An Introduction to Positive Reinforcement Training and its Benefits

By
Barbara Heidenreich
Good Bird Inc
www.GoodBirdInc.com
Macaws on bicycles, cockatoos raising flags, conures snatching dollar notes from
audience members. These are images that often come to mind when the word training
is mentioned in conunction with !arrots. "hile it is true that training is res!onsible for
those resulting entertaining tricks, this short list of beha#iors is a gross understatement of
the endless !otential training with !ositi#e reinforcement affords a#ian s!ecies in our
care.
Training is sim!ly teaching. "hen we train an animal with !ositi#e reinforcement we
gi#e it information on what it can do to earn desired outcomes. "hat beha#iors we
choose to teach are limitless. In addition to training birds for entertainment, we can use
this form of communication to address beha#ior !roblems, to manage birds on e$hibit, to
teach birds to coo!erate in their own medical care and%or to allow us to facilitate ca!ti#e
breeding !ractices.
Training is Science Based
&lthough training birds in general is not a new conce!t to a#ian enthusiasts,
understanding the science behind training is ust recently gaining momentum. The
science behind training is called beha#ior analysis. This science focuses on how
organisms learn. &nd truly we are all students of this science on a daily basis whether we
are conscious of our a!!lication of its !rinci!les or not. 'urrent trends in animal training
choose to focus on using elements of this science that focus on kind and gentle strategies
to create desired beha#ior and reduce undesired beha#ior. This includes a#oiding the use
of !ositi#e !unishment and negati#e reinforcement. In its !lace, trainers learn the art and
skill of a!!lying !ositi#e reinforcement to gain coo!eration. (See definition of terms in
side bar)
Side bar
Positive Reinforcement: The !resentation of a stimulus following a beha#ior that ser#es
to maintain or increase the fre)uency of the beha#ior. &nother name for !ositi#e
reinforcement is reward training. *ositi#e reinforcers tend to be #alued or !leasant
stimuli. To get !ositi#e reinforcers, learners often enthusiastically e$ceed the minimum
effort necessary to gain them. +ecommended,
Negative Reinforcement: The remo#al of a stimulus following a beha#ior that ser#es to
maintain or increase the fre)uency of the beha#ior. &nother name for negati#e
reinforcement is esca!e%a#oidance training. -egati#e reinforcers tend to be a#ersi#e or
un!leasant stimuli. To a#oid negati#e reinforcers, learners often only work to the le#el
necessary to a#oid them. -ot recommended,
Punishment: The !resentation of an a#ersi#e stimulus, or remo#al of a !ositi#e reinforcer,
that ser#es to decrease or suppress the fre)uency of the beha#ior. The use of !unishment
tends to !roduce detrimental side effects such as counter aggression, esca!e beha#ior,
a!athy and fear. &lso, !unishment doesn.t teach the learner what to do to earn !ositi#e
reinforcement. -ot +ecommended,
/ne of the benefits of #iewing beha#ior and learning from a scientific a!!roach is that we
can a#oid the !itfalls of relying on anecdotal information and%or anthro!omor!hic
inter!retations of beha#ior. In addition as a recogni0ed science, the information belongs
to e#eryone. -o single indi#idual has ownershi! of the methods or !rinci!les. They are
a#ailable for each and e#eryone one of us to learn and a!!ly. By understanding the
science we are able to remo#e misconce!tions and erroneous inter!retations of beha#ior.
The science also teaches us that e#en innate beha#iors are modifiable. &nd most
im!ortantly we learn to create and modify beha#ior with kinder and gentler methods.
This allows reduction in stress, trust building bonds with caretakers, the a#oidance of
learned aggressi#e beha#iors and the many other drawbacks often associated when
a#ersi#e strategies are used to influence beha#ior.
The Potential of Positive Reinforcement Training
In many ways the !arrot community is still in its infancy as it identifies the !otential
formali0ed training !rograms ha#e to #astly im!ro#e a#ian care and management
!ractices. *ositi#e reinforcement training has long been a !art of the management and
care of s!ecies such as ca!ti#e whales and dol!hins. 1og training has made tremendous
changes in the last ten years towards focusing on !ositi#e reinforcement training. "hile
this highly effecti#e and far kinder method of influencing animal beha#ior is ready and
waiting to be e$!loited to its fullest in the a#ian community, a mo#ement of !ositi#e
reinforcement training de#otees has been working hard to s!read the word to !arrot
enthusiasts around the world.
