September 02, 2011

A Better Relationship With Your Parrot!

Susan's guest today is professional animal trainer, Barbara Heidenreich, author of Good Bird! A Guide to Solving Behavior Problems in Companion Parrots. We'll focus on positive reinforcement training and how you can use it to solve behavior problems and enhance your relationship with your companion bird.

Episode Segments:

Wild About Pets: Getting to Know Your Parrot Barbara outlines what potential parrot owners need to know before getting their bird, and helps us understand the bonds they form with their owners. We’ll learn about their habits in the wild, and talk about some of the common misconceptions surrounding them Photo courtesy of Good Bird Inc.
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Wild About Pets: Training Your Parrot Barbara talks about how you can strengthen the bond with our bird and solve behavior problems at the same time through the use of positive reinforcement training. Plus – plenty of answers to listener questions. Photo courtesy of Good Bird Inc.
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Wild About Pets: Stopping Bad Behavior Barbara shares some techniques for curbing unwanted or aggressive behavior. We also talk about how you can stop birds from fighting, and if having several birds is beneficial to their behavior. Photo courtesy of Good Bird Inc.
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Links to Related Websites:

Good Bird Inc. Visit Good Bird Inc for trusted, quality information to help you solve parrot behavior problems and have a great relationship with your parrot. Professional animal trainer Barbara Heidenreich has been training parrots for 20+ years.

Look While You Listen! Visit Susan's website to view the photos she is discussing and for other useful links

Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode

Barbara Heidenreich In 1982 Barbara Heidenreich secured her first job working with animals in a veterinary hospital. In 1990 after exploring various animal related professions, she entered the world of animal training and has been a professional trainer ever since. Barbara Heidenreich owns Good Bird Inc, (www.GoodBirdInc.com) a company that provides behavior and training products to the companion parrot community. These products include Good Bird Magazine, books, videos, and training/behavior workshops. Barbara Heidenreich has provided behavior workshops and/or animal training presentations at the Association of Avian Veterinarians conference, The American Federation of Aviculture conference, The International Parrot Conference at Loro Parque, Parrot Festival, The International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators conference, American Association of Zoo Keepers conference, Association of Zoos and Aquariums conference, The Parrot Society of Australia conference and many more.(For a complete list of past presentations, please view her past calendar) Barbara Heidenreich is a former president of the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators (www.iaate.org) and served on the Board of Directors from 1997-2009. Barbara Heidenreich's expertise has been utilized by the US Dept. of Agriculture, Fish and Wildlife Service and numerous international professional organizations. Barbara Heidenreich is the author of “Good Bird! A Guide to Solving Behavior Problems in Companion Parrots” by Avian Publications, and “The Parrot Problem Solver. Finding Solutions to Aggressive Behavior” by TFH Publications. Barbara Heidenreich is also the producer of the Good Bird Parrot Behavior and Training DVD series and Publisher of Good Bird Magazine. Barbara Heidenreich’s experience includes consulting on animal training in zoos and other animal related facilities. Barbara Heidenreich has been a part of the development and production of more than 15 different free flight education programs and has worked with 20 different animal facilities. Barbara Heidenreich continues to provide consulting services to zoos, nature centers and other animal facilities through her other company Animal Training and Consulting Services. Follow Barabra on Twitter Good Bird Inc. on Facebook Good Bird Inc.com