Can you recommend a pay-for advice site?

[jaystak]

I've seen a lot of bird websites and some claim to have extensive video content which will help with taming, tricks, biting problems etc. Some have DVDs, audio programs, ebooks and many other things. My question is, is there a site out there that you guys would recommend? Or have you had a bad experience with a certain site?

[linda040899]

One of the best sites for avian behavior is Natural Encounters (http://www.naturalencounters.com ) Owner of the site is Steve Martin and he's been working with all species of parrot for many, many years.

As for sites that have training videos, etc., I can't think of one that I would recommend. In particular, stay away from the Womack Brothers, as their methods will do more damage in the long haul than they will do good for short term. Desensitization is not a way to establish a trust relationship with your bird. Read through this forum. Our members are more than glad to let you know what works and what doesn't work for them. There are no shortcuts.

[michael]

I certainly could never recommend any website that claims to "have it all" just because you pay for it. ... After all, there are simply too many honest websites that would just as soon provide that information for free. ... Offering a website that truly cares about parrots a "voluntary" donation is one thing, having to pay for something else may not be in yours or your parrots best interest.

[Enko_chan]

Linda, you took the words right out of my mouth.

I have a lot of differing ideas about parrot intelligence from Martin, but that is an excellent site and he has many really innovative and interesting ideas about the parrot mind and human beings relating to parrots. He really tries to see things from the parrots' point of view. Putting ourselves in their place can really help us to understand their responses and learn to grasp the meaning of their body language.

Clicker training is also a popular training method that transcends animal type entirely, they use it for all sorts of animals. Parrots, being especially intelligent, seem to really benefit from having a simple means of communication between themselves and their human being. This is one of the more popular books on the subject, and the one most recommend to me. I've never used it, personally, but I do have the clicker and intend to try it at some point. It follows many of the same principles that I use to socialize my birds and to teach step up, recall, and homing reponse. http://www.amazon.com/Clicker-Training-Birds-Getting-Started/dp/1890948152

As for the Womack Brothers... you'll see their parrot training videos advertised all over the place, they have a rather irritating advertising campaign going on and even if you don't realize it, you've most likely run into them on the internet. They have a B&G Macaw that they claim is untrained and they are teaching him the tricks on the spot- when really this bird has been trained and working with them for a long time... it seems more like a cheezy magic show or circus than anything legitimate, but unfortunately they attract a lot of people who are new to the parrot world...

their training consists basically of desensitization from sensory overload, and teach things like not feeding your bird all day so that they will be ready to accept treats in exchange for following commands. Its a really great way to traumatize your parrot and ruin any chance at a healthy relationship. I watched their videos all the way through a while ago, just to thoroughly acquaint myself with that which I would recommend against, and they use really cheap showmanship that will serve to completely confuse a new parrot companion about parrot behavior and body language. It really irritated me that they would take things like a bird using its beak to steady itself because they deliberately did something to throw the bird off balance, claim the bird was biting them, and then do their "Magic trick", pick up the bird in a different way and when the bird didn't use the beak, claim the bird wasn't biting. Ugh. You get the idea.

[jaystak]

Thanks for the advice, guys!