"hat these su!!orters ha#e learned is that !ositi#e reinforcement training dis!els many
common misconce!tions that currently e$ist about !arrots. -o longer do they belie#e that
getting bit by their !arrot is ine#itable, no longer do they worry if their bird is !erched
higher than chest le#el, no longer do they assume their !arrot will misbeha#e with
strangers, and so on. They ha#e learned that by a!!lying !ositi#e reinforcement training
strategies, they can teach their bird to eagerly !resent almost any beha#ior they can
imagine. *ositi#e reinforcement trainers commonly teach their birds to #oluntarily
!resent the following !ractical and useful beha#iors.
Step up onto the hand
Step up onto the hand of other people
Enter a kennel or other travel container
Play in a towel
Step onto a scale
Go back into the cage
Stay on desired play stands or cages
nteract without aggressive behavior with other birds
*ositi#e reinforcement trainers often also train beha#iors that may seem focused on
entertainment. Howe#er they also ser#e a #ery real function of building trust and
enriching their birds li#es. These include the following
!ouching a target
"ave with a foot
"ave with a wing
Stretch wings out
Nod #yes$
Shake head #no$
!urn around
Retrieve an ob%ect
!alk on cue
Many of these seemingly im!ractical beha#iors are also easily sha!ed into medical
beha#iors such allowing nail trims or cli!!ing feathers without restraint. 2ome 0oological
facilities ha#e trained !arrots to allow the following medical beha#iors without restraint
&'ideo of which can be seen at Parrot (ehavior and !raining "orkshops presented by the
author)
)ll over tactile e*am
+loacal sampling
+hoanal sampling
,ltrasound
Radiograph
+loacal temperature reading
Nebuli-ation
.asking for anesthesia
(lood draws
In addition to !ro#iding the tools to train no#el beha#iors, understanding the !rinci!les of
beha#ior analysis gi#es !arrot enthusiasts the foundation needed to address beha#ior
!roblems. Beha#ior !roblems such as biting, screaming, bonding to one !erson, fear of
lea#ing the cage and feather destructi#e beha#ior are many times the result of a !arrot
learning what to do to create an en#ironment that works for the bird. 3nfortunately
humans often inad#ertently reinforce or create the undesired beha#ioral res!onse the
!arrot is !resenting. By understanding the function of the beha#ior and identifying the
antecedents and conse)uences that ser#e to maintain the beha#ior, owners can !roceed to
de#elo! strategies based on a!!lied beha#ior analysis !rinci!les to address !roblem
beha#ior.
Learning How to Train
2ur!rising to most, training with !ositi#e reinforcement is relati#ely sim!le. &s with any
skill it can be !racticed. The more it is !racticed, ty!ically the better one becomes at its
a!!lication. Many beha#iors can be trained in one or two twenty minute training sessions.
The following are a few terms that are hel!ful to know !rior to del#ing further into the
nuances of training with !ositi#e reinforcement.
+ue4 & signal that tells the animal what to do. Many trainers use #erbal and%or hand cues.
(ridge or bridging stimulus4 & signal or marker that indicates when an animal has done
something correct. It bridges the ga! in time between when the animal did something
correct and when it will recei#e !ositi#e reinforcement. 2ome e$am!les of bridges are
clickers, whistles, the word good or a touch.
Shaping a behavior with appro*imations4 /nce a desired beha#ior is identified, it is
!ossible to look at that beha#ior as a series of small ste!s. The first ste! must be learned
before mo#ing on to the ne$t ste!. 5#entually all the ste!s when oined together lead u!
to the final desired beha#ior. &!!ro$imations are used )uite often to train beha#iors. This
strategy can be used to train a bird to ste! u! onto the hand, go onto a scale, ste! onto
strangers, enter a kennel, wa#e and much more.
Training with a!!ro$imations is like a dance between the trainer and the bird. The bird
may take a few ste!s or a!!ro$imations forward, but if the bird is hesitant to mo#e
forward more, the trainers may choose to acce!t a ste! that had been mastered !re#iously.
The training may remain at this ste! for a few re!etitions as the bird gains confidence
before a more challenging ste! is attem!ted again. There is a constant shifting and
adusting to meet the ca!abilities of the bird, but e#entually more ste!s are taken forward
then backward and the bird learns what the trainer is trying to teach. It is an intricate
dance and one that makes training such an interesting acti#ity. It challenges a trainer.s
skills. 6ery rarely does training become boring. 5ach s!ecies, each indi#idual, each
beha#ior brings a new set of criteria to the table.
