Ordinary Evening

[summer_jackel]

I've come home late after dance class and am checking my email. There is a grey parrot on my right knee and a wolfdog pressed closely against my left. Jez holds her nose so tightly against my leg as I pet her face that it squishes upward and she has trouble breathing; this cannot possibly be comfortable, yet it has been her way all of her life, so who am I to judge? As I pet her, she will wrap one long paw over my wrist and meet me with a soft gaze, which is also a