Parrot Training: A Guide to Taming and Gentling Your Avian Companion (Pets) (Paperback)

by Bonnie Munro Doane (Author) "Congratulations! You've just brought home your new parrot..." (more)
Key Phrases: first obedience skill, three basic obedience skills, weaning cage, African Greys, Transitional Stage, Aunt Bonnie (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In paperback at last — the definitive guide to parrot training.

Originally published as The Pleasure of Their Company: An Owner's Guide to Parrot Training, this amply illustrated book is just what parrot owners need to bring up happy, well-behaved pets. You get:

• Hands-on advice from one of the nation's foremost parrot authorities
• A thorough explanation of "normal" parrot behavior and the benefits of training
• Coverage of everything from gentling fledglings and basic obedience to potty training, speech, and tricks"

From the Back Cover
Making the Most of a Good Thing
Sharing your home and life with a pet bird from the parrot family can be a joy that must be experienced to be appreciated. Whether your parrot pal is a lordly macaw, a tiny budgie or any of the beautiful Amazons, African greys, cockatoos or other beloved species in between, life can be beautiful when communication works. And that is what Parrot Training: A Guide to Taming and Gentling Your Avian Companion can do for the relationship. This definitive guide discusses:

• The reasons for training a parrot
• How an owner's behavior influences training results
• Working with baby birds and weanlings
• Three basic obedience skills
• Training techniques for adult parrots

You will find chapters on potty training to help your parrot clean up its act, speech training to make your parrot more fun to be with, trick training and some valuable insights on fun and games with your parrot to enjoy your relationship fully.

With delightful illustrations by parrot lover Richard Cole and a wealth of practical guidance, Parrot Training: A Guide to Taming and Gentling Your Avian Companion is the gift you give yourself and your parrot to make life better for you both.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Howell Book House; 1 edition (March 13, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764563270
• ISBN-13: 978-0764563270
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #66,924 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for understanding parrots and trick training, May 24, 2004

By	bronzefury (CA, USA) - See all my reviews

i'm a new parrot owner and i wanted to get as much fun and interaction with my parrot. i read this book several times to let the ideas sink in and then started training my conure to do certain tricks using the advice from this book. they have all worked so far which is pretty good given that i've owned my conure for about 2 months now.

i've taught my conure to wait patiently on his perch if he wants to be taken out of the cage. in this way, he doesn't ruin his tail feathers. i have also taught him how to do the "eagle", where he spreads his wings when i say the word "eagle". he also has learned to fetch crumpled paper towels. i throw the paper ball a few feet away. he runs to get it and comes back to return it. my wife and i really crack up about that trick.

anyway, my point is that i highly recommend this book.

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Covers the basics very well, August 20, 2004

By	Double D "diamondwood" (Chicago, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews

I'm going to give this book 5 stars, because I really like it--BUT-- like everything else I've read, I think it really glosses over a problem that I have, and no doubt others have. My bird is just not warm. I mean he doesn't need any humans for anything, so training him is going to take me YEARS. He trys to bite my hands any time he sees them, even if I'm 2 feet away. This book just gives lip service to this problem (and advises not to buy from a pet store- not always an option). I just wish some of these experts would listen to their own advice (she admits over and over how individual each bird's personality is), and cover some of the worst personality problems.
Having said that, I have no other complaints. It's a good read, reinforcing many of the little things you eventually find out as a bird "owner". I especially recommend this book for those who think they want a parrot. Please read this front to back first. It actually gets a lot of the impending headaches (and heartaches) out in the open. So when problems (other than mine) do come up, you will be well-armed. I learned how to towel a bird after 25 years, and the first time, my cockatiel turned into a little nursling. I would never have thought it would work, but it went great, and now I can at least grooom his feathers and nails when needed.
So if your on your fist avian adventure, get this now. If your an old salt, you could find something useful, but I know you will like all the anecdotes, at the very least.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING BUY !!!!!, October 8, 2003

By	Sonia Matte "Book Addict" (Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is amazing, it talks about parrot behaviour, how to treat your bird, second hand pet parrot problems and how to fix them, gives you amazing training techniques to teach basics (like up command, potty training), how to train your bird to talk,(mimicry, cognitive speach and how to teach them to talk in contexte) It tell you how to train your pet bird to do tricks such as playing dead, shaking hand, noghting yes and no, kissing, and much more. I have a budgie and this book really is for parrots and parakeets of any size.