When we see a bird lunge, bite, or shut down, it’s tempting to label them: moody, stubborn, bossy. It’s a habit most of us have fallen into at some point. But those labels stop us from asking the right questions. Frustration isn’t a personality trait. It’s...
In the Avian Behavior Lab, we talk a lot about trust. Not the fluffy, motivational kind — the kind you build, step by step, when a bird that once hissed at your presence eventually chooses to lean toward your glove. This free loft training series focuses...
Coercion. It’s a tough word. It can bring up ideas of force or even harm — and it’s not always easy to look at directly. But the truth is, most of us have used coercion in our training without even realizing it. It shows up...
If you’ve been working with birds for a while, chances are you’ve picked up your fair share of training advice — some of it helpful, some of it… maybe not so much. “Don’t let the bird win.” “Hold on ‘til they give up.” “He just needs to know...
If you’ve ever looked at a tough behavior case and thought, “Where do I even begin?”—you’re not alone. I’ve been there, too. And not just with one species. I’m talking about cockatoos that scream sunrise to sunset. African greys with surgical bite precision. Raptors that...
If you’ve ever hit a wall in your training and thought, “Well, that didn’t go like I imagined,” welcome to the club. One of the things we talk about a lot at the Lab is how nonlinear analysis helps us see beyond behaviors we want...
If you’ve ever heard the words “just fly the bird on creance a few times and then you’re done,” I want to gently throw a creance line across the table and say, “Let’s unpack that.” The truth is, creance flying isn’t a one-size-fits-all stepping stone to...
If you have worked with a bird who has a hard time with the smallest of changes, such as a vulture, raven, or older parrot, you can probably appreciate that when 17 year old condor Suyana joined the Avian Behavior team after living her entire...
Choice and control are really buzzy words in animal training. Here’s the thing about how we use them in animal training: it sounds really nice in a conference slide or an Instagram caption. But when you’re out there in the aviary or standing in front...
When we talk about giving effective feedback, what we’re really talking about is how we communicate as trainers, mentors, and leaders in the animal training space. What does it look like when we’re working together as a team, making sure we’re heading in the right...