Eliminating Unwanted
Pet Bird and Parrot Behaviors

Introduction

This article applies some basic principles from Karen Pryor's Don't Shoot the Dog book to some specific undesirable pet bird behaviors. If you haven't read Karen's book, you should. In fact, it should be required reading for any pet owner including dogs, cats, horse, birds, etc. The entire book contains a wealth of information but this article focuses on just one particular section. Her book covers 8 methods of ending a wide variety of undesirable habits from furniture-clawing cats to sloppy roommates. This article just touches on these 8 methods and gives specific examples as they relate to pet bird behaviors and how each of the 8 methods can be applied to these unwanted behaviors. For a more detailed coverage of these methods and for more examples read or re-read her book. If you don't have a copy of it, check the Suggested Reading section at the end of this article for a link to her book.

The eight methods covered in "Don't Shoot the Dog" by Karen Pryor and this article are shown below.

1. Shoot the Animal
2. Punishment
3. Negative Reinforcement
4. Extinction
5. Train an Incompatible Behavior
6. Put the Behavior on Cue
7. Shape the Absence of the Behavior
8. Change the Motivation

This article will cover how each of these methods can be used for 3 specific undesired behaviors of some pet birds; Screaming, Biting, and an Overly Shy bird. Pet bird owners often cite these undesirable behaviors when discussing unwanted behaviors. An example from the human world will also be given for each of these 8 methods to help describe the particular method.

Before applying these methods, it is important to point out that these undesirable behaviors may be caused by medical or physical ailments. It is important to eliminate any possible medical conditions by first consulting a veterinarian for a complete check up. Along with eliminating possible medical or physical causes, it is just as critical to understand the motivation behind behaviors. It is nearly impossible to eliminate a behavior without understanding the cause or motivation for a behavior. More on the topic of motivation will be discussed in Method #8.

Three specific unwanted behaviors will be discussed in this article. The first behavior is screaming or making loud noises. Note that some species of birds are loud and are supposed to be loud because that is their normal behavior. In this article, screaming refers to abnormal noise making. An example would be making a shrieking noise every time you leave the room. Screaming can be caused by a variety of things ranging from physical to psychological problems. Screaming for example may be likened to a crying baby. Unable to verbalize the physical or medical ailment, the baby will cry which gives the parent a signal that something may be wrong (ear infection, stomachache, irritating rash etc). Screaming can also be likened to a crying baby that desires attention. Note that these 2 motivations (ailments and attention) require very different responses. The second behavior studied in this article is a biting bird that bites your hand instead of stepping up. Getting your pet bird to Step-Up onto your hand or finger on command is essential and usually an important step in creating a bond between the pet and pet owner (or human and human owner). Finally, the third undesired behavior studied in this article is an overly shy bird that is afraid of you or that cowers in the back of the cage when you approach. Each of these three behaviors (Screaming, Biting, and Shyness) are explored for each of the 8 methods cited by Karen Pryor in "Don't Shoot the Dog!"

Method #1 - Shoot the Animal

Though not recommended for pet birds, this method gets rid of the behavior by getting rid of the animal either temporarily or permanently. Notice the use of the word "temporarily" because this doesn't necessarily mean to literally "shoot the animal".

An example of this in the human world would be placing a child up for adoption (temporary) or the death penalty in the case of convicted criminals (permanent).

  Screaming   - Giving the bird away or selling the bird will eliminate the screaming. If you give the bird away, you won't have to listen to the screaming unless you give the bird to your neighbor. This is not a recommended method to eliminate Screaming.

  Biting Instead of Step-Up   - Giving the bird away or selling the bird will eliminate the biting. If you give the bird away then it won't bite you unless you visit the bird at it's new home. This is not a recommended method to eliminate Biting.

  Overly Shy Bird   - Giving the bird away or selling the bird will remove the shy bird from your possession. This is not a recommended method to eliminate shyness.

