe they might carry chopsticks at grocery stores?I'm not really sure.


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## yokobirdie (Jul 9, 2014)

If not, maybe try to use a pointy stick.


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## yokobirdie (Jul 9, 2014)

Oh, sorry! I didn't realize Cookie was not tamed yet.  My bad. Yes, then I totally agree with dianne, scritches will scare him, don't do it.


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

I'm sorry if I jumped to the conclusion that you were rushing. I thought that because you said he was hissing and biting. I thought this might mean you were putting your hand in the cage and getting too close too soon. Maybe I misunderstood.

If he is just hissing and biting something in the cage, while you are nearby, I don't think this means you are losing trust. 

I think that, since you have watched some videos and gotten a lot of advice, you should trust your sense about what is happening with Cookie.

Again, I am sorry if I misinterpreted what you said. Please don't let it keep you from talking to us. I really hope you can realize success with Cookie, and I know you really, really want to!


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

Nimra said:


> I'm sure you guys are trying to be helpful, but how come I am rushing over? Did anything in my letter tell you guys I am not patient?


No, but by the way Cookie is responding, I assumed it was from sticking your hand on the cage or something like that. I can jump to conclusions.

I will be honest with you, training a bird is not a simple task. Birds are not out to please you like a dog is, even though we clean their cages and feed them daily. They don't owe you anything. They take a lot and give a little, but when they do give, it is so much more rewarding when they return their love and trust. I am not that patient either, but you learn. You do. Because that is the key to training. It can take a long time, years even, but it is not something that can be done on a whim. Take a lot of small steps, gain some small victories. 

I will tell you to forget target training at the moment. It's mostly used for aggressive birds who have a desire to rip some flesh off or for semi tame birds who need a little more reassurance they can trust you. Doesn't work that good for birds who are scared or nervous. Sometimes it _can_, so of course I'm wrong, but unless Cookie can target and accept a treat, it will not work and leave him thinking the target stick equals a negative experience. 

You won't like this at all, but just give him a treat, like millet or a sunflower seed while he's in his cage, or if he comes out. Do that for a few days. Then when he eats his treat with some gusto behind him, show him your hand after you give him a treat. Don't put it on the cage, just on a surface near the cage. Do that for a few days. Then try and touch the cage after given the treat, again for a few days. Catch my drift? Slow and steady wins the race.

In order to keep your spirits high-ish, make a daily journal, and list 1 positive thing Cookie did. It's going to seem really poor at 1st, maybe like, "looked at my hand without hissing", or anything like that. Also, it keeps track of progress so if he decides it's moving too fast again, you can backtrack to the last positive step you and him made. Good luck


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

Thanks! By the way I wanted to ask what pointy sticks should I use? How do you get chopsticks? Oh and here is a video and I wanted to ask if It is helpful, cause cookie sits in his cage all day:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgRqZLDv0VM


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY6uiKrlpRo


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

Please check the second video first.


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

Perhaps you could try a knitting needle or a crochet hook.


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## yokobirdie (Jul 9, 2014)

Maybe you could also use a pen with the cap on?


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

Yeah but maybe it will be bad for him?


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## yokobirdie (Jul 9, 2014)

Probably not if you leave the cap on, but you may be right, I'm not exactly sure. 
If you are worried about it, maybe sharpen a SAFE stick and use that.  There is a sticky page on that called "safe tree project".


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

Ok. I will try that. Thanks.


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## yokobirdie (Jul 9, 2014)

You're welcome! Anytime, Nimra!


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

Oks.  Thanks again.


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## midomidi2013 (Sep 30, 2014)

dianne said:


> Perhaps you could try a knitting needle or a crochet hook.


i like it
very coool


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## imouto (Feb 24, 2014)

You may also be able to find small wooden dowels at your local craft store or even my pet store has perches sold in packs that are just the straight wooden kind. 

