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As some of you know, I am now the proud owner of a green parakeet named Kermit. Parakeets, they say, are easy to train. They’ll perch on your shoulder and eat out of your hands and play with your hair (and poop on you, but that’s another story). I read all the training information I could get my hands on. Evidently, though, Kermit did not.
I can get him to perch on my shoulder, but only until he senses my wandering attention, slaps me in the head with a wing, and flutters away back to his ultra luxurious cage. He won’t eat out of my hand, but he will squawk in my ear when I don’t move back toward his cage fast enough to please 
him.
My nephew got a yellow-green parakeet a week after I did. Her name is Zoot. I told him how he needed to approach her, how he needed to coax her to eat and to trust him and gradually let her out of her cage, etc. He tried, but he’s ten – so he skipped a few steps and went right to the out-of-the-cage, on-the-shoulder stage. I figured he would never be able to train her that way. Now Zoot rides around on his shoulder, eats out of his hand, and kisses his cheek on command.
This does not seem fair to me. I did everything the experts recommended, followed all the steps, and I get slapped in the head. My nephew just went right for the prize, and Zoot sits on his head while he’s reading.
Considering my luck with the parakeet, I’m kind of glad that I’m dogless. Otherwise Kujo would likely have taken a leg off by now.
If you have a pet, do you train it by the book, or take it as it comes? Do your pets behave, or are they the rulers of your house? Any parakeet training hints?
39 Comments on “Sit!”
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Acheron has trained New Guy and I to feed him and take care of his needs first thing in the morning. We puny humans like to think that we are in control but it is actually the 4 footed peoples that actually are the bosses.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 4:21 am.
I think that’s what I’m facing here too, Kelly. Sigh. *g*
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 12:47 pm.
My friend says that all we are to them is a bunch of thumb Monkies.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 5:53 pm.
Suzanne, I never had a parakeet, only a little colibrie when I was a kid. That bird sat obiently on my finger and never ever did something it should not do.
But later on we had a cat, a crossing between a Siamese and a Persian, and dear Pluche had a mind of his own. He seemed like a wild animal, could fly around the house, climb into the curtains, walk between the statuettes on our sideboard (never broke one, however) and let you feel he was not pleased with something… We tried to teach him some manners, but to no avail!
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 5:35 am.
Oh sure, Nickie, just brag about the well-behaved bird. *g* Maybe that’s it — Kermit thinks he’s a cat.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 12:48 pm.
I’ve regaled you all with tales of Sweetums the wonder cat who fetches, stays, and guards me. Luna the lunatic kitty seems untrainable.. she howler monkey alarms me awake at 5. if I lock her out, for at least another hr’s sleep, she either tries to dig under the carpet; or launches herself at the door, leaving gouges in the wood as she slides back down. charming.
I try telling myself that Sweetums has been with me for 7 yrs now, and Luna only 1yr. But geez! I should not have to spend every morning catching more zzz’s in the living room while Luna takes over the bed. Lord help me if I actually get back into bed. the howling starts again. and if I stretch out on the recliner, she “checks” on me with chirps and pounces on my stomach for pats on the head, then goes off to the bedroom again. I’ll be glad when summer is over and the sun doesn’t rise until later. I can sleep in to at least 7 then! woo hoo!
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 6:31 am.
Isn’t it funny who rules any household with pets, Kathy? We’re slaves!
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 12:49 pm.
I haven’t trained Reggie by the book. He could use a little work. He pottie trained great. He can sit and shake. But his come, down and stay are broken.
In the past our dogs have been well trained but IV did it. He hasn’t done much with Reggie because he insists Reggie is not his dog. Sigh.
I have never had a bird so I’m no help there. My main recommendation for dog training is treats and a lot of them.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 7:30 am.
Can I hire IV for bird training?
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 12:50 pm.
I recently decorated my balcony with 3 plants that have low expectations about water.
I’d like to train them to go lower with those expectations. Any tips?
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 7:53 am.
Artificial! That’s my tip. Go fake!
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 8:23 am.
hahaaa!
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 9:40 am.
ROFL! Believe me, you don’t want any plant tips from me. The late dh used to say I could kill fake plants. He was right.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 10:06 am.
Snort. I have to go with the fake plants idea, Fresh. My mom loaned me some plants while Hawkins was staying over. She’s coming to take them back today, before I can kill them.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 12:51 pm.
I have cats who cannot be trained, they can however be lured or given aversion therapy.
