On a clicker-training listserv I subscribe to, a fellow wrote:
Two days ago I finally completed the adoption process and brought a blind Great Dane home to meet the family. We have a parrot -- a white Umbrella Cockatoo . The first day the Dane didn't notice the Cockatoo at all. The Cockatoo sat up on his cage top and ate his food or sat with my wife on the couch.
Then all of the sudden this morning the dog realized that those noises coming from the birdcage were from some sort of animal. The dog went berserk. I had to physically restrain her from charging the cage and knocking it over, and it is a big big cage. I took her into the other room (somewhat forcefully, I am afraid) while I thought about the problem. I have been working all day on a slow approach to the cage while on a leash. She whimpers and whines and strains to charge the cage. She completely ignores all food treats. I tried the strategy of using the cage itself as a reward instead. Each time she relaxes the leash, I would let her take a step forward. I can now do a slow approach to the cage somewhat successfully, though I don't know how reliable it would be. The dog is super stressed out by this: maybe even more so than our bird, who watches from the cage.
Fortunately, I have a spare cage, so I can put the bird in the other cage at night while I work with the dog on this. Any advice or recommendations you can make to help solve this problem? Right now if I so much as tap the cage top, my blind dane goes nuts, even if the bird is in the other room. I am able to get her to lie down calmly after a few minutes beside the cage, but if I even tap the side of the cage, she loses it. Am I trying to do too much too fast? I have only had 24 hours of clicker training with her. She was trained by more traditional methods and is already 4 years old. She is a sweet dog, but does not respond reliably to any commands. Using the clicker, I have been able to get a pretty reliable sit and heel with just 24 hours of practice, so long as the environment is calm. But she is a handful of a dog when she gets stressed out.
I am completely new to clicker training so any feedback is welcome.
I replied:
What I read in a bird book or mag, I forget which, was click and reward for ignoring the bird.
I would put the 'too in his sleep cage and hang out near the regular cage with the dog. That way the dog can go berserk without freaking out the parrot. I would leave the dog off-lead (unless you are worried about her hurting herself) so she can freely offer you behaviors to ignore (extinguish) or treat.
You can stabilize the cage with other furniture or bungee cords so it won't turn over and get damaged, or you can just beat the dog to it and go ahead and lay the cage on its side. Or have a big person stand behind it and hold it in place (like a trainer holding a punching bag in a gym).
The instant the dog stops barking (even if it's just to take a breath) or turns away even a fraction from the cage (whatever you establish as your 1st behavior goal) click and treat. Of course as always, define your ultimate goal (lies quietly by cage ignoring bird, for ex.) and work backwards to establish your sub-goal sequence.
As you work up the sequence, you can tap (but obviously that's too advanced right now) or play a recording of the bird's voice from inside the cage.
In the meantime, and forgive me for stating the obvious, I'm not trying to insult your intelligence here, DON'T LET THAT DOG ANYWHERE NEAR THAT BIRD. The bird may have to live in the sleep cage for awhile.
And be patient. Your dog may go nuts for 20 minutes or more before she offers you anything you can click & treat.
Also, it is important for you to be calm no matter how nuts she gets, because your stress and hers amplify each other. Take a moment to chill out before you start each session, just like you do when you are working with your bird! If you have removed the bird from the situation, then really nothing bad can possibly happen, so repeat to yourself that this is all good, all necessary, and she will sooner or later offer you the behavior you want... this helps keep you cool. If you think to yourself how awful it is that she's banging around, this will never work, etc., etc., then your stress level goes up and so will hers. Make sense?
Finally, I would spend some time, if you haven't already, trying to get the dog's perspective. Being blind, for all that dog knows she's been brought into a home with a resident Pterodactyl. Depending on how training goes the first time, and on what your vet says, maybe a sedative wouldn't be a bad idea just to get her started. Right now she may be too wigged out to hear the clicker or accept a treat without a Benadryl or three!
Another option, if she's crate-trained, is to have additional sessions with her in her crate. Bring your 'too gradually closer, clicking and rewarding for gradually calmer behaviors, perhaps with your ultimate goal being "lying quietly in crate with bird in room yakking it up."
Wouldn't hurt to teach the bird to say "Down" and "Stay" either!
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