Method #2 - Punishment

Let's first define punishment. In general terms it is any event that stops a behavior. This method is also not recommended for pet birds. This method "stops" a behavior but only in the short-term. In the world of Operant Conditioning there is Positive Punishment and Negative Punishment. Positive Punishment is when the trainer adds ('add'='positive') something in order to make the animal stop doing a behavior. In training jargon, it is an attempt to decrease the likelihood of a behavior occurring in the future by the presentation of an aversive stimulus. If your child is tossing a ball inside the house (against house rules) and you smack him upside the head (add something undesirable) then he/she will stop the behavior. Don't be fooled by the name "Positive Punishment" because there is nothing good or "positive" about punishment. On the other hand, Negative Punishment is when the trainer subtracts ('subtracts'='negative') something the animal likes in order to make it stop doing something. In training jargon it is an attempt to decrease the likelihood of a behavior occurring in the future by the removal of a stimulus. If your child is tossing a ball inside the house (against house rules) and you take the ball (remove something desirable) then it stops the behavior. This is an example of Negative Punishment because you remove something desirable (the ball). Negative Punishment and/or Positive Punishment isn't an effective method of teaching especially for pet birds. In addition to not being effective, Punishment also creates other unpredictable problems such as avoidance, fear, and passivity.

Karen Pryor covers this topic and clearly explains why Punishment doesn't work yet we (humans) seem to use it as a first resort. Check out "Don't Shoot the Dog!" to read more about this.

  Screaming   - Using a Spray Bottle of water to spray the pet bird when it screams would be an example of Positive Punishment. This is not a recommended method to eliminate Screaming.

  Biting Instead of Step-Up   - Yelling at the bird (adding an aversive stimulus) when the bird bites your hand is an example of Positive Reinforcement. This is not a recommended method to eliminate Biting.

  Overly Shy Bird   - "Toweling" the bird and forcing it to be held would be an example of punishment. Toweling isn't necessarily punishment if done correctly and if the pet bird is trained or conditioned to enjoy toweling. Birds are not born being afraid of towels but often become afraid of them due to incorrect toweling or when toweling is used as a punishment as in this case. This is not a recommended method to eliminate shyness.

Method #3 - Negative Reinforcement

Positive Reinforcement is the heart of most modern day animal training techniques. A Positive Reinforcement is a reinforcer that the animal wants, such as food, petting, or praise. Negative Reinforcement on the other hand is the heart of most traditional animal training yet it is another method that isn't recommended for pet birds. Negative Reinforcement is something the subject wants to avoid such as twisting an arm, a frown, or an unpleasant sound. More specifically, it is an unpleasant event that can be a halted or avoided entirely by changing a behavior. There is a subtle difference between Punishment and Negative Reinforcement because Negative Reinforcement contains a punishing event. The subject is punished until it changes its behavior. So it is the change in behavior that is "reinforced" by removing the punishment.

A human example would be making your child stay at the dinner table until their dinner is consumed. So in this case, the unpleasant event (sitting at the table) can be eliminated if the child changes it's behavior and eats the dinner.

  Screaming   - You could cover the cage until the bird stops screaming. In this case the unpleasant event of being covered can be eliminated if the bird stops screaming. This is not a recommended method to eliminate screaming.

  Biting Instead of Step-Up   - A possible application would be shaking your hand while your bird is perched on your hand but trying to bite your fingers. The unpleasant event (an unstable perch) can be eliminated if the bird stops trying to bite your fingers. This is not a recommended method to eliminate Biting.

  Overly Shy Bird   - The "shock therapy" or "In Your Face" approach of standing very close to the cage until the bird settles down would be a possible application of this method. The unpleasant event (you standing near the cage) can be eliminated if the bird settles down. This is not a recommended method to eliminate shyness in a pet bird.

Method #4 - Extinction

Extinction is when a behavior dies down by itself due to lack of Reinforcement (Positive or Negative).

An example in the human world would be temper tantrums. If a child throws a temper tantrum and the parent ignores the behavior then the temper tantrum will stop. If the parent consistently ignores the behavior then the temper tantrums will gradually lessen in severity and frequency until they completely stop. Note the emphasis on consistently. If the parent only ignores the behavior sometimes while providing Reinforcement other times then the behavior will not stop. In fact, the behavior will worsen due to the variability of the reinforcement.

  Screaming   - By ignoring the screaming consistently (EVERY TIME!), this behavior can be eliminated. There are cases where the bird is self-rewarded or self-reinforced by the behavior. An example is when a bird enjoys hearing itself scream or is amused at hearing its scream echo in a empty room. In this case, Extinction will not occur because the behavior is being reinforced even if it's not the owner providing the reinforcement. Though sometimes effective, this is not the best method to use to eliminate this behavior.

  Biting Instead of Step-Up   - Not reacting when being bitten requires great patience and some pain endurance but can be effective at eliminating this behavior. Some biting is done just to elicit a reaction. Most pet birds love drama so if they can get some drama from you by biting on your finger then they will. If the biting is being done for other reasons such as out of fear then this method most likely will not work. This is not a recommended method to eliminate biting because there are better and less dangerous methods.

