Customer Reviews

Parrot Tricks: Teaching Parrots with Positive Reinforcement

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It seems that anything and everything you read about Pet Parrot Trick Training all comes back to a common denominator. It's Tani Robar! This book is a MUST HAVE bible of information for any owner of pet birds from a little canary all the way up to a large Macaw.

Tani's writing style is fun to read and keeps you wanting to know more through the whole book! Many times reading throughout the book I said to myself " so that's how trainers do that! I can teach my bird that trick!" It kept me reading all the way to the end!

This book should be a required read for all bird owners. It gives so much insight to how birds think and behave to our actions!

You will love this book. Thanks Tani!

I have known Tani for many years. Under her tutelage, I taught my birds the following tricks: a puzzle, mailbox, basketball hoop, wave, piggy bank, stack cups, stack rings....to name a few. She once told me that birds never forget what they learn and since I have been doing this for seven years or so, I have discovered that she is right!

This book has detailed instructions on how to teach your bird a multitude of trick behaviors: from variations on the retrieve (my personal favorite) to capturing behaviors to create what Tani terms "innovative tricks". There is so much information in this book that I believe it will become a classic for decades to come.

What Tani terms "trick behaviors" are really the basis for building a strong system of communication between you and your parrot. This is so vital to living with parrots as companion animals. Don't be fooled by the notion that these are just "silly tricks". The truth is that they are stepping stones to building a mutually interesting and enjoyable relationship between you, your family and your avian companions.

Just about anybody can teach their bird at least a few of these behaviors. The secret is patience and repitition. Once you start training, you will enjoy it and you will find that your bird will blossom from the attention and positive feedback.

I definitely recommend this book along with Tani's tapes and DVD's. This is one facet of building an interesting and long term relationship with your bird.

Mona Delgado
Seattle, WA

If you're looking for a variety of tricks to teach your bird and good instructions for how to do them, this is the book! It ranges from the simple wave and kiss to riding bicycles and "playing basketball." I had seen a couple of rave reviews online but was a little skeptical until I looked at the book itself. It's been fantastic and has lots of little tricks to help you when you're having trouble. I have a sun conure, and while many have said they're not as quick as other parrots, he's learning like a champ!

Isn't for begginners. To try tricks that are in this book, your pet have to be well socialized already. Altought, the text is well organised and paragraphs are relatively shorts and clears. Examples are very interestings.

Tani Robar has trained parrots for a long time.
She has several parrot training videos available.

But, her methods are somewhat "old school" and the book attempts to justify them by claiming that what many trainers would call positive reinforcement is a bunch of "hooey".

The book says that clicker training is slower than her methods and that using a bridging marker is useless. Her methods include physical manipulation of the bird through movements that the bird will not like (at first?). Here is one quote:

"Your bird may not like being touched in certain areas, but do so gently anyway." (page 21)

That is not how chioce-based positive reinforcement works. Here are a few quotes from the section on clicker training:

"It is an extra step that really slows down your training."

"I have tested it and I know it slows you down."

"No bridge is needed because no time gap exists between the correct action and the reward."

"Clicker training enthusiasts like to say that the conventional way of using a praise word, in my case "good" or some form of it, makes that method the same as the clicker method, just substituting the click. It is not the same at all! My "good" or similar words of praise do not stop the action but merely tell the bird he is doing what I want."

"True clicker trainers say that they prefer to add the cues after the trick is learned. Again, that is just adding an extra step."

"A bridge signal to mark a correct response and to "fill in the gap" between a behavior and a reward is unimportant, which was illustrated when I attended a week long clicker training class given by Bob and Marion Bailey (prior to her death) at their chicken training camp in Arkansas. I found that it didn't make a bit of difference whether we clicked or not. Whether you clicked or not made absolutely no difference."

That is what the book says. Tani Robar claims that scientific trainers such as Marion Breland Bailey and Karen Pryor don't know beans. Don't waste your money on this book - Read the books from my essential list, this isn't one of them. Read Melinda Johnson, Barbara Heidenreich, Karen Pryor, and Robin Deutsch.

This book is a decent book on how to train parrots tricks. I haven't tried it since I gave my parrot to my daughter with the book. She will be using the book.

I have read this book but my Quaker Parrot Bobby is not aold enough to start tricks yet but I am sure it will be a great help

I found the book very useful. It explains the "psychology" of parrots and the best ways to teach them tricks. I recommend it!

Easy to read and follow. At times I feel it could be more detailed but I have not tried anything yet. I am amazed at the number of tricks included

Well written and clear, helped me teach even my two bratty green-cheeks some good tricks. Also helped to improve the overall relationship between my birds and me.