# Clicker training? How does it work?



## Luti-Kriss (Dec 23, 2009)

I understand HOW you're supposed to do it. But what is the purpose behind it? So the bird does a trick, you click, and the bird is rewarded with a treat. How is this supposed to make your bird trust you and open up to you more?


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

I do clicker training with one of my 'tiels, it's great. ​ 
People on various parrot mailing lists often ask what they can do about a bird that is biting, or screeching, or that won't come out of its cage, or won't go into its cage, or is otherwise being difficult to live with. There isn't a short answer, but I hope this page will get you started in the right direction. There are two things I want to bring to your attention: operant conditioning, and clicker training.

*Operant Conditioning* 
If you want to modify your bird's behavior, I strongly suggest that you learn to look at your bird's behavior from the perspective of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is not a solution to any behavior problem, it's just a way of looking at things that will often help you _find_ a solution to a behavior problem. 

The key principle of operant conditioning is that birds (indeed, all creatures) will tend to repeat behaviors that are rewarding, and will tend to give up behaviors that not rewarding. Birds typically bite or screech because it is somehow rewarding to them. If you can figure out what it is that the bird finds rewarding, and take away that reward, you're halfway to a well-behaved bird. The other half of the solution is teaching the bird some other behaviors that are rewarding for the bird, and that are pleasing for you as well. 

In the early days of the study of animal behavior, people studied classical conditioning. In classical conditioning, the animal is conditioned (is taught) to respond to its environment. Pavlov's dog is a well-known example this: a bell rings, the dog is given food... repeat this a few times... soon the dog salivates when the bell rings. In operant conditioning, the animal is taught to operate on its environment, not just respond to it. 

For an example of operant conditioning, let's look at the first "trick" most people teach their birds: targeting. Targeting simply means gently biting the end of a short stick (chopsticks work great for this). If you put something in front of a bird's face, the bird will probably investigate the object by beaking it. When the bird beaks the chopstick, you "click" (more on this later) and the bird gets a treat. Repeat this a few times... Eventually, when you hold up a chopstick, the bird will walk across the table to beak it. The bird has learned that beaking the chopstick causes the human to offer a treat. Suddenly humans aren't so scary. Look how easy it is to operate them: all you have to do is beak a chopstick! 

*Fostering Desired Behavior* 
Clicker training is a technique for teaching birds to operate human treat dispensers. The "click" of a clicker is a signal to the bird that whatever the bird just did has set the treat dispenser into motion. It's simply a means of communication. Without the clicker, it's not always immediately clear to the bird just what it did that earned the treat. It's possible, it just takes longer. People have been training animals for ages using a simple "good boy!" or "good girl!" but the sharp, distinct, consistent sound of a clicker helps the animal learn more quickly how to operate human treat dispensers. 

For many bird owners, clicker training is not really about teaching the bird to do tricks. Instead, the primary purpose of clicker training is to spend time with the bird, showing the bird that the human can be trusted - and what's more, the human is fun to be around. For some, the fact that the bird eventually does tricks is just a nice side-effect. 

*Extinguishing Undesirable Behaviors* 
The first thing you should know about extinguishing undesirable behavior is that physical punishment does not work with birds. In the wild, when a creature attacks a bird, the bird flies away, and stays far away from such creatures. In captivity, that's not an option. Captive punished birds spend most of their time in abject terror because they can't get away from the attacker. Such birds tend to go insane after a while, pluck their feathers, become terrified of anything at all, attack anything at all, and so on. This is not to say that all plucking or phobic birds were punished by an evil human, just that physical punishment is likely to make the bird end up that way. 

Isolation is the closest thing to punishment that you can safely employ. When a bird bites, or screeches, leave it in solitude for a few minutes (perhaps in its cage, perhaps not). Birds are social creatures, so being around their "flock" is rewarding, and being isolated is likely to make the bird unhappy. But you're not attacking - you're not even around - so the bird is less likely to think of you as a threat, and more likely to be happy to see you when you return a few minutes later. 

