In her column, “From the Editor’s Perch”, Good Bird magazine volume 2-1, Spring 2006, “How to be a Successful Trainer”, Barbara Heidenreich writes:
“When you look at the lengthy lifespan of a parrot, it certainly makes sense to invest even a small amount of time in training to be more likely to have a well behaved and happy avian companion. Training works. It works to address behavior problems. Training can make medical behaviors stress free. Training can reduce or eliminate aggressive behavior. Training can be fun and enriching for both you and your parrot. I often describe training as addicting. There is something to be said for the “rush” one feels when training success is achieved. Add a little structure and dedication to your training routine to successfully attain your training goals and enjoy the rush!”
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| BARBARA HEIDENREICH |
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| Barbara Heidenreich has been a professional in the field of animal training since 1990. She owns and operates a company, Good Bird, Inc., (www.goodbirdinc.com) that provides behavior and training products to the companion parrot community. These products include Good Bird magazine, books, videos and behavior and training workshops. She is the author of “Good Bird! A guide to Solving Behavior Problems in Companion Parrots” by Avian Publications and also “The Parrot Problem Solver, Finding Solutions to Aggressive Behavior” by TFH Publications. She is past president of the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators (www.IAATE.org).
Barbara’s experience also includes consulting on animal behavior and training in zoos and other animal related facilities. Her specialty is free flight bird training. She has been a part of the development and production of more than 15 different free flight education programs. Barbara continues to provide consulting services to zoos, nature centers and other animal facilities through her other company Animal Training and Consulting Services (www.ATandCS.com). In her career she has trained animals, trained staff, and/or presented shows at facilities around the world.
Barbara’s videos, “Parrot Behavior and Training (Series Part 1)”; “Training your Parrot for the Veterinary Exam (Series Part 2)”; and “Understanding Parrot Body Language”and are exceptional aids for trainers giving detailed instruction on how to shape behavior.
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I wholeheartedly agree with Barbara that “training can be fun and enriching for both you and your parrot”. I’ve been fortunate this year to be able to watch Dick Evans demonstrate just how much fun positive reinforcement training is for my parrots.
I met Dick October, 2008 at a seminar that Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D., presented, “Behavior Works: How to Teach So that Parrots Learn”. At the seminar, Susan introduced me to Dick and I found out he was a Dentist who lived and practiced in Eagle River. He has a consulting business as well, Positive Power, LLC, where his focus is on training and behavior modification. His work had primarily been with dogs, but he was interested in working with parrots. I invited him to my house to meet my parrots.
Dick has been stopping by the house practically every morning since then on his way to work. I’ve videoed the training sessions. I’ve watched the parrots grow to trust Dick and observed how much they look forward to their training sessions with him. Elvis, my older Timneh, has a special whistle just for Dick and he will start whistling about 7:10 am in anticipation of Dick walking in the door. He also has a bell toy in his cage that he clangs when something excites him. If Dick enters the house and works with another parrot first, you can hear Elvis ringing his bell for Dick’s attention.
On these next few pages I will share some of our training sessions with you. In the videos you will see how much fun training can be for both you and your parrot.
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I'm dedicated to helping parrots by sharing my parrot enrichment ideas with parrot owners like you. If you would like to show your appreciation for this website please do so by paying it forward and donating to help support Phoenix Landing.
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Phoenix Landing was created to help parrots have good homes across their entire lives, no matter how many homes that may be. Parrots are resilient and adaptable, and will thrive in new environments if they have space, good nutrition, safety and behavior interactions based positive reinforcement. Phoenix Landing is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to the quality of life for parrots. Phoenix Landing re-homes parrots and help them to find a new family. This process is coupled with a robust education program, giving adopters many tools to help everyone succeed. For more information about Phoenix Landing go to www.phoenixlanding.org .
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