I have a kitten that is part ragdoll part…well I’m assuming pit bull, he came from the hard streets of the shelter. His main ingredient though is cute. He does cute like no other. Not even the other two cats whom I got him for as cute as they were and no matter how much I love them had this level of cuteness gene. My vet says I pick out the sweetest cats. But she doesn’t go home with them.
THis kittn thinks NO means GO. THe other two training went like a dream. The little prince, no such luck.
Maybe your bird is just a little prince.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 8:30 am.
That could be my problem, Pesky. Bird royalty.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 12:52 pm.
I don’t recall ever training by the book. I had a parakeet when I was younger, but I don’t recall training it. I hate to tell you it did all the fun things without whacking me in the head! Although I do remember it biting me once or twice. That hurt. Do my pets behave? I have one dog that I don’t even need to put a leash on. She stays by my side wherever we go and obeys every command. The other one? Not so much. I give her a command and she looks at me like, “You want me…to do what?” She is the Queen and marches to the beat of her own drum. I need extra patience with her sometimes! Good luck with Kermit!
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 8:35 am.
Oh sure, thanks, Kelly. I feel much better now, knowing that your untrained bird was better behaved than Kermit. ;->
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 12:53 pm.
:snort: I’m really sorry for laughing but that just made me laugh and laugh. That would totally happen to me :p I’m thinking about getting a dog soon so I guess I’ll find out what method I’ll be. The cats we have are useless creatures that are untrainable, but cute, cuddly and purrmeisters.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 9:10 am.
Go ahead, Jen, laugh at my failure. My nephew thinks it’s hilarious, too. And did I mention that my sis took in Kermit while I was at RWA and she kept sending me pics of him playing on her coffee table and sitting on her shoulder? Sigh. *g*
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 12:54 pm.
I wish you heart-felt good luck. My experience with pets is that they behave based on their personalities, not on my training. Some like to please you, and others like to please themselves. I am at the mercy of the Please Themselves type.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 9:24 am.
You and me both, Claudia.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 12:55 pm.
I have a great training tip for dog lovers: Pay an outrageous amount for a professional dog trainer. I now have one very well trained dog. The first well trained dog of my life. He will come when called, halt when commanded, and is crate trained. How did I live decades — DECADES — with such poorly trained mutts?
Suzanne your bird is very pretty. But don’t they live to be like a million or something?
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 9:42 am.
I hate you, Julia. *g*
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 12:56 pm.
Don’t feel too bad, Suzanne, not all parakeets are trainable. I had one for over 10 years and he was the most darling bird ever known. He was much like your nephew’s bird. But after he passed away, I tried to fill that void with another, and regardless of my following the exact same training techniques as with my first bird, this one refused to land on my shoulder and would bite me every time I tried to coax him out of his cage.
Since then I have adopted a cocketiel and have named her Sophie. She is just as cuddly as my first budgie. Then we decided to get a friend for her (named Sam), but he on the other hand was just like my second parakeet. Sigh. Every time I went to take Sophie out of her cage, Sam would freak out. I think he scarred her a little bit. Sam and my second budgie (named Nippie) have been adopted by others, while Sophie remains here. She is much happier without her spastic friend.
We also have a dog named Lady. She is a Chihuahua. She’s a wonderful little dog, but since we moved into a townhouse, she barks out the back door and it drives me crazy! Our backyard opens out onto a green space where dogs play, and my neighbour has a cat that sits on our fence and taunts poor Lady. She’s good most of the time, but when that cat comes out… sigh. It’s yap city.
I try to train by the book, but I generally feel out my pets. Some are receptive to traditional training, and others are not. My mom also has parakeets that have differed in their personalities; some were more willing to be trained, others were too darn stubborn.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 9:44 am.
I think I have a Sam, Cheri. Your Sophie sounds darling!
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 1:06 pm.
You just brought back some bad memories from my childhood. My older brother had a parakeet and he used to try to get the bird to peck me so that made me pretty afraid of the bird and I avoided him as much as possible (ha, I avoided my brother also, but that’s another story).
The worst was that my mom was a bird lover and she was completely oblivious to the fact that I didn’t actually like the bird, so when I was about 8, she got me a bird of my own. I was so scared of that bird that I just refused to have anything to do with him and ultimately, he was given away.