When the bird realizes that biting means being caged for five minutes of solitude, it will bite less. When the bird realizes that screeching means being left alone until it quite screeching for a few minutes, the bird will screech less. Be aware that - especially with screeching - the problem will get worse before it gets better. This is called an "extinction burst." Basically, it tries harder and harder to get whatever reward screeching once produced. When it realizes that the reward isn't going to happen, the screeching will taper off. 

In addition, it is often possible - and usually helpful - to reinforce a different behavior to replace the behavior you're trying to extinguish. For example, if your bird scream for attention, then in addition to ignoring screams, lavishly reward a more pleasant noise every chance you get. When the bird realizes that a mild peep or a "come here" is a more effective way to get attention, the screeching will be reduced even further. 

Don't expect to extinguish screeching entirely though - morning and/or evening screech-fests are very difficult if not impossible to eliminate in some species. Screeching all day long, however, can probably be solved. 

*Getting Support* 
If you want to learn more about clicker training and behavior modification in general, I strongly suggest joining the Bird-Click mailing list at Yahoogroups.com. There have been a lot of success stories posted there, posted by people who had unmanageable birds that mellowed out a lot with clicker training. 



When you sign up you will receive a few messages that contain everything you need to know to get started with clicker training. Please read these messages! Chances are, you will find the answers to any questions you may have, such as: 

What if my bird is afraid of the clicker?
How can I train a bird that just wants to bite me?
What can I use for a treat?
How can I find the best treat?
You will probably also find the answers to questions you didn't know you had. Those first few messages you get when you sign up will almost certainly teach you everything you need to know to get started. Follow the instructions, and you'll be on your way. If you run into any difficulty, just post your problem to the list and you are sure to get the help you need. 
FROM HERE


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## Luti-Kriss (Dec 23, 2009)

Thanks for the information Solace 

"The primary purpose of clicker training is to spend time with the bird, showing the bird that the human can be trusted - and what's more, the human is fun to be around."

Does this mean that my bird will open up to me and trust me if I start clicker training him? I'm talking about Rico, even though I've had him and Marcello for over 6 months now, he's still very very shy and uneasy around me, and will even nip at me once in a while still. I asked the breeder about him because he's the only cockatiel I've had a hard time making into a cuddly bird. She says he's always been more independent so she always just left him be. Can clicker training resolve even this issue if I work at it hard enough? Will spending all that time with him with a positive a positive reinforcement help him see that he can trust me and make him like me more?


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## braveheartdogs (May 14, 2009)

Luti-Kriss said:


> Thanks for the information Solace
> 
> "The primary purpose of clicker training is to spend time with the bird, showing the bird that the human can be trusted - and what's more, the human is fun to be around."
> 
> Does this mean that my bird will open up to me and trust me if I start clicker training him? I'm talking about Rico, even though I've had him and Marcello for over 6 months now, he's still very very shy and uneasy around me, and will even nip at me once in a while still. I asked the breeder about him because he's the only cockatiel I've had a hard time making into a cuddly bird. She says he's always been more independent so she always just left him be. Can clicker training resolve even this issue if I work at it hard enough? Will spending all that time with him with a positive a positive reinforcement help him see that he can trust me and make him like me more?


Hi there,

I am a clicker trainer too. I train dogs professionally and use a clicker with them, I also clicker train my birds and have used it with exotics at the zoo. It is a WONDERFUL way to strengthen your relationship with your bird because it allows the bird to make choices and learn what works to get reinforcement. This is very powerful particularly for fearful individuals. There is a great email group called Bird Click that is very helpful too


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Clicker training teaches the human as much as it teaches the bird. It forces you to be more sensitive to what the bird does and doesn't want to do, to respect the bird's preferences, and to be creative in coming up with ways to turn "don't want to" into "want to".


