Now it is time to condition the clicker. What that means is you will teach your bird to associate the click with the treat. Click and immediately offer him a treat. It is important to be expedient in delivering the treat so the bird will associate the two. Repeat this several times. In only a short session or two, the bird should understand that click=reinforcement (treat). If you have a bird that you are training in his cage, then click and drop the treat in his food bowl. A bird won't always appear as if he understands that click=treat like a dog might, but they are smart and should figure it out in a timely manner. Now that you have conditioned the clicker, you will need to practice your timing before you begin training a behavior. In order for the clicker to be a clear, precise communicator, you need to be precise with your timing. There are a couple of exercises you can do to practice your timing. Throw a ball up in the air, when it reaches its apex, click the clicker. Repeat the process until you feel comfortable with your timing. You can also have someone flash a light against a wall and click for that. I bet you can even think up some fun timing exercises on your own! Keep in mind that you can use other reinforcers instead of just food. Other reinforcers can be petting, praise, and we can use those independently or in addition to food. We also can use other event markers such as a verbal "good bird". Our birds are multi-faceted and very intelligent so they can learn with more than one reinforcer and marker. When you feel confident with your timing and are ready to start training, go to the behaviors link. Linda will teach you how to train the first behavior, targeting. Thanks for visiting!
Getting Started
Getting started is often the most difficult part of training. We first need to condition the clicker in order for the sound of the click to have a communicative meaning. In order to do this, you will need to find out what motivates your bird. Most professional trainers use the bird's favorite treat. The treat is removed from the birds diet, so that it will become more reinforcing. Treats can be varied, but should be cut into tiny pieces so he doesn't get filled up too quickly and that it doesn't take him a long time to eat. If you train before you feed him or pull his food bowl out an hour or so before training, he will be more motivated. I suggest finding a quiet place to set up and a t-stand to set your bird on. The t-stand will be his station, it will prevent him from wandering as you start teaching him how to learn.
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