3sing the terms described abo#e and !ositi#e reinforcement as a training strategy we can
e$!lore the !rocess of training a beha#ior. The first ste! is to identify a beha#ior to train.
"hen training by sha!ing with a!!ro$imations, it is hel!ful to describe in writing what
each ste! might be. This can hel! a trainer #isuali0e the !rocess. In addition it is
im!ortant to identify a cue for the beha#ior, a bridge and the ty!e of !ositi#e
reinforcement !referred by the training subect.
&t first the bird will not understand the cue. Therefore the first ste! is to try to create the
situation in which the bird will !erform a small !art of the beha#ior. 7or e$am!le to teach
a bird to ste! u! on the hand for !ositi#e reinforcement, sunflower seeds may be used to
lure the bird towards the hand. If the bird takes a ste! towards the hand, the bird is
bridged (the bridge signal is gi#en8 and offered a seed. "hile the bird is making the
ste! towards the hand, a cue can be offered, such as the #erbal cue ste! u!. This
associates the cue with the action of mo#ing towards the hand. /#er time the bird will
make the connection that the #erbal cue ste! u! means to go to the hand. 5#entually the
goal is to !hase out showing the sunflower seeds to encourage the !erformance of the
beha#ior and only offer the cue.
"hen training a new beha#ior the se)uence is as follows4
9. *resentation of cue by the trainer
:. Bird !erforms beha#ior or a!!ro$imation towards desired beha#ior
;. Bridge is gi#en by the trainer for correct !erformance of beha#ior or
a!!ro$imation
<. *ositi#e reinforcer is offered by the trainer
=. This !rocess re!eats itself as each a!!ro$imation is added, until the final goal
beha#ior is achie#ed.
/nce a bird has gone through the a!!ro$imations and clearly understands that the cue
means to !erform a !articular beha#ior, the use of the bridge can be !hased out for that
beha#ior. The bridge is a good tool to hel! clearly communicate what is desired.
Howe#er, once the beha#ior is learned it is not necessary. If the bird has !roblems with
the beha#ior or is learning a new beha#ior, the bridge can always be reintroduced.
&lthough the bridge can e#entually be remo#ed, it is not recommended to !hase out the
!ositi#e reinforcer. /#er time the bird will lose its moti#ation to !erform the beha#ior.
+einforcement increases the likelihood the bird will !erform a beha#ior> a#ersi#e or no
conse)uences can decrease that likelihood.

Training a Retrieve
?earning new beha#iors is mentally and !hysically stimulating for com!anion !arrots. It
is no secret that !arrots are some of the most intelligent animals on earth. Ha#ing the
o!!ortunity to e$ercise their brain !ower is highly enriching. The following e$am!le
describes the a!!ro$imations one can take to teach a sim!le retrie#e. It is also a great
e$ercise for new trainers to use to !ractice a!!lying the !rinci!les of training.
9. 2et the bird on a small !erch (a!!ro$imately one foot long8. This will limit where
the bird might choose to go.
:. /ffer from your hand a small toy, such as a !lastic bead, or other small but hea#y
obect. 3sually birds will !ick it u! with their beaks out of curiosity. If the bird
will not !ick it u!, try hiding a !iece of food behind the bead so the bird must
touch the bead with its beak. In this training scenario, the !resentation of the bead
may act as a #isual cue, but you can also use a #erbal cue such as !ick it u!.
(?ater this will be useful if you want the bird to retrie#e other obects.8Bridge and
reinforce when the bird touches the bead with its beak. 'ontinue sha!ing touching
the bead until the bird !icks it u!.
;. Hold a small bowl under the bird.s beak. 5#entually the bird will tire of the bead
and dro! it. 'atch the bead in the bowl. Gi#e the bridging stimulus you ha#e
chosen when the bead hits the bowl bottom. This can be clicking a clicker one
time, or saying the word good. 1ecide the ty!e of bridging stimulus you will
use before you begin the session. &fter the bridging stimulus is gi#en, offer the
bird a !ositi#e reinforcer. The !ositi#e reinforcer can be a sunflower seed or other
food treat. /ther ty!es of !ositi#e reinforcers can be offered such a head scratches
or attention. @ust be sure the bird finds these things !ositi#ely reinforcing.
<. +e!eat this !rocess se#eral times.
=. &fter se#eral re!etitions, mo#e the bowl o#er to the side slightly. The bird will
!robably not dro! the bead in the bowl. If this ha!!ens, do not bridge or reinforce.
