Do Animals Bluff?

Have you ever thought about the word bluffing? Some synonyms are conning, tricking, faking. When people use the word bluffing in regard to animals it is usually associated with aggressive behavior such biting or lunging. In other words they are suggesting animals are faking it or don’t really mean it when they try to bite.

When an animal shows fear or appears content, it is pretty unlikely someone would label that as bluffing. It is a curious thing that people accept animals might be afraid, but not willing to believe an animal’s body language that is saying “Stop it! Or I am going to bite!” 

Force free animals trainers understand it is a very rare animal that is deceptive in its body language. In fact few species have truly been shown to use deception intentionally.  And usually it used to control access to resources.  For example a raven may “pretend” he doesn’t know where a stash of food is hidden to avoid alerting others to the location of the goodie.

In my experience an animal that is showing aggressive behavior or precursors to aggressive behavior is being about as open and honest as he or she can be. Rather than thinking the animal is trying to trick me and doesn’t really mean the aggressive behavior, I take such body language as clear communication and time for me to rethink what I am doing. Even more important is to pay attention to the tiniest body language and respond in a way that says I got the message. I don’t want the animal to have to escalate its aggressive behavior to get me to stop. I also don’t want the animal to learn I only pay attention to big body language…like biting. This can teach the animal to skip all the subtle signals and go right to very aggressive behavior.

In the parrot world, some folks believe that bluffing is a stage of parrot development that will pass.  Knowing a bit more about parrot development and how behavior is influenced will help explain what is really happening.

Parrots like other animals have critical periods of development. This time period starts in the nestling stage and continues for a short time past fledging. During this time period, parrots are very open and receptive to new experiences and also will allow quite bit of handling. This openness is what motivates young animals to want to explore their world and learn. Force free trainers take advantage of this time period to pair good things such as treats and attention with things animals will need to encounter throughout their lifetime such as nail clippers, scales, towels, etc.  This can have a nice long lasting affect into the future.

Harness training is easier when started during the critical period of development

However this openness also means young parrots will tolerate a lot, including coercive handling. As they mature past this stage the willingness to tolerate such handling disappears. And parrots start responding to forceful handling with aggressive behavior to express their objection.  This can be confusing to a parrot owner. For months the birds was so easy to handle and now it is becoming quite difficult. This is why it is so important to use positive reinforcement and empowering the bird to choose to participate even when it might allow a heavy handed approach. 

If the critical period of development has passed and the parrot is being forced to step up or otherwise comply, this is when much more aggressive behavior is exhibited. This is when people start suggesting the bird is bluffing…because in the past compliance was easy. This thought process then causes people to be more heavy-handed in trying to get compliance. A bird can learn in these moments that no matter how much they object, they will be forced to cooperate. This approach can get compliance, but has tremendous fallout and is detrimental to the relationship between caregiver and parrot. 

This ability to get compliance through force has also caused some to think it is just a phase, when in fact the parrot has learned to cooperate via negative reinforcement and in some cases flooding.  Instead of being a stage, it is a parrot learning that nothing it does causes the coercion to stop, and gives up. Needless to say this is not a fun way to learn and in reality not necessary.

Instead, caregivers will want to focus on being incredibly sensitive to the tiniest body language that says the bird is uncomfortable. When such body language is observed caregivers should stop what they are doing and give the bird the choice to participate. Cooperation and participation should result in good consequences such as treats and attention. This approach will create a super eager participant without any need to use aggressive behavior. Instead you get to enjoy a wonderful relationship based on trust with your parrot.

Next time an animal in your life tells you “no” through his or her body language, think of it as useful information. Your animal is just trying very hard to communicate and your relationship will benefit if you choose to listen.

Barbara Heidenreich
www.BarbarasFFAT.com
www.GoodBirdInc.com
www.BunnyTraining.com 
Copyright 2015

Barbara Heidenreich has been a professional animal trainer since 1990. Her company Barbara’s Force Free Animal Training (www.BarbarasFFAT.com) provide animal training DVDs, books, webinars and workshops. She has been a featured speaker in over twenty countries and has been published in nine languages. Barbara also consults on animal training in zoos.

