Utilizing a Capture When Training

Utilizing capturing can be a really beneficial approach for starting to modify behaviors. A capture is reinforcing a behavior that spontaneously occurs. This allows you to reinforce behaviors as they happen naturally to either increase the rate of them happening naturally or start pairing them with a cue.

I like to use capturing for a lot of reasons. I will capture the quietness for my loudmouths like Alfie and Ringo. I will capture calmness with my birds that rehearse abnormal repetitive behaviors, have difficulties with overstimulation control, and are reactive like Crazy Bird and Alfie. I will capture moments when something new or possibly scary happens and my birds do not react or react extremely minimally like if I accidentally drop an object that makes a loud sound. I will also do this when teaching birds to interact with enrichment along with other methods in combination.

Capturing can easily be put on a behavioral management plan. These plans are not structured training sessions that a training plan would be. These are things that are done in normal life to support the structured training you’re doing. If your bird is fearful and reactive towards guests, capturing the calm behavior when guests are over will support the structured training plan of maybe target training with guests involved.

I know I’ve taught Ringo to lift his wings and say “WOO” on cue completely off contact through capturing. He would lift his wings to stretch, he would “WOO.” Reinforced both when they happened, then I put them together. Capturing can be used in all forms of behavior, including trick training.