Milestone here too!

[katie_fleming]

Another milestone to share! Last night Jasper let me put his harness around his other wing!!!! WOO!!!

Its been FOREVER since we made it this far. He seemed like he was going to freak for a second so I stuffed a huge almond in his mouth hahaha then when he was just about finished eating it I took the harness off so he would still be distracted.

I'm so proud of him Will continue doing this for a long time before the last stage of tightening it. Working with him daily has worked better than last time.

Slowwwwwwwwwwly but surely we'll get back to where we were and then hopefully this will be the first year he can go outside with his harness

 

[GaleriaGila]

Congratulations!
I can only dream...

 

[SilverSage]

Woohoo! That's fantastic! Keep up the good work!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[coopedup]

yay Jasper!!!! (and wtg Katie)....outside is soooo much fun, you'll see.

 

[Violet_Diva]

Congratulations on yours and Jaspers progress! It'll be great to be able to take him out and about in future! I hope to get there soon too. Please keep sharing your updates - it's very encouraging to read about others on the same path, it can be strangely disheartening to see everyone out and about having a lovely time with their fids thinking "I'm nowhere near this"! Just being aware of others persistence and perseverance can be so encouraging. Keep up the great work and we'll all look forwards to seeing the photos of Jasper out and about

 

[davefv92c]

great to hear, im hoping to cross this one soon to

 

[Anansi]

Yesssssss!!! So happy for you and Jasper, Katie! That's textbook consistency paying off, my friend. Well done.

 

[wrench13]

Katie, Salty is at the same point - it is very discouraging when they progress only so far and then BOOM stop. In fact, Salty regressed for awhile , refusing to even come close to the harness, and then like a week ago, just for giggles , I tried including harness training in our regular , nightly training sessions, and he surprised by sticking his head thru the head stall like it was nothing. Did it last night too. It will be fun to see who gets the whole harness on first, Jasper or Salty. I am thinking Jasper, as Salty still HATES anything by, under or over his wings, but we'll see. I too want him to enjoy the wonder of being outside in the open. We may have the advantage though, becasue warm spring is almost here on Long Island, while warm spring may be a few weeks off in Montreal, no? The plan is - the first time he gets the harness fully on, is to rush and take him out side, even if it is not ful daylight out. Come on Jasper, Salty, we are doing this for your own enjoyment! You'll get plenty of treats for doing it! Come on Guys!

 

[plumsmum2005]

Woo indeed, well done. Looking forward to those outdoors pics LOL

 

[wrench13]

The board could use a complete nd total list of all the different harness types and manufacturers out there. In the last 2 weeks or so, I've seen 2 different types that I'd not seen before. I Know of:
Aviator
Flight Suit
1 that has a central clip on the birds back to join all the straps, but no name associated with it
1 that has Velcro on all the strap ends, similar to the Aviator, but no name associated with it.

I've even thought about designing my own type, using rare earth magnets to hold it together and strap it onto the bird. Yes, I sew ! Katie , sorry for sidetracking your thread - off to make a new one.

 

[katie_fleming]

Haha yes!! Spring is sloowwwwwly on its way to Montreal. The one thing I'm trying to figure out is where to take him when I do get outside. I live downtown so I don't want him to get totally freaked out by all the traffic and people. Maybe a quick walk down the block on the quieter side would be best to start.

Come on Jasper and Salty you can do itttttt!!!

 

[wrench13]

Does Montreal have a riverside walk, like they do in Missauqua(?) ? Outside of Toronto? Or any park, I bet he will like that. My goal is to take Salty with us to pirate gigs, and have him on stage with me. He's done that , but from inside his Pack-O-Bird.

 

[coopedup]

you might try taking him on walks inside a carrier so he's familiar with the sights and sounds before you take him out in the harness. Wrangler loves to go on car rides and run errands with me, but he is noticably more nervous and shy when it's a place we havent been before. I've taken him to my workplace several times to pick up paychecks, etc and he never even screams when he's there, you wouldnt know I had a bird on my shoulder. When we go on walks I try and vary the route so he has something to keep his attention off the harness but he's familiar enough with outside now that he isnt scared by the new route, just really interested.

 

[katie_fleming]

Well, we've made some more progress! Jasper has let me get his other wing through the loop twice! I haven't attempted to tighten it yet (I consider that a full step on its own so don't want to rush it).

I find it really awkward doing the second wing but maybe it'll get better. He won't let me do it quite like before b/c I can feel him fighting it. Anyway it hopefully will get better as he gets used to it.

He started to freak last night but then he sat still (thank god, he used to get so tangled before) but was shaking a bit. He bit down quite hard on my nail, I had to physically open his beak to remove him. Gave him a sec to calm down then it was ok.

I feel so badly, he thinks I'm torturing him I'm sure. *Sigh*

But at least it's still progress.

Come on Jasper, this is for your benefit I promise!!!

 

[wrench13]

I am hoping to get Salty fully into his harness Sunday, it will be really nice out. Good luck

 

[coopedup]

the hardest part for me has been getting the head stall OFF. It catches on his feathers and doesnt slide off easily

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

I am hoping to get Salty fully into his harness Sunday, it will be really nice out. Good luck

Ya Al...weather knucklehead says 82 and SUNNY here Sunday!!
Thank GOD it's my Sunday OFF from work!Going to try and get a little riding in,AND get Amy out for some fresh air,just got a real nice clipping a week or two back,from her CAV...which brings me to my next question<s>

I know Amy is a little (a lot??) heftier than your Salty boy.. I really have been thinking about getting her a harness of some type,but am not sure of what type. The Velcro type is really prodding me. I can lift/spread her arms,to a degree,with little fight from her,and the Velcro would make for a quicker/easier,and prolly more comfortable/less stressful approach.

If I'm going to try and get her into "shape" for possible free flight,a harness will be mandatory I suppose
Where did you get Salts from? And what size would you suggest??

And KATIE!!! Congradulations to you and Jasper!! Keep up the great work and JASPER!!! Good going there boy!! Keep it up,you're making mom so very proud of you! And wait 'til your very first outing outside..you'll be so happy to see a big bright new world around you!

And Katie??!! PICTURES there young lady! we're gonna need tons of pics lol.


Jim

 

[katie_fleming]

Jasper has suddenly decided for the past 4 days he'll put his head through then that's it. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

(Going to drug this bird and he'll wake up outside in his harness!!!!!!!!!!)

 

[wrench13]

Jim, I would talk to the Aviator folks and decide from their input what size to get Amy. Amy's a big girl, so a medium might not make it. The hardest thing is to get them to put their heads thru the head stall , SOme birds do it no sweat, and some, like Salty , take weeks and weeks before they will do it on their own. THere re several tpes f hrnesses out there, I keep meaning to make a new thread listing all the types , with links to each, but screen time is precious these days.

Katy - Salty got his back up and just plain refused to do anything with the harness, so over the winter, I took it out of the trick rotation so to speak. You might want to give Jasper a rest for a few days and reintroduce it.

 

[katie_fleming]

Not sure if I can embed Instagram photos here but huge milestone to share!!

I've gotten Jasper in his harness completely TWICE in a week!!!! I am so proud of him!!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUvOmAxBeYo/

I'm determined to get him outside in his harness this Summer and it's looking more likely!!!