Sirocco the Kakapo: What to do about Parrot Aggression

Second in the series of blogs on training Sirocco the kakapo. Click here to read the first blog.

Sirocco finally did show some of his undesired behavior. But it wasn’t sexual behavior, it was aggressive behavior. Every night after a pleasant session in the public display area of his enclosure, Sirocco would be released to roam about the larger off-exhibit section. At the top of the hill in the off-exhibit area is where Sirocco had a supplemental feeding station. Each night we had to climb the hill to clean and restock the station.

Kakapo are inactive and slow moving during the day. At night they are an entirely different creature. They can run through brush with incredible speed. When Sirocco heard us at the top of the hill, he raced to meet us. Although Sirocco does many things that are very parrot like, kakapo are at the same time so different from any other parrot I have encountered. I studied his body language as he approached us, trying to determine if he was interested, sexual or was it something else. There were three of us there trying to understand what this bird was communicating. When he tried to bite my boots it finally became clear. We definitely witnessed our first full on display of aggressive behavior. In addition to getting a better handle on body language associated with aggressive behavior we also needed to determine the triggers. We came up with a long list of things we thought caused Sirocco to aggress. (Movement, darkness, squatting down, location, and later I learned that male kakapo will also defend their bowls/territory.) In the end we decided the best thing to do is to have one person prepare his feeding station while he is being trained in the display away from the area where he aggresssed. Then when it is time for him to go explore we wouldn't be near his bowl to trigger aggressive behavior.

However we knew there might be other situations in which avoiding him might not be possible. After Zealandia he was going to return to Maud Island. He would have free range of the island and would likely be coming to visit the rangers at their houses. This meant there could be a situation in which Sirocco might show aggressive behavior. Knowing this we decided it would be worthwhile to train him to do a behavior that is incompatible with attacking. We decided upon stationing. In the display on Zealandia we had already been  training this behavior. A series of logs and stumps made for great training stands and stations for our evening sessions. Our plan was to make several stations near the houses on Maud. If Sirocco had enough history for being reinforced on a station he may very likely choose to go there to get reinforced rather than aggress. Also rangers could redirect Sirocco to his station prior to any undesired behavior being exhibited.

To reduce the likelihood Sirocco would show aggressive behavior near his feeding station we started training him in the daytime. As I like to say he was a “rock star.” He immediately grasped the concept and proved once again how eager and ready he was to learn. As you can see in the clip we gradually added criteria to his stationing. For example we increased the amount of time between delivery of reinforcers. We added some of his known triggers such as movement, squatting down and turning our back to him. By training in the daytime we took away one of the factors that seemed to contribute to aggressive behavior. This allowed us to have successful interactions that we could reinforce. Overtime we could gradually add training this behavior closer to sunset and finally in darkness. As you can see from the video, Sirocco was all about it and ranger Linda did a great job training him. Next time: Sirocco Talks!

Barbara Heidenreich
Good Bird Inc
Copyright Good Bird Inc 2011

Lecture on Parrot Behavior Problems

I was going through some old video footage and I found a lecture I gave at Parrot Festival 2010. The lecture was on Addressing Parrot Behavior Problems. It was a particularly interesting lecture because about three quarters of the way through the power went out! It turned out the entire grid had gone down. For about fifteen minutes I fielded questions on parrot behavior in complete darkness. The room we were in had no windows. What an experience!

It actually turned out to be pretty fun and I was amazed that most people stayed engaged in the Q & A and were still in attendance when the lights came back on and I was able to finish my lecture. I even got a special “The Show Must Go On Award” at the final banquet. It sits proudly on the bookshelf in my office.

I thought I would share a part of that video footage with everyone. It will give you a taste of what it is like to attend a parrot training event. Here are some of the main points the lecture covered.

• Parrot behavior (good and bad) happens for a reason.

• Changing the environment is one good strategy to address a parrot behavior problem.

• Make it irresistible to your parrot to do something else, instead of the undesired behavior.

