Hello, my name is Tarsha. I've been interested in animal training, and human communication with animals for more than a decade now; ever since my curiosity about dolphins lead me to read Karen Pryor's "The Lads Before the Wind" and discover the power of operant conditioning.
I grew up in Maine, and moved to Florida a little less than a year ago with my boyfriend, Scott. My ferret, GreyMalkin, died shortly after we arrived in Florida, due to adrenal disease. She was an exceptionally sweet, intelligent and loving ferret. I will always miss her.
A couple of months ago I brought home a baby Quaker parrot, just weaned from being hand fed. I wanted a pet who would live a very long time, and Quaker parrots can live up to thirty years. He (or she?) is very sweet but very loud. I had a lot of success clicker training GreyMalkin, and I intend to clicker train my new parrot friend as well. First though, I'd just like him to quiet down. His name is Euclid, after the father of geometry.
Scott has a cat named Nuveena, cat of the future, whom he has trained to play fetch. She's very smart, but doesn't like any treats. She'll do anything to earn Scott's attention though, and he plays puzzle games with her.
I also have a beta fish named Gilgamesh.
I've got some videos on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Ichijojichan which show my pets and what they've learned to do with clicker training.
If anyone has advice on how I can keep Euclid quiet, I'd appreciate it very much!
