The Training Series: Training your pet bird

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Teaching your pet new tricks is enormous fun for both of you and since birds get bored very easily, they need something to occupy their time. This is particularity important for birdies, who can start to peck themselves when bored. To prevent her from doing so, we’ve sourced the ultimate training guide for your chirper.

a) If your bird does something good, be sure to give her a treat. If this is in the form of food, beware not to over-feed her. A limited number for treats will help to keep your sessions short, so your bird won’t lose interest. If you finish your sessions on a high, she’ll be excited to play again soon.

b) Never punish your bird. Not only will punishment confuse her, she may just be acting up for attention and your reaction would be exactly what she is looking for. It goes without saying that you must never hit your bird, as she is incredibly fragile. If she is acting up, ignore her. This will be punishment enough, as she craves your attention.

c) Pick training times carefully. Your bird should not be distracted by anything else when you are working together as this will make your sessions far less effective. Make sure she has eaten, isn’t preoccupied with preening, and there is nothing exciting going on in the vicinity.

d) Once you have mastered a trick, wean your bird off rewards. You should still be rewarding her, but don’t get her into a habit of only performing when she knows you have a treat for her. Continue to praise, and treat sparingly, she’ll soon be happy to do tricks for just your praise.

e) The most important trick to teach your tweeter is how to hop on and off your hand, her perch, the windowsill, the fridge…. It’s a nice easy trick to learn, but the benefits are spectacular. It’s also a good exercise to go back to if you want to finish your training sessions on a high note. Although your bird will soon be using this trick every day, sometimes at the end of an unproductive session it’s ok to treat her for doing the hopping trick to keep up morale.

f) If your bird is not responding well to learning a new trick, consider changing location. Sometimes being near her cage is distracting for her, and an unfamiliar environment may improve learning.

View the other posts in our training series here:

Training a new rabbit

Training a new kitten

Training a new puppy

The training series: Training a new rabbit

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Gone are the days when rabbits sit in hutches, munching solitarily on a carrot and wishing they could play inside with us in the warmth of our homes. Now our ‘bugs bunnies’ are just as welcome inside as they are out and, what’s more, they’re mighty intelligent and love to learn new tricks.

To get you started, here’s the third in our training series, providing you with a

few pointers on how to train your new rabbit:

1. Time: For effective training results, you need to devote at least one hour each day to training your rabbit. Results won’t happen immediately, but if you stick to your training regime, it will only take a few weeks for you to achieve results. Just because your bunny is highly intelligent doesn’t mean he or she will learn how to do a roly-poly in day one. Remember to have fun with your training; if it becomes a chore for you, just imagine how it must feel for the rabbit. Make sure you are both enjoying yourselves and the time will fly by.

2. Teaching skills: When teaching your rabbit, always be consistent. Make sure you use the same commands each time such as ‘sit’ or ‘up’ – your rabbit will soon recognise what each request means and don’t forget to accompany each command with a treat. Your rabbit will soon associate these words with a reward. Once your rabbit understands the skills and effort required, gradually start to wean it off the treats. Eventually your rabbit will obey all commands without expecting anything.

3. Potty training: Surprisingly, an older rabbit is easier to ‘potty train’ than a younger one because they have already established personal grooming habits. Remember, be patient with your bunny. While it is living in a hutch, your pet will usually find a favourite ‘bathroom’ spot. Once you’ve worked out where this is, place the litter tray there and bunny should start using it. When you let your rabbit loose in the house, it should return to where the litter tray is placed.

4. Incentives: Rabbits don’t understand yelling, but are very intelligent and will respond to treats. Try to figure out your rabbit’s favourite treat and don’t stop dishing out the treats too soon. You need to establish consistency, so if you stop treating your pet before it completely understands what you expect, it will lose interest fast. Always check with your vet if you are unsure about what your rabbit can eat.

5. A misbehaving rabbit: Do not, under any circumstances, hit your rabbit for not co-operating with you. Your rabbit will not understand what is happening. Consider a ‘time out’ zone back in its hutch to highlight any wrongdoing.

The training series: Training a new kitten

Tweet New kittens are a delight to have in your home and bring bundles of joy. But the furry little balls of fluff do require training to help them settle into their new environment and to ensure they don’t claw your lounge suite.

The second in our training series provides you with tips and advice on training your new kitten:

1. Establish your kitten’s “den” – Show your kitten where it can sleep. Set up its bed, food and water bowls in a dry, secure and safe area. Cats and kittens like to hide, so make sure there are suitable nooks and crannies for your new kitten to snuggle into. A soft cat bed is ideal or a cat sleeping bag.

2. Toilet training – Even if you intend your kitten to be an indoor cat, kittens must stay inside until they have received their inoculations at your chosen vet. Therefore, you will need to teach your kitten to be toilet trained; don’t expect they already know what to do. The first step is to introduce your kitten to its new litter tray. The tray should be big enough for the kitten to move around in. If you’ve ever watched a kitten or cat use its litter tray, they circle around inside and establish a spot before going to the toilet. After your kitten eats, let it have a rest or play and then 15 minutes later encourage your kitten over to the tray and entice it to step onto the litter. You want to make sure your kitten knows the tray is a safe, clean and comfortable place.

Use a litter scooper to dispose of the ‘presents’ you will find in the tray and kitty litter freshening powder is an option to keep the tray smelling of roses. Cats are known for being very fastidious animals, so if the tray is not cleaned out on a regular basis they will find somewhere else to soil. Never put the litter tray near your kitten’s food or sleeping area, this can put them off their food and sleeping den.

3. Scratching post or couch? Kittens have little claws that aren’t that sharp but as your kitten grows, so do its claws. If you have a kitten that goes outside, its claws will become blunt while climbing trees and playing outdoors. However, an indoor cat needs somewhere to scratch and a scratching post is the best option. You can get scratching posts in all shapes and sizes; some even have hiding holes and toys attached to keep your kitten entertained. Encourage your kitten to scratch on it daily, lend a hand and show your kitten how to scratch. Don’t forget to praise your kitten for getting it right.

4. Praise your kitten – Praising your kitten for using its litter tray and scratching post is an important way for it to learn when it has done something right. Just like you would with a child, make a fuss over your kitten by talking to it, giving it a cuddle and stroking it. Occasionally you can reward your pet with special kitten treats.

But what do you do when your kitten behaves badly?

5. Kitten disciple: NEVER hit your kitten or cat if it is naughty. The best thing to remember is don’t reward bad behaviour. Do the opposite of praising your kitten. Don’t make a fuss of it, don’t talk to it, ignore your kitten and walk away from it. Your kitten needs to associate the differences between negative and positive attitudes and rewards.

Most importantly, have fun with your kitten. Play time with toys and evening cuddles are so rewarding.