  Overly Shy Bird   - Extinction will not work in this case. Ignoring the behavior is exactly what the shy bird wants from you.

Method #5 - Train an Incompatible Behavior

This method often requires some creative thinking on the trainer's/owner's part but can be very effective. This method works because a physically incompatible behavior is trained. If chosen correctly, the new behavior and the undesired behavior can not physically be done at the same time.

A human example would be to play I-Spy during a long car ride. Instead of the children bickering (often caused by boredom) they can be encouraged to play travel games. The undesired behavior is eliminated because it isn't possible (or at least more difficult) to bicker and argue while playing I-Spy.

As pointed out by Karen Pryor in her "Don't Shoot the Dog!" this is the first of the eight methods that is recommended and considered a "good" method of eliminating undesired behaviors. Methods 1 through 4 are not recommended in most cases.

  Screaming   - An effective use of this method is teaching your bird to whisper. Though not all loud noises can (or should) be eliminated from a bird's "vocabulary", adding the whisper to it's repertoire can be useful. Placing the whisper on Cue and giving the cue when the pet bird is screaming can be used to eliminate screaming. This method can be useful but there are better ways to eliminate this behavior. See Method #7 "Shape the Absence of the Behavior".

  Biting Instead of Step-Up   - Training the "Step-Up" command and putting it on cue is an effective method for eliminating biting. In addition to fostering trust, the "Step-Up" behavior is incompatible to biting. This method can be useful but is most effective when used in concert with other methods such as Method #8 "Change the Motivation";.

  Overly Shy Bird   - A possible application of this method may be useful in the case where a bird retreats to the back or bottom of the cage. In this case, luring the bird to the top or front of the cage with a food treat may train the bird to come to the front or top of the cage. This provides an incompatible behavior because the bird can't be in two places (back of cage and front of cage) at the same time. For the case of a shy bird, this method is most effective when used with Method #7 "Shape the Absence of the Behavior" and Method #8 "Change the Motivation".

Method #6 - Put the Behavior on Cue

This method is not always useful or desirable. This method first requires that the undesired behavior be placed on cue. After the behavior is placed on cue, the cue is simply not given. So without the cue, the behavior isn't offered. As you may suspect, training the behavior requires that you actually reward the behavior as it's being trained. This seems counter intuitive and requires patience and tolerance of the behavior during training. You simply may not want to put yourself through this process. Another reason to avoid this method may be in cases where the behavior is potentially dangerous to the animal or others. Obviously you don't want to place the animal or others in danger just to put a behavior on cue.

A human example might be placing your mother-in-law's visits on cue. Only "allow" her to visit when "invited". Avoid allowing her to visit when she is not invited. In this example, the cue is the invitation.

  Screaming   - This method can be used to eliminate behavior. Screaming can be placed on Cue using the "Go Crazy" command. During that time the bird is rewarded for going crazy and screaming. As mentioned earlier, this takes some patience and tolerance but will most likely prove to be very enjoyable to your bird. After the behavior is placed on the "Go Crazy" cue then the cue isn't offered and thus the behavior is no longer offered. It may be useful to occasionally give the cue and reinforce the behavior to maintain the behavior on cue. This method can work but Method #7 "Shape the Absence of the Behavior" is more effective for screaming.

  Biting Instead of Step-Up   - For obvious reasons, this undesired behavior shouldn't be placed on cue. This is one of those cases where the animal or others are placed in danger so this method shouldn't be used for this behavior.

  Overly Shy Bird   - This is a real stretch but the behavior such as going to the bottom or back of the cage can be put on cue and then the cue no longer offered. This may be effective but Method #7 "Shape the Absence of the Behavior" and Method #8 "Change the Motivation" are more effective for a shy bird.

Method #7 - Shape the Absence of the Behavior

Technically known as DRO (Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior). This method focuses on the absence of the behavior rather than on the behavior itself.

The classic human example for this is to catch your child doing something good. We tend to focus on catching our children doing something wrong and neglect this powerful method of catching them doing something right. You may be amazed at how hard a subject will try to get you to notice them doing something right when this method is deployed.

  Screaming   - Treat and praise when the bird is quite. This in combination with Method #4 "Extinction" can be very effective at eliminating screaming. While treating and praising when the bird is quite you also use Method #4 by ignoring the behavior when the bird is not quite. This technique (Method #7 and Method #4) or Method #8 are usually the most effective methods for eliminating this undesired behavior.