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## Luti-Kriss (Dec 23, 2009)

Well we'll see what happens. I bought a clicker yesterday and if I have some extra time I'm gunna give him his first lesson today. Hopefully this makes him become a little closer to me over time. I'm tired of getting nipped at lol.


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## ernest2441 (Apr 26, 2010)

can i use the clicker instead of using praise? my tiel cant eat treats yet.


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## braveheartdogs (May 14, 2009)

Luti-Kriss said:


> Well we'll see what happens. I bought a clicker yesterday and if I have some extra time I'm gunna give him his first lesson today. Hopefully this makes him become a little closer to me over time. I'm tired of getting nipped at lol.


It absolutely will because when it's done properly it does several thing. It builds a positive association with the human. You = good things for the bird (food). And, it allows the bird to make choices which is very powerful. It also teaches specific behaviors and just builds a cooperative relationship with you and your bird


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> can i use the clicker instead of using praise? my tiel cant eat treats yet.


The clicker is useless without a treat or some other reward. The clicker tells the bird that it has earned a reward but it isn't a reward in itself.


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## cheekyboy (Jul 14, 2009)

I am a HUGE advocate for Clicker Training.. I use it with Dogs mainly and have had amazing successes  I dont have much else to add to Solaces information, just that it really does work provided you do it correctly.

I think one of the biggest mistakes people often make is to click and forget the reward.. not intentionally, but it happens. A good example of this is when your bird performs a desired behaviour- you click- bird stops and does something naughty- owner thinks "oh, thats bad!" and doesnt give the reward. If you click, your bird gets a reward no matter what its doing. And that includes if you click at the wrong time! If your bird is doing something naughty and you accidently click- he STILL gets a reward. It just means that you made a mistake and are going to have to reverse whatever damage was done. It's all about timing- nail that and you will be a wonderful clicker trainer in time


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## Luti-Kriss (Dec 23, 2009)

Well thanks everyone 

I just got done with his first lesson about 20 minutes ago actually. And to my surprise, he's a really fast learner. He got what was going on after only 4 clicks. And after about 5 minutes I had him crossing the entire table to touch the stick so I could give him a treat. He's a very smart bird. I could see the gears in his brain working, his mind being stimulated. He likes it lol. I'm very pleased to see him finally enjoying something, because he looks miserable all the time. Haha.


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## Chelseyinak (Jun 18, 2010)

That is way awesome, I've been clicker training my dogs, and have just recently started with Piper, whose very timid and nervy around me(i've had her for a year) so I decided about four days ago to clicker train her.
In just four days we went from being terrified of picked up, to targeting all over and loving it, as well as her first voluntary step up. 
I would defiantly recommend clicker training to any other animal owners. The thing I love the most, is that Pip was always terrified of people, and in just four days she's comfortably sitting on my shoulder, preening me and giving kisses which is a vast improvement.


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## cheekyboy (Jul 14, 2009)

Thats remarkable! Well done  I see the results of clicker training all the time and know how wonderful it is, but its amazing to see you achieving so much in such a short time! You obviously have a knack for it, and a very smart little bird  Congratulations!


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## Luti-Kriss (Dec 23, 2009)

Thanks cheekyboy^^

Yea Chelseyinak, it's working the same for me too. 

Rico has been willing to step onto my hand this whole time, but he's very nervous with anything else I try to do. I try to pet him and I get nipped, and you can see it in his face that he's scared.

Over the past few days though I've seen a major improvement. He actually has cuddled with me a couple of times and has only nipped me once or twice since I started this training. I can see he's opening up to me, so this is good.


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## Chelseyinak (Jun 18, 2010)

That's the thing I noticed the most since I've been clicker training my birds. How much more they open up, how much more confident they seem. They realize that they have a choice in this, and that I'll listen, so they tend to make the right choice more. It's delightful.
I just today got a new addition to the flock, a blue and white Budgie named Zero. So he'll be my next completely clicker trained bird.


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