# Arnie hates clicker training



## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

I'm having ongoing issues with Arnella's training.

Ok, she likes targeting, but that's because it's easy and she gets millet. BUT she has a hissy fit when I take the millet head away from her (she's only meant to get a couple bite a time, because thems the rules!) If I don't give her millet she wants to pick a fight.
She's not a hard biter, but she growls and carries on so it's naughty. 

Secondly, she seems to have ADHD. She won't stand still long enough for me to communicate with her. She wants to run up my arm, or search for the millet I'm not giving her. 

*Would a t-perch help this?*

We're doing baby steps, I'm teaching her to retrieve but yesterday she had a huge tantrum and stormed off to the door of her cage and sat there all fluffed up. I kept coaxing her back, but when it got too hard and she wasn't getting millet EVERY time, she stormed off and sat back at the entrance to her cage, looking at me - like I was a big, fat meanie.

It's not like I _don't _ give her millet, she just wants her own way all the time. When she begins to lose interest I go back to targeting, because she's great at that, but I want to move beyond that.

*How do I communicate that she needs to co-operate? Practice? Will she eventually "get it?" *

I think she has anger management issues. Perhaps I'm just frustrating her and not doing something correctly.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I'm sorry I can't help but it just sounds so funny when you describe it! I think you'll have to take it slow with her, sounds like she has to learn that its not always going to be her way lol.


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## Chez (Feb 17, 2011)

OMG ... I can hear your frustration & sympathise, but the way you tell it is just so funny 

ADHD & anger issues LOL LOL LOL


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

Well, it is kind of funny. Because it's not that bad... she gets millet a lot of the time, but she's so melodramatic. I say "no" calmly when she doesn't do what I ask (which is usually her ignoring me completely or doing something stupid like looking off the edge of the table to where she thinks the millet is - I hide it around my back) and I make a big hoo ha and praise her lots when she gets something right. This, she believes, entitles her to endless amounts of millet.
I'm hoping if I do a little big of training each day that she will start to understand it's not just about me trying to control her/withhold millet from her/confuse her.
I have thought maybe she is just a bit intellectually challenged.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Or she thinks she's better than any old training...either way she's cute when she's a drama queen!


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## Sar (Sep 22, 2010)

Oh you do make me laugh! I think Arnie is a bit spoilt!
I tried to train Billy with millet as he loves it. I held it up and allowed him to take a nibble, I then moved it back and placed my hand under it so he would have to lean over my hand to reach it (he was very anti-hands when we got him). Billy looked at me like I had done something rude in his cage, and turned his back on me in a huff. I had the feeling he was very offended at being treated like a mere bird. He ignored any offers of millet for the rest of the day.

Good luck in training Arnie better than I have with Billy (I actually think it ended up the other way around and he's got ME trained now  )


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## pknight1120 (Feb 9, 2011)

LOL! Too funny! Sounds like you have your hands full with her.


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## Nika (Nov 9, 2010)

Her emotions are being challenged at the moment, that could influence her learning abilities


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Lol Arnie is too cute


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

Yeah, she's definitely a bit upset by Erin being in the house. They call in response to each other all the time. Also, she knows we give Erin lots of attention.

I've been training Erin and she now targets. The clicker makes her jump though. She's a good baby, very gentle. It's amazing how they're so different. I let Erin out the cage and she steps up and looks at me in amazement, waiting for me to chat to her and give her smooches. On the other hand, Arnie barges out of her cage, steps up, runs up my arm to my shoulder, flies around the room, flies back to me, does the batwings everywhere (even on me) and demands to know what I'm doing and growls at me if she doesn't approve of something. I try to be sweet to Arnie, knowing it's a tough time for her, but she's just being a little witch. Now she's starting to bite when she's just perched on my hand, and I'm doing nothing. It's definitely like she's got some pent up aggression she's taking out of me (and her favourite, my boyfriend). She must be really hormonal too, she's 7 months.

I'm expecting that Arnie will be a horrible cage mate for Erin, and they might need to be kept separate.

I'm wondering whether she needs to go to parrot preschool.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Wonder if Arnie is going through that phase teenager stage lol


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

Gee - I hope so!!!! Either that or she's a nutcase...


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I've never had a girl go through that phase so that would be interesting!


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## Duckybird (Sep 13, 2010)

Arnie is flighted, right? I had some extremely bratty behavior out of Ducky (who is normally pretty sweet) so I went ahead and clipped his wings. He was a little older than Arnie, and definitely going through puberty. I'm hoping he can earn the priviledge back next molt and not act up. But anyway, I didn't clip too short, he can still glide and whatnot. It curbed the major brattiness without affecting his personality. He's still quite demanding, but it's helped with the worst behaviors. Sometimes I think they just get too uppity.


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

Yes, I like Arnie flighted but I DO think her being fully flighted has something to do with her thinking she's Miss It. I have been thinking of clipping her wings a little, because when Erin and her meet, Eri's wings are lightly clipped and I thought it might be nice if Arnie's are too -- so she's not flying around going "haha, I can fly and you can't!"

I did some training this morning with her and she didn't get too growly or bite me once. :thumbu: The trick is to keep the sessions really short with her. At one point she did go "stuff this" and fly to the curtain. We ended on a good note with some nice easy targeting.

...and *shock horror!* she just let me give her kisses without squirming away! Yay! I love her again


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> The trick is to keep the sessions really short with her.


Great, you're figuring out what works with her! If you need more advice, I recommend the clicker group at http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Bird-Click/ They're experts over there!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> I had some extremely bratty behavior out of Ducky (who is normally pretty sweet) so I went ahead and clipped his wings. He was a little older than Arnie, and definitely going through puberty. I'm hoping he can earn the priviledge back next molt and not act up.


My hubby did this to Fuzzy when he was being a butthead and chasing everyone. So he clipped his wings until he could learn to be nicer and my cuddly boy did get better. Hopefully Arnie does too!


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

tielfan said:


> Great, you're figuring out what works with her! If you need more advice, I recommend the clicker group at http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Bird-Click/ They're experts over there!


Thanks! I am already a member 

I've been able to do some study today too without her screaming (crazy flock calling because I won't let her out of the cage) in my ear. She played with her toys whilst occasionally asking "can I come out now?".


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

Well this was a little afternoon entertainment: I caught Arnie where I keep the container of millet (it's clear so she could see it in there) and the chopstick that I get her to target. She was nibbling the end of the chopstick and then looking to the millet container and nibbling it trying to get it out, I think she thought by targeting the chopstick the millet was going to somehow materialise out of the container, she was getting frustrated it wasn't working too! haha. it was so cute.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Awww poor Arnie


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## Sar (Sep 22, 2010)

Belinda said:


> Well this was a little afternoon entertainment: I caught Arnie where I keep the container of millet (it's clear so she could see it in there) and the chopstick that I get her to target. She was nibbling the end of the chopstick and then looking to the millet container and nibbling it trying to get it out, I think she thought by targeting the chopstick the millet was going to somehow materialise out of the container, she was getting frustrated it wasn't working too! haha. it was so cute.


Arnie is SOOOO sweet 
It shows the clicker training is working though!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

At least she has the right idea...only she forgot that mommy has to be holding it for her to get millet lol.


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

"why isn't it making a click sound?"

haha.


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