Stepping up

[Tango's_Mom]

I think that it is about time to start working with Tango on stepping up, he is still pretty afraid of hands, so I guess the best thing will be to start with a dowel. The thing is, he is the ultimate velcro bird, if he's not on his cage he's on me, usually the shoulder, which is kind of an akward place to reach. So I guess the question is how to work with a bird who won't leave your shoulder, and also what is the best way to get him used to the dowel and to get him to step up? He is 6.5 to 8 months old.

[BarbieH]

I think you would want Tango to think that stepping up on the dowel is his idea; use something the approximate size of one of his cage perches so that it's familiar. See if you can get him to play on it ...

[Lindades264]

Hello,

One thing I am doing with my Johnny, who also hops right to my shoulder, is I gently hold him in place on my hand. As he hops up on my shoulder I simply put him back on my hand. Eventually he gets the idea to stay on my hand. Then I worked on the 'step up' command. He is still in the learning stage, but is getting very good at staying on my hand and not hopping up. After a few 'step ups', then I tell him he is a good boy, and put him on my shoulder. Hope this helps.

[linda040899]

Hi Linda,
Sounds like a very reasonable training session to me. You are not forcing him to do anything and you are gently reinforcing what you expect. Lovebirds are not known for staying in one place very long but it sounds like it's working! :)