Yesterday, a friend at work saw that I was reading "The Parrot Problem Solver" by Barbara Heidenreich during my lunch break and said, "So, do you have a problem parrot?" Without even thinking I said, "Everybody who has a parrot has a problem parrot." We may not want to admit it, but I think it is true. Parrots are still wild animals and parrot trainers are by definition wild animal trainers. All of the books I have read so far spend a lot of time on problem behaviors (screaming, biting, etc.). I love my parrots, but problems are part of the deal. Everybody who has a child faces tough issues and so does everyone who has a parrrot - but we love them just the same.
"The Parrot Problem Solver" is focused on solutions to aggressive behavior - i.e., biting. It focuses on solving aggression with entirely non-aggressive methods and positive reinforcement. There are some vidoes and trainers out there who claim to be able to solve aggresion in 15 minutes - this isn't one of them. The methods in this book take time. It takes time to build a positive relationship with your parrot.
The quick-fix methods may diminish the display of aggression, but from what I have seen of the methods, they don't really build a positive relationship and may simply teach the bird to stop giving any warning signs. Trainer Kelly Ballance told me that the only bird that never gave any warning before biting had been trained to hide his aggression through negative reinforcement. Regardless of what these methods do to the birds, I don't want to use tactics that cause my parrots fear - which these quick fixes do!
The positive techniques in "The Parrot Problem Solver" take time. They use small approximations and trust building interactions. In some ways, it is a more in-depth version of "Good Bird!" also by Barbara Heidenreich. It is almost as easy to read, but more in depth. The book gives the reasoning and science behind the methods, the details of how and when to use the several different strategies presented, spends a lot of time on bird body language and the supreme importance of learning to read it, and finishes with a lot of example scenarios applying the methods.
This is an essential parrot training book (I think my list of 3 essential books is full now). If you already have a parrot, read "Good Bird!" first so that you have a quick set of tools to get started with - and then read "The Parrot Problem Solver" so that you will have a complete set of tools to continue with.