• It is important to avoid using force, coercion or aversives with your parrot.

• Sometimes solving parrot behavior problems requires creative thinking.

• Instead of focuses on stopping bad behavior, focus on training your parrot to do what it is you want.

• 10 common parrot training mistakes.

The player will show in this paragraph

I should remind everyone that Parrot Festival is coming up again in January 2011. I will be there again as well as Robin Shewokis of the Leather Elves. Both she and I are offering a special 10% discount on online purchases made between November 21, 2010 and December 3, 2010.

PARROT PRODUCT DISCOUNT CODES:

To get your discount on parrot training products from Good Bird Inc just visit the Good Bird Inc website. When you are ready to checkout enter the code GBHDZE10. This should show a 10% discount off your order (discount does not apply to shipping or taxes)

To get your discount on parrot toys and enrichment information visit The Leather Elves website. When you are ready to check out enter the code BIRDBF. This should show a 10% discount off your order (discount does not apply to shipping or taxes)

Orders placed in the US by December 3rd will be shipped in time for the Holidays.

Barbara Heidenreich
http://www.goodbirdinc.com/
Copyright 2010 Good Bird Inc



Parrot Excitement that Turns to Aggression

At a recent parrot training seminar I was fortunate to work with two amazing macaws. One was a Buffon’s macaw. These guys look very much like a military macaw but are much larger. In fact this big boy weighed about 1400 grams. That is heavier than some hyacinth macaws I have met! Willie was the name of the Buffon’s macaw. The other character was a green winged macaw named Nico.

Besides being macaws, what both of these birds had in common was a strong desire to make “googly eyes” at me. Perhaps I should elaborate. One of the behaviors many macaws will demonstrate involves making eye contact, usually eye pinning a bit, facial flushing and turning their hide side to side. This is sometimes accompanied by a cute vocalization such as a kiss or “hi”. This very engaging activity is quite charismatic and often gets an equally excited reaction from parrot lovers. In many cases this reinforces the antics of the parrot. However the problem with this type of interaction is that it creates a heightened level of arousal or excitement in the parrot. And quite often this can easily flip to aggressive behavior.

This excitement is not a problem if you have no intention of putting your hands or other body parts near the parrot. But if your intent is to work through a training session, this can create challenges. The first challenge is the increased risk of aggressive behavior. The second is that often the bird is so obsessed with trying to engage the trainer in a little face time that the parrot loses his focus on learning.

My strategy to address this involves a few things. In many cases talking will increase the excitement. This means I become the quietest trainer I can be. I don’t even use a bridge in those moments. I just try to deliver my reinforcer super quickly. I also avoid direct eye contact with the parrot. I usually look towards the bird’s feet. I can still see the beak, etc. but I am not encouraging more cute faces when I avoid the eyes. I also will step away if the parrot does start trying throwing out too much of the highly aroused behavior. When he settles again I restart the session.

This approach worked well with Willie and Nico and I was pleased to see both macaws presenting more calm behavior during their training sessions. Willie even learned to overcome his fear of my hand and stepped up a few times. However this was quite exciting for him too so time on the hand had to be super short to avoid nipping on clothes to get a reaction. With some more training he can learn to be calm while on the hand for longer periods of time.

Snowball the Dancing Cockatoo was also there. He can get pretty fired up during his dancing sessions. His caregiver Irena Schulz of Bird Lovers Only parrot rescue confirmed that waiting until he calms down after some dancing works well before asking Snowball to step up. Just like the macaws, trying to interact with him when he is super excited can lead to aggressive behavior.

Getting your parrot excited, dancing and in general all fired up is not off limits. It can definitely be a great reinforcer for behaviors that are hands off and already learned, or if you are quite confident it doesnt lead to aggressive behavior for your individual parrot. Just be careful to avoid it when it is time to step up or when you want your parrot to focus on learning something new if you know your parrot is inclined to flip the switch when he gets excited.

Barbara Heidenreich
http://www.goodbirdinc.com/
Copyright 2010 Good Bird Inc