Bringing Barnaby, my African Grey parrot, into my home and not knowing how to stop him from screaming (all day) was what initially drove me to learning about changing pet behavior – using humane and positive training strategies. At that time, much of the parrot training and dog training education available involved the use of punishment.
I discovered Dr. Susan Friedman, Ph.D., who then was a psychology professor at the University of Utah…with a huge interest in teaching Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to animal trainers and pet parents for solving companion and captive animal behavior problems in the most positive way. I got involved in Susan’s online community that focused on learning ABA to solve issues like a biting, screaming or destructive parrot ABA is looking at the function of behavior within the context of the environment. What I learned from Susan not only changed my relationship with my own birds (and is why Barnaby uses human language mostly to communicate with me), it spawned my desire to learn as much as I could about parrot and dog training, and ABA, to strengthen the relationship of others with their pets.
If you have an issue with your parrot like a screaming or biting problem, I can help you virtually or in-person (if you are in my travel area). If it is a problem that I feel would be better supported by one of my colleagues (who is also a certified parrot behavior consultant), I am happy to refer you.
Contact :
Lisa Desatnik
CPDT-KA, FFCP, FDM, CPBC