/ffer the bead again. &llow the bird to miss and not get reinforced one or two
times.
A. Then go back to trying to catch the bead in the bowl. Bridge and reinforce.
B. Try mo#ing the bowl to the side again. If the bird gets the bead in the bowl offer a
larger or more desired reinforcer. If he misses, go back to ste! ; and work u! to
ste! = again. Cee! re!eating this !rocess until the bird understands the bead must
go into the bowl in order to get the reinforcer.
D. /nce the bird gets the conce!t of the bead going into the bowl, start mo#ing the
bowl a little farther away. Eou will find you may ha#e to go through ste!s ;FB
again. But e#entually, you will be able to hold the bead on one end of the !erch
and the bowl on the other.
G. /nce this conce!t is understood by the bird, you can try switching the obect to
something else. "hen you do this, go back to holding the bowl under the bird.s
beak and catching the obect. Gradually a!!ro$imate the bowl farther away. This
should go )uickly this time. /nce the conce!t is well understood, try !lacing the
bird and bowl on another surface such as a table. &gain, you may need to re!eat
ste!s ;FB to get on track. But e#entually the bird will learn to generali0e and
!erform the beha#ior in different en#ironments and with different obects.
Conclusion
The good news about training is that it is not that hard to do. 3nderstanding a few sim!le
conce!ts can get !arrot enthusiasts started on a !ath of disco#ery. -ot only can training
with !ositi#e reinforcement !ro#ide entertaining di#ersions, but it can also create well
beha#ed !arrots, reduce stress, a#oid aggressi#e res!onses, and create an eager and
enthusiastic !artici!ant. Most im!ortantly it fosters the human animal bond that draws us
to these fascinating creatures.
7reidman, 2.G. (:HH=8. /e Said0 She Said0 Science Says1$ Good Bird Maga0ine1 6olume
9 issue 9.
7riedman, 2.G. (:HH=8 Straight !alk about Parrot (ehavior Good Bird Maga0ine
6olume 9 Issue ;.
7riedman, 2.G. and Heidenreich, B. (:HH=8 Pick a Principle Good Bird Maga0ine.
6olume 9 Issue <.
Heidenreich, B. (:HH<8 +licking with your (ird, www.*arrot'hronicles.com. -o#F1ec.
Issue 9G.
Heidenreich, B.5. (:HH<8. !raining (irds for .edical and /usbandry (ehaviors.
Proceedings &ssociation of &#ian 6eterinarians annual conference.
+opyright 2334 Good (ird nc1 5irst )ppeared in (ird 6eeper .aga-ine1
www1(ird6eeper1com1au1 +annot be reprinted without permission1
!o learn more about products and services to help you train your parrot visit
www1Goodb(irdnc1com
(arbara has been a professional in the field of animal training since 78831
She owns and operates a company0 Good (ird0 nc10 &www1Good(irdnc1com)) that
provides behavior and training products to the companion parrot community1 !hese
products include Good (ird .aga-ine0 books0 videos0 and training9behavior workshops1
(arbara has provided behavior workshops and9or animal training presentations at the
)ssociation of )vian 'eterinarians conference0 !he )merican 5ederation of )viculture
conference0 !he nternational Parrot +onference at :oro Par;ue0 Parrot 5estival0 !he
nternational )ssociation of )vian !rainers and Educators conference0 )merican
)ssociation of <oo 6eepers conference0 )ssociation of <oos and );uariums conference0
!he Parrot Society of )ustralia conference and many more1 She is a past president of the
nternational )ssociation of )vian !rainers and Educators &www1))!E1org) and served
on the (oard of =irectors from 788>?23381 /er e*pertise has been utili-ed by the ,S
=ept1 of )griculture0 5ish and "ildlife Service and numerous international professional
organi-ations1
She is the author of #Good (ird@ ) Guide to Solving (ehavior Problems in +ompanion
Parrots$ by )vian Publications and also #!he Parrot Problem Solver1 5inding Solutions
to )ggressive (ehavior$ by !5/ Publications1 She is also the producer of the Good (ird
Parrot (ehavior and !raining ='= series1
(arbaraAs e*perience also includes consulting on animal training in -oos and other
animal related facilities1 She has been a part of the development and production of more
than 7B different free flight education programs1 (arbara continues to provide consulting
services to -oos0 nature centers and other animal facilities through her other company
)nimal !raining and +onsulting Services1 n her career she has trained animals0 trained
staff0 and9or presented shows at facilities around the world1