Tango and I worked on some training today. I’m going to start calling it “exposure training”. This is all about exposing Tango to something new that he’s never encountered. He might be a bit uncomfortable, but I believe in making sure Tango can handle changes.
The Challenge
Today we tried exposure training to shower rods and he did great!
Usually, I do make up and Tango is on my shoulder and watching what I do. Sometimes he can really get all up in my face and even try to lick of my mascara as I try to apply it (not good).
Next to my sink is my shower which has a rod and curtain. The goal today was to get Tango to stand on that rod, high above me, and sit still/be comfortable while I do my make up at the sink.
How Did It Work?
Step 1: Step-Up
To start, I had Tango to step-up onto my finger. T has to start there because if he’s on the shoulder he will NEVER get off.
Step 2: Inch my way over
So while I had him on my finger, I started to inch closer to the shower rod, about a foot at a time.
I could tell that Tango was getting a little nervous (he shows it by batting his wings quite rapidly). Anytime that happened, I stopped and just let him adjust. Slowly but surely, we got all the way close to the shower.
Step 3: Approach the Shower Rod
Similar to step 2, I then started to raise my arm up high towards the shower rod. Bit by bit, Tango got comfortable being closer to the shower rod and eventually I had my arm fully extended high and he was close.
Step 4: Step-Off & Make Adjustments
This was the toughest part. The next step was to now have Tango step-off my finger and onto the shower rod.
I could tell he was leaning back slightly as if he was trying to limbo under or away from it, so I backed off a bit. After giving T a minute and a few more tries, Tango was starting to lift his foot up as if he wanted to step up.
T’s little feet touched the metal shower rod and immediately drew back. At that point I started wondering if maybe the metal had no grip? Or maybe the metal was cold and T didn’t like it?
Either way, I tried something different. I got a big cozy towel and draped it over the metal rod. It had to big enough that his weight couldn’t shift it (I did a small one the first time and it started falling pretty quick). Lo-&-behold, the next attempt Tango stood right onto it. A GREAT step in the right direction (so proud 😍).
Step 5: Start to Slowly Back Away~ 👟
I couldn’t do my make up standing by the shower, so following the same approach I took one step at a time away from Tango and towards my sink.
Note: while doing my makeup, I made sure there were no sudden noises like loud running water, flushing toilets or hair dryers. These types of sounds could startle him if it’s sudden. By making sure the environment is quiet, it reduced the risk of Tango freaking out and falling.
The Result
Tango was really quick to adapt to this one, this whole process took about 30min overall and was worth it.
By the time I was working on my make-up Tango was a happy camper fluffy and content. In fact, I think T likes high places so much, that when I was done with my makeup and asked him to step up he said no!
LOL so I left him there and got changed nearby, increasing the distance between us. We even managed to be out of each other’s site for about 1 minute when he started to contact call me.
All in all, a successful exposure training session. I’m trying to think what I should expose him to next… maybe standing on the shower rod while I run water or blow dry my hair.
Here is a picture of Tango after:
Share Your Story!
Do you shower with your bird? If so, how did you get to this? Would love to hear your experience in getting your parrot comfortable.
