If you have any interest in training your parrot to take food from your mouth or ring a little bell, you can! Bird training is no longer regulated to the professionals. Taking the time to train your pet parrot will be rewarding for both of you. It's a way to communicate and your relationship is sure to improve regardless of how good it already is. So if you're ready to get "clicking," let's look at what it's all about.

What is 'Clicker Training'?

Clicker training is a gentle way to communicate with your bird. Clicker training has been used to train all types of animals and has also proven successful for birds. Basically, you help your parrot understand what you want from it in a playful manner. Clicker training is never a punishment. If the parrot senses that when the clicker comes out, he or she's in trouble, then you might as well forget about the training session. Clicker training always uses food as a reward since all animals see food as a good thing. So when your pet parrot sees that clicker, he or she should squawk with happiness knowing that a treat is soon to come!

The behavior

First rule of clicker instruction is "The behavior." Clicker trainers may wait for the behavior to happen naturally, lure, or form the behavior in small increments. When the preferred behavior occurs, the clicker trainer marks it with the clicker and rewards it. Undesired behaviors are overlooked or given a warning sign that means, "Try again."

How Do I Clicker Train?

The goal as the trainer is to be the authority figure without complete domination. Your bird will then treat you with respect without fear. Bird owners realize that physical exercise is necessary for a happy and healthy bird, but so also is mental exercise. A Bird without mental exercise can get restless and uninterested. Birds are born problem solvers and clicker training helps stimulate their natural desire to figure things out. The additional bonus with training is that the more a parrot learns, the quicker he is able to learn even more!

When researching clicker training, you may see the term 'bridge' mentioned. A bridge is a training term that refers to the communication between the trainer and the parrot. The bridge is the signal that lets the bird know that he or she has correctly performed the task. This is what the "click" is. After the parrot hears the clicking noise, he knows that a treat is coming. It is important to give your parrot the treat immediately after the click noise so that he puts the click and reward together.

In regard to the food reward, you never want to use it as a deprivation or punishment. It is always a treat. Good treats to use are nuts and seeds. Your parrot will perform better if training commences before feeding time, but don't over do it or your bird will resent you and will quit training.

Just remember not to rush your parrot to learn faster than he or she is able to. Clicker training sessions must be short and fun. Keep the treats varied and you'll be surprised at how responsive Polly becomes. Enjoy your training sessions and you are sure to see great results.