mybirdtips.com worth the money?

[PounDDer]

I have seen the same 3 or 4 videos of his and just curious if this set is worth the money....

[birdlover912]

I'd say not. All of his training techniques are just plain old clicker training anyway. I know that I've experienced this mostly in the horse world, but sometimes people believe in a certain training technique or trainer that they refuse all other methods of training, whether good or bad. I'm not sure if that makes any sense, but since parrot training is a new thing, it might be best to keep your mind open to all of the different training techniques out there and practice what works best for you and your bird. If his videos work for you, get them. Personally, I'd stick with the clicker training books from the library because they are a lot cheaper, and it's almost identical training techniques.

[PounDDer]

Thanks for the reply. I am going to follow your advice and get some clicker training books.

Any recommendations?

[foxxxi]

"the click that does the trick" by Melinda Johnson is a good one

[Freedomoflight]

I like the one mentioned above. Also Don't Shoot The Dog covers the basics of positive reinforcement training and the clicker concept. Its a good book I highly recommend. I actually like it so much I have 2 copies- one I bought for myself, and the other I was lucky enough to pick up at a garage sale. One I keep on my bookshelf for reference and the other I lend out!

[foxxxi]

i was mistaken - the author of the click that does the trick is actually Robin Deutsch - I apologise for the confusion.. I always thought it was Melinda Johnson.. Oopsie!

[jenseits]

Melinda Johnson's book is called: Getting Started: Clicker Training for Birds. I have it and recommend it.

She also runs the Yahoo Group: Bird Click - a terrific, free resource. The files contain some case studies w/ specific step-by-step training of an aggressive cockatoo, so you should find those particularly helpful.

Here are two recent posts by respected bird trainers about some of the "secret silver bullet training methods" that are aggressively marketed on the web:
Bird Training Blog » Blog Archive » The Real Secrets of Training Success and Where to Find Them
How Not to Tame a Bird | Carly Lu's Flight Blog
(Basically, if it's too good to believe, don't believe it!)

[foxxxi]

Yes!! thats right! I am part of her clicker training group as well.. :) hehe.. Back on track.. thanks for clarifying that jenseits :)

[jenseits]

Here's some more info on how to evaluate a training method/philosophy. It's post by Sid Price and it's got some really great information about trust building and the importance of choice. It's a good read for insights into what a lot of professional trainers are thinking.

Don’t Fall for Deceptive Training Tricks - Guest Post by Sid Price of Avian Ambassadors « Best in Flock - Parrot Blog

I'm not a training expert, but fwiw, I agree with him.

So, PounDDer - have you had a chance to check out the Bird Click group? Any questions? Hope to hear back from you about your training progress.