Read Online Pickles The Parrot: A Humorous Look At Life With An African Grey by Georgi Abbott - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Georgi Abbott
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yell at Pickles, well that’s not
exactly true. We’ve yelled pretty loud, and let out some pretty
good swear words but that’s only while being on the bad end of a
beak. But when he’d start in, we’d start in with the firm
reprimands. Well! Pickles thought this grand! Any attention, ANY,
was better than NONE!
But when you really take the time to think
about these things, it’s not hard to outwit a bird while allowing
him to think he has the upper hand. It was hard, but from now on,
the moment Pickles screeched, we would stand up and walk out of the
room. He didn’t like that. Not one bit. So, he’d scream bloody
murder for our return. We would wait for the first moment of
silence and then immediately return to the room and sit down. We
never looked at him or talked to him on the way in or the way out.
At first, he would start the screeching within the first minute or
2 so up we got and left the room again. It’s hard to do this and
hard to be consistent because it only takes giving in once for him
to get his reward and revert back to his poor behaviour. That means
starting all over. It’s never convenient when you’re absorbed in a
TV show or you’re eating dinner but it had to be done. He’s a quick
study once you come up with a plan. He soon learned that he didn’t
just have to be quiet, that a nice chirp or word could initiate our
return.
So, that worked while we were in the room but
what about when we were off doing something and Pickles was bored?
He could stay quiet for only so long before he’d revert to
screeching for us to give him some attention so we developed a
little whistle. Neil couldn’t join in on this plan because he can’t
whistle but I started waiting until he was quiet for a moment, then
I’d whistle. Within an hour, he had the whistle down pat and we
whistled to each other from separate rooms. Later, it became him
asking “Anybody home?” and we would answer back “Everybody’s home!”
which resulted in a “Woo hoo!” and he’d either keep chatting with
us or go back to whatever he was doing until the next time he
wanted contact.
When we were busy, we would often make a
point to stop and visit Pickles briefly to hand him a snack or toy.
This would not only keep him busy or entertained, he was also being
rewarded for good behaviour, all the while making him feel he is in
control.
Positive Reinforcement not only works well on
all kinds of pets, it’s especially effective on children, bosses,
employees and even spouses! Of course, Neil is better at using it
on me, than I am on him. He’s got more patience and I’ve got a bit
of a short wick.
Our whole life consists of trying to outwit
the little fellow. It usually works, but often we pay a price for
it. His ‘step-up’ is basically bomb proof but he has moments when
he insists on staying put. Pickles likes to be involved in the
supper making process. Even if he’s hungry, he won’t always step up
to go home (his cage) for supper because he likes to watch the pond
and birdies from the dining room. If I suspect he’s not in the mood
to leave, instead of asking, “Wanna go home for supper?” I say,
“Wanna help mommy make your supper?” and he’ll trip over his own
feet in haste to get on my hand. Now, this is a good plan to get
him home, but a major pain in the ass in the meantime.
To get his supper ready, I have to take a row
of birdie bread out of the freezer, unwrap it to get a square, wrap
it back up and put it back in the freezer—all this one-handed while
Pickles perches on the other. All the while, Pickles is reaching
for everything in the freezer and trying to rip the food out of my
hand or trying to help remove the saran wrap.
I put the square in a small bowl and walk
across the kitchen to the microwave, which is in a little pantry.
While we wait a few seconds for it to warm up, Pickles is loosing
his balance on my hand from trying to reach for shiny objects on
the shelves and usually ending up
exactly true. We’ve yelled pretty loud, and let out some pretty
good swear words but that’s only while being on the bad end of a
beak. But when he’d start in, we’d start in with the firm
reprimands. Well! Pickles thought this grand! Any attention, ANY,
was better than NONE!
But when you really take the time to think
about these things, it’s not hard to outwit a bird while allowing
him to think he has the upper hand. It was hard, but from now on,
the moment Pickles screeched, we would stand up and walk out of the
room. He didn’t like that. Not one bit. So, he’d scream bloody
murder for our return. We would wait for the first moment of
silence and then immediately return to the room and sit down. We
never looked at him or talked to him on the way in or the way out.
At first, he would start the screeching within the first minute or
2 so up we got and left the room again. It’s hard to do this and
hard to be consistent because it only takes giving in once for him
to get his reward and revert back to his poor behaviour. That means
starting all over. It’s never convenient when you’re absorbed in a
TV show or you’re eating dinner but it had to be done. He’s a quick
study once you come up with a plan. He soon learned that he didn’t
just have to be quiet, that a nice chirp or word could initiate our
return.
So, that worked while we were in the room but
what about when we were off doing something and Pickles was bored?
He could stay quiet for only so long before he’d revert to
screeching for us to give him some attention so we developed a
little whistle. Neil couldn’t join in on this plan because he can’t
whistle but I started waiting until he was quiet for a moment, then
I’d whistle. Within an hour, he had the whistle down pat and we
whistled to each other from separate rooms. Later, it became him
asking “Anybody home?” and we would answer back “Everybody’s home!”
which resulted in a “Woo hoo!” and he’d either keep chatting with
us or go back to whatever he was doing until the next time he
wanted contact.
When we were busy, we would often make a
point to stop and visit Pickles briefly to hand him a snack or toy.
This would not only keep him busy or entertained, he was also being
rewarded for good behaviour, all the while making him feel he is in
control.
Positive Reinforcement not only works well on
all kinds of pets, it’s especially effective on children, bosses,
employees and even spouses! Of course, Neil is better at using it
on me, than I am on him. He’s got more patience and I’ve got a bit
of a short wick.
Our whole life consists of trying to outwit
the little fellow. It usually works, but often we pay a price for
it. His ‘step-up’ is basically bomb proof but he has moments when
he insists on staying put. Pickles likes to be involved in the
supper making process. Even if he’s hungry, he won’t always step up
to go home (his cage) for supper because he likes to watch the pond
and birdies from the dining room. If I suspect he’s not in the mood
to leave, instead of asking, “Wanna go home for supper?” I say,
“Wanna help mommy make your supper?” and he’ll trip over his own
feet in haste to get on my hand. Now, this is a good plan to get
him home, but a major pain in the ass in the meantime.
To get his supper ready, I have to take a row
of birdie bread out of the freezer, unwrap it to get a square, wrap
it back up and put it back in the freezer—all this one-handed while
Pickles perches on the other. All the while, Pickles is reaching
for everything in the freezer and trying to rip the food out of my
hand or trying to help remove the saran wrap.
I put the square in a small bowl and walk
across the kitchen to the microwave, which is in a little pantry.
While we wait a few seconds for it to warm up, Pickles is loosing
his balance on my hand from trying to reach for shiny objects on
the shelves and usually ending up
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