Teaching to play

[Ditty]

I am trying to teach Hollywood how to play with humans.  He will interact and get excited etc while on his "tree" or his cage but will not play WITH us.  So I had him out on me  last night and thought I would try.  I took one of Cassie's old socks and played with it while he was with me, offerring it to him which he dropped.   So I then tickled my nose and my belly saying tickle my nose, tickle the belly, hahaha, then did the same to him and he laughed too.  I must have looked like a dweeb.   But then after he got the idea I swung the end of the sock near him and he caught it in his foot.  So I said Good job!  yay and clapped.  We did this over and over and by the end he was catching the sock mid air (only from about 8 inches away, but still), with his left foot, not his beak which is what I expected.  YAY he played catch with me!   I was soooo happy! 

YAY Hollywood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Debz]

Excellent! Excellent!!!  Bravo, Ditty!   Atta boy Huggy Bear.. I mean Hollywood!!!

[BPMar]

Huggy Bear...Rooster....Baretta!   
That is wonderful!!!!  Maybe HW will have a new out look for Mr. Giraffe!    You are making really great progress with him!

[steptoe91(tozie)]

that is great ditty!!    it really is a major breakthrough to teach them stuff like that. it took over a year for skittles to learn to play with toys on his own. cause he didnt have any at his old home.
GREAT JOB with hollywood! he sounds like such a sweetie! i just wanna  the little angel!

[patti3birds]

Good job Ditty. It takes alot of practice/ time for both of you earning to trust one another. In the mean time- he will be studying YOU and mocking everything you do with him.

I've had Charlie 1 year now and we've come such a LONGGGGGGGGGGG way.

His previous owner didnt help him to learn to play either...she sware that he was co -dependant and would never learn to play alone.
Well now he spends hrs...playing with his toys-until I run out of things for his to chew on- then he comes after me and Becomes Velcro bird.

But just this weekend for example..he has never done this until....

He let me hold him on my forearms (in front of my body) like my arms were crossed.
He layed there as I rubbed his feathers- like petting him & pulling on him feathers and he fluttered his arms/wings
He coohed, My Heart melted....
we did it like 3 times this weekend.....My baby...

Hey- HW might like you playing with him on the bed too...Charlie loves it, he chases his tennis ball and playes with the covers with me, he rolls over and we play tickle-that belly....
(getting him away from his house- helps them let their walls down)
IMHO..

Good Luck

[Ditty]

I have tried HW on the bed and he just sits and jumps and jumps and jumps like it is a trampoline!    So of course i let him, but he won't play with me yet in there.  YET

[patti3birds]

Funny visual....

[Sondra]

AWSOME!!
It took Higgy over a year to play with a single toy, and he still doesn't play with us - but that's OK because he can entertain himself which is a good thing.

[wishforabird]

that is cool! it hasn't been long since you have had him and he is really coming along.