The funniest thing though, was that the neighbors had a cat whom I adored, and she knew we had birds in the house, so every once in awhile, she would slip in when our front door was open and try to get at the bird(s). Of course, I was cheering for her, not for the birds. She was a great cat.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 10:28 am.
Oh, dear. I have to say, Jen, that Kermit hasn’t tried to bite me yet. Yet. *g*
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 1:07 pm.
When I was little, my paternal grandmother had a succession of parakeets she used to train. They would fly around the house, go back to her hand for food, and preen to her saying, “Pretty Bird.” At one point she had canaries that would sing. They were beautiful birds.
Best of luck with Kermit, Suzanne. Love the name.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 12:35 pm.
Thanks, Donna! I’m not giving up yet.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 1:07 pm.
I’ve never had a bird and with allergies haven’t had a pet in over a decade. However, I’ve been around my mom’s and one of my sisters dogs – 5 dogs total. My mom’s an awful trainer because she always gives in – something she never did when I was growing up, lol. Her dogs are OBNOXIOUS. It’s really funny, too, because she only gets pedigreed dogs since she thinks that they are going to be better than rescue dogs.
Then, there’s my sisters 3 dogs – all rescues. My sister and bil spent TONS of times training their dogs. Their oldest dog, who they just had to put to sleep because of dementia, was the best dog. They got her when my ds was 11 months old. She used to herd him whenever we were together. On more than one occasion, my ds hand was in her mouth, pushing her away, she never nipped him, or any other child as she got older. If she was in your way, you could say beep beep, and she’d move. They need to train their other 2 dogs beep beep. Their other 2 dogs aren’t as ready to please as their old dog, but they’re better trained than my mom’s dogs.
I think it’s a combination of owners and pets’ personalities that determine how well the training goes.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 12:39 pm.
Absolutely, Janae. I do tend to give in. I don’t like hurting his little birdie feelings.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 1:09 pm.
I have a 6 month old chocolate lab, and she is somewhat trained. I have read so much online about training and I have picked up some tips that have worked, but I really just go my own way with it. Her potty training was great, she is crate trained, and knows sit/down. We really need to work on the ‘come’ command, but overall I think it’s going ok. She does think she is a lap dog, which at 55lbs she certainly isn’t, and she always has to sit on my 3 year old daughters lap, I think that is because, if anyone is going to feed her ‘people’ food, it will be the little one. Other then that, she is perfect with the kids, and that too me is the key to her success in our house. I do find that treats go along way in keeping her in line.
I have never had a bird, so I don’t have any advice on training/raising one, but good luck!
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 12:58 pm.
Your lab sound so sweet, Amy!!
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 1:10 pm.
As someone currently training a puppy, I wonder sometimes if the advice given on doing it was made up by people who never have done it.
What I have learned is that my pets are very good at training ME. I had a cat who trained me to escort him to his food and stand watch while he ate. I have a cat now who demands I go to bed at a certain time so he can get his bedtimes snuggle in when he wants. My puppy has decided he will not pee or poop unless he is on a leash—no just going out back on his own, in the yard surrounded by expensive fencing bought just for him. .. .
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 2:38 pm.
I have the sneaking suspicion that I’m being trained as well, Madeline. Hm.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 4:41 pm.
Is that a picture of Kermit? Just wondering if that is a giraffe in the background.
I have several cats who do their own thing. Their one trick is to come running when they hear a can open. Or maybe that’s my trick to open the can.
I used to have a “rescue” retreiver mix that was the best. He would not step off the curb into the street unless I called him. We could walk across the street and he would just sit there and stare at us (I’m sure he was either cussing us out or saying over and over “invite me, invite me). I’m not sure how I got him so well behaved but I had many compliments on his manners. Sadly, he developed internal tumors and we had to send him to the big sky playground but he enjoyed 12 years with us or maybe I should say we enjoyed 12 years with him.
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 3:12 pm.
That IS Kermit, Pamiam, and it is a giraffe in the background.
Your dog sounds so sweet!!
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 4:42 pm.
Pebbles and BamBam rule the roost around here. Of course, they’re cats, so they are well aware that their humans are just the household staff there to feed and clean for them and they take full advantage of that.
As to your Parakeet, we had one when I was growing up named Tweetie. He was partially trained. He would sit on your head, eat from your hand and perch on the top of my dad’s newspaper while he was reading it and surrate the edges. He also would harass our cat from his cage, swing from bar to bar and so somersaults on his swing when the cat sat in front of his cage. He was a great bird!!
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 5:50 pm.