I bought a harness for Alfie

[neoow]

I ordered an aviator harness for Alfie and it was delivered today. He will be 16 years old this month and has never been harness trained. He also doesn't particularly like his back and wings being touched.

So why the heck did I buy a harness?

I'm hoping that if I take it super slow and steady then I might be able to slowly convince him that the harness is a good thing. Then perhaps I'll be able to take him out on walks.

I'm willing to put the time and effort in but I also understand that I may never be able to convince him.

I started training today. I showed him the packaging and acted excited about it. I took the harness out and rolled it around in my hands telling him what it was and how much fun he could have outside if he wants to wear it some day. I then allowed him to take a closer look. I let him 'touch' the harness with his beak (but not bite it). Every time he touched it gently he got a cedar nut. I did this a few times. Then I backed off. This is how I'm planning on starting- just showing it to him and letting him know how fun it will be. I'm also planning on maybe getting some ribbon or other material which I don't mind being destroyed to work on getting closer to him, and resting it on his back and wings (eventually). I can also make loops with it and try and train him to get his head through it without biting it. (thinking of using a similar coloured material to the harness). Obviously this is thinking ahead a lot. I plan to work to Alfie's 'grey time'. One little step at a time. He may reject it and I may have to eventually give up if he is uncomfortable with the idea. But I think it's worth a try. And actually having some focused training time isn't a bad thing either.

I'm planning on posting updates here though they will undoubtedly be few and far between. I don't expect this to be a quick process at all!

Wish us luck!

[Timbersmom]

Please do post updates. I'm very curious about your progress! I think the concept of an aviator harness is so cool. Timber can't fly (no he isn't clipped), and with his current status I wouldn't take him out, but there was a time I was very interested as well.

Good luck!

[SRSeedBurners]

Be interesting if you are able to finally get Alfie in his harness.   I would love to put a harness on Huey but I like my fingers too much.  GreycieMae was easy, she was a baby.   Biggest problem with her is I need one made from steel cable as all she does is chew on it.

 

[neoow]

I'll post updates as and when I have them. It's likely to be slow progress and I also value my fingers. 😂

He is doing well with touching the harness to get a treat. This is being done through cage bars at the moment so he can't grab it and run away with it. I've found some landyards which are the same colour and similar thickness to the harness so I think I'll buy a couple of those to use with training so it doesn't matter too much if he puts holes through them. I'm planning on making a big loop and working on getting him to take a treat by putting his beak through the loop and then eventually more of his head- waiting for him to be comfortable before progressing. Then it will be a case of making the loop smaller each time. The back and wings are gong to be a challenge, as he doesn't like them to be touched that often. So this will again be broken down into smaller steps with lots of praise and rewards.

Sounds simple when I write it down. I'm sure Ill have setbacks and challenges as I've never done much structured training with Alfie and he typically rules the roost (entirely my fault). So this is going to be an adventure for both of us!

[neoow]

Alfie was out of the cage and I decided to have a super quick harness session. I'm really limiting the time spent with the harness at the moment because we've never done much structured training. I've identified a treat he likes (cedar nuts) so I am now only giving these to him when we are doing anything with the harness. He has other treats he likes but cedar nuts seem to be his absolute favourite at the moment- he will never refuse one. So this seems the ideal treat to use as a training motivator.

He was out of the cage and sitting on his shelf and I took the harness out and showed him three cedar nuts. He seemed interested. First, I asked him to touch the harness (exactly as I have been doing through the cage bars for the last few days) and when he did that I praised him and gave him a nut. This is the first time approaching the harness training out of the cage. I decided to be a little bolder and I made a big loop with the harness then showed him the treat. He had to put his beak through the loop to get the treat. He did this perfectly with no fuss and no grabbing the harness. I let him finish his treat then tried this one more time. Again, perfect response. He put his beak through the large loop and took the treat. I stopped it there, gave him lots of praise and let him eat his nut.

Whilst this might seem like a tiny step, I am happy with it. I'm aware that I might be overly cautious with keeping the training so short but I don't want to jump in and push too hard so that he backs off and is wary of the harness. Over time I may try and slowly increase how many times I ask him to repeat the behaviours to extend the training.

If anyone has any pointers or tips I'd welcome them.

[Timbersmom]

You should be very happy with your progress. With greys, it seems that slower is always better. One "bad experience" could set him back months. Good for you!

[neoow]

Here's an update on the harness training so far...

Training has been a bit limited recently because I was in the process of redecorating half of the house (all three bedrooms and hall/stairs/landing). This meant the cats had to have their litter trays and food moved downstairs to where Alfie is. As a result I had to limit Alfie's out of cage time to make sure the cats weren't bursting to use the tray or missing out on food. I didn't focus on the training too much during his out of cage time, just let him fly around and get as much exercise as possible before the cats woke up and wanted to come downstairs. However, I did make sure to get the harness out pretty much every day and ask him to put his beak through the bars and through a hoop to get a treat. This was pretty easy for him as it was only ever his beak coming through the bars, but it allowed me to familiarise the words 'head through' and the action of putting his beak towards the hoop to get the treat.

Things are (almost) back to normal in the house now and the cat stuff has all moved back upstairs. The last few days I allowed Alfie just to play and fly around as much as he liked to get used to having the extra time out of the cage again. I carried on asking him to put his head through when he was in his cage and now I'm starting to work with him out of the cage too. Yesterday I asked him to put his head through the large loop three times - then he wandered off to play so I stopped the training.

Today I let him out, let him fly to his shelves and settle down then grabbed the harness and 5 cedar nuts. I managed to get him to repeat the behaviour 5 times (giving him a nut each time) AND I was able to make the loop a little smaller each time. Now that he's training out of the cage I am asking him to put slightly more of his head through. He was a little hesitant a couple of times but I didn't force it, just kept the loop and the treat in place until he was ready to lean forwards. I'm letting him come to the treat each time. A couple of times I managed to move the harness back ever so slightly so more of his head was going through. He also brushed the harness with his head a couple of times.

Again, not a major update but I am being very cautious and not forcing the issue at all.

[SRSeedBurners]

I'm just waiting for the day when you update us that Alfie has you wearing the harness and sticking your nose through the loop for a treat   🤣😂

[neoow]

9 hours ago, SRSeedBurners said:

I'm just waiting for the day when you update us that Alfie has you wearing the harness and sticking your nose through the loop for a treat   🤣😂

To be fair, that's probably much more likely than him letting me progress to touching his wings! 😂

[Inara]

You are doing such an excellent job of reinforcing Alfie's positive interactions with the harness. All those baby steps chain together into something wonderful. Your patience is spot on and Alfie is doing great. Short sessions ending on a successful note are definitely the way to go. Exciting!