I've had my baby for almost 2 weeks and I'm currently trying to train him to trust me. I'm new to it, but what seems to work for me is encouraging your bird to leave the cage upon his own volition before trying to interact with him. What I do is put a perch on the outside of the cage near the door and clip a piece of millet to the end. Birdies love millet! My bird, when he's ready, will venture out onto the perch for the tasty treat. This is when I will slowly approach him with my hand. I make sure to speak in a soft voice and say things like "it's alright, I won't hurt you" or "I hope you don't mind me coming near". Most times my bird will run right back into the cage, but sometimes he will jump to the floor. That's when I will work on step-up training. There's no way for him to get back up to the cage on his own, so he is learning to rely on me for that part. All the while getting more and more used to my hands. 

Be patient, but don't be afraid of your bird. Be proactive in training him/her. They will eventually appreciate all of your hard work. I'm right by you on trying to figure out new ways to get my bird to trust me. Getting to really know your bird and what they like will definitely help. And take it day by day, neither you or your birdie are going anywhere. Good luck Nimra


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## CloudySkies (Jul 11, 2014)

My son is ten and we have had our cockatiel, named Coyote, for a week. Now he came to us tame but since he's a prey bird, of course he's still a bit nervous and getting used to living with us. He has picked me as his favorite human but is nervous about my son. When he tries to get Coyote to step up, Coyote will frequently lay down his crest and lunge at his fingers like he's going to bite. This is starting to hurt my son's feelings especially when he sees how Coyote is with me. 

I spent some time today explaining to him exactly why I think Coyote is more nervous with him than with me or dad. I explained that since Coyote's cage is in our living room, he sees what we are doing all the time (we, you know, live in our living room, heh) and my son, being ten, is sometimes loud and makes unpredictable (to a bird) fast movements, etc. Coyote sees all of this and even though my son would never hurt him, Coyote obviously can't know this, he's a bird, not a person. 

So he spent this afternoon working more with Coyote in little 5-15 minute spurts, giving him bits of millet through the cage bars. I'm going to have him continue with this for the next few days and he's going to work on paying attention to his behavior and volume when he's near the cage so he can convince Coyote that they can be friends. 

Cookie sounds like he's very nervous with you right now. Are you making sure to use slow movements and soothing sounds when you're around his cage, *every time* you're around his cage? I would suggest keep reading to him for several days, using a soothing voice and calm, slow movements around him *every time* you're around his cage and offer him sunflower seeds through the bars in his cage throughout the day (I think I remember you saying your father brought home a bag of them?). If he doesn't accept the treat, just drop it and try again later. It can be hard at your age, in fact my son is using an OUTSIDE VOICE right this very moment, so I'll be ending this post now.


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## CloudySkies (Jul 11, 2014)

Ok, part two:

Keep offering treats through the bars, while using a soft, soothing voice several times throughout the day and keep reading to him when you can. Once he is happy with accepting treats through the bars, try opening the cage door and offering him a treat inside his cage. He may be nervous about that, but just keep trying and don't give up and eventually he will start accepting the treats. 

As for the treats, are you saying he doesn't like the sunflower seeds you were able to get? If he doesn't like them, what seems to be his favorite thing in his food bowl? If it's a particular type of seed, try taking some of that seed out of his food bowl and offering it either with pinched fingers through the cage bars or with a flat hand inside the cage (only after he stops hissing at you!)

Good luck!


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## CloudySkies (Jul 11, 2014)

Nimra said:


> I am sorry if I am being rude to you but I am nine and eventually, I can have a bit temper and anger. I have no patience inside me so I am not really keen on training cookie.


Sorry for the serial posts, but I knew there was something else I wanted to address and this quote was it. I know you're nine, but like I told my son, our birds do not care that you guys are kids. They only know whether or not they can trust you to be friends or not and so far, Cookie doesn't know that he can trust you to be friends. So you must be patient with him, or else taming and training him is never going to work. I know it's hard, it's hard for adults too sometimes but it's an absolute must.


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

Ok. That's fine. Thanks for the advice everyone.


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