  Biting Instead of Step-Up   - Treat and praise when not biting. Similar to the solution for Screaming, this method can be effective when used with Method #4 "Extinction". This technique (Method #7 and Method #4) or Method #8 are also usually the most effective methods for eliminating this undesired behavior

  Overly Shy Bird   - Just like (a) and (b), this method used with Method #4 "Extinction" can be very effective. Treat and praise when not in the back or bottom of the cage and ignore when in the bottom or back of the cage. While this technique (Method #7 and Method #4) can be effective, the most effective method for eliminating the behavior is Method #8 "Change the Motivation".

Method #8 - Change the Motivation

As mentioned in the introduction, understanding the motivation is critical to eliminating any undesired behavior. A medical problem or something very different such as a new piece of furniture being placed near the bird's cage may cause screaming. So depending on the motivation, no matter which method you use, the behavior may not change (or at least won't be changed easily). In this example, the behavior won't change until that piece of furniture is moved. This is often the most effective method to use to change an unwanted behavior however it is often the hardest method to deploy. If you can think of a way to Change the Motivation then this is your best option.

A human example might be for a child that doesn't like vegetables. Rather than using the "Because I said so!" method of motivation, explaining the reason for a well balanced diet may provide the correct motivation to eat vegetables. Good Luck on using this method of motivation.

  Screaming   - If the motivation for screaming is fear, then you can eliminate the motivation by creating a bond with your pet bird. By fostering a trusting relationship, the motivation (fear) can be eliminated. As the motivation is eliminated, the behavior is also eliminated. Similarly if the motivation is loneliness then this same method can be used.

  Biting Instead of Step-Up   - The motivation for biting may also be fear. Similar to screaming, you can eliminate the motivation by creating a bond with your pet bird. By fostering a trusting relationship, the motivation (fear) can be eliminated.

  Overly Shy Bird   - In this case, the motivation is most likely fear so you can eliminate the motivation by creating a bond with your pet bird. As the motivation is eliminated, the behavior is also eliminated.

Conclusion

This article just barely scratches the surface of using Karen Pryor's methods of eliminating undesired behavior. I strongly recommend that you purchase her book, "Don't Shoot the Dog!", if you don't already have a copy. Her coverage goes into much more depth and covers a much wider range of behaviors as they relate to pets and humans.

Reference Materials and Suggested Reading

Here is a list of suggested reading material. This is a list of books relating to training animals. Most of them are specifically written for pet birds or parrots but all of them are applicable to training any animal.

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  -  Kibibi Loves It

  -  Kibibi Doesn't Like It

  -  Kibibi Likes It

  -  Kibibi Hates It

  -  Kibibi Says It's OK

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 Parrot Tricks: Teaching Parrots with Positive Reinforcement, Tani Robar and Diane Grindol, Howell Book House, 2006, 0764584618

 The Click That Does The Trick: Trick Training Your Bird The Clicker Way, Robin Deutsch, TFH Publications, 2005, 0793805619

 Good Bird! A Guide to Solving Behavioral Problems in Companion Parrots!, Barbara Heidenreich, Avian Publications, 2004, 1895270278

 Getting Started - Clicker Training for Birds, Melinda Johnson, Sunshine Books, 2004, 1890948152

 Teaching Your Bird to Talk, Diane Grindol and Tom Roudybush, Howell Book House, 2003, 076454165X

 Teaching a Parrot to Talk (Caring for a Parrot), Elaine Radford, TFH Publications, 2001, 0793830788

 Parrot Training : A Guide to Taming and Gentling Your Avian Companion (Pets), Bonnie Munro Doane, Howell Book House, 2001, 0764563270

 The Clicker Workbook - A Beginner's Guide, Deborah Jones Ph.D. , Howln Moon Press, 1999, 1888994118

 Pet Owner's Guide to Parrot Training and Behaviour, Barbara Cherry, Ringpress Books, 1998, 1860541399

 Training Captive-Bred Parrots, Delia Berlin, TFH Publications, 1996, 0793821843

 Don't Shoot the Dog, Karen Pryer, Schuster, 1984, 0553380397

 From Pigeons to People, Elizabeth Hall, Houghton Mifflin, 1975, 0395218942

 A Primer of Operant Conditioning, G.S. Reynolds, Foresman Scott, 1968, B0006DCD9C