How to minimize biting during training (and all the time!)

[ImmunoGoblin]

We have a 6-month old DYH amazon. He is almost entirely weaned (the occasional comfort feeding every couple of days) and is fully flighted. He is also going through a molt (just getting his adult feathers maybe? I'm not sure).

We've really tried to stay on top of training with him. We started out doing basic touch training with a clicker and a chopstick - he gently beaks the end of the chopstick wherever we put it, and he gets positively reinforced. He knows this command, "wave hi," "shake hands," "spin around," and will sometimes fly to a targeted perch or hand.

Overall I'm really happy with his progress. My concern is that he's using his beak A LOT. Not in an "i'm going to savage you and bite you HARD" way, but not in a "Hmm, this is interesting, let me nibble on it" way either. Kind of like a mouthy puppy who can't stop gnawing on everything. I know he could bite us a lot harder if he wanted to, so I'm thinking it's not aggression per se, but I'd really like him to be able to be consistently handled without using his beak as much. I'm following all the positive training strategies I've read about, but it's still happening. Lately, something really problematic is happening - he performs the behavior, I click and treat, and THEN he bites my hand. How do I handle that?

I'm trying to "shape" the behavior by clicking and treating him for tolerating hands *near* him without biting behavior. I'm also working on stepping up onto a stick/perch rather than onto a hand. I'd love any suggestions you can offer!

 

[SandyBee]

Sorry don't have any, just wanted to say that we adopted a 36 DYH and he loves to nibble on my fingers and hand. He also tries to preen my skin. He is gentle and doesn't bite hard. It seems like it's part of their nature

 

[Birdman666]

Nibbling is normal and fine.

What you have to do when he does that is train him NOT to use too much bite pressure.

 

[ImmunoGoblin]

Thank you both! Sometimes it's nibbling, sometimes it's more than that. I noticed last night that part of the problem seems to be he gets so excited about the treats in my hand that he'll mouth/bite/nibble at the hand that's holding them. Maybe I will produce the treats from a pouch or from my pocket to work around that.

 

[Anansi]

When working with my eclectus, one of the methods for bite pressure training that I've found most effective has been the wobble technique. If he was on my hand or arm, I would use the wobble technique while calmly saying "no". Thing is, you always want to make sure to wobble your arm just enough to threaten his balance a little, but NEVER enough to actually make him fall. Especially if he's clipped. Making him fall can damage the trust you're building with him,
Anyhow, consistently wobbling the arm and saying "no" any time the bite pressure gets too hard sets up two associations in his mind. Biting your hand beyond a certain amount of pressure gets associated with an uncomfortable loss of balance, and he also begins to learn that "no" refers to things you don't find desirable.

 

[Birdman666]

Thank you both! Sometimes it's nibbling, sometimes it's more than that. I noticed last night that part of the problem seems to be he gets so excited about the treats in my hand that he'll mouth/bite/nibble at the hand that's holding them. Maybe I will produce the treats from a pouch or from my pocket to work around that.

AMAZON OVERLOAD. It happens. And DYH's are the most excitable of the bunch, followed closely behind by napes, and BFA's.

 

[ImmunoGoblin]

Update: It seems to be improving. I tried to really take the level to which I read his body language and moods up a notch. I don't keep the treats in my hand when we're training, and that seems to work a lot. A lot of the time I can just "tell" when he's going to step up nicely and when it's time to get a stick instead. Maybe our bond is just deepening? It really also seemed to help when my partner, who he's more bonded to, went away for the weekend. Tater was extra sweet and lovey with me while he was gone, and I've tried to keep that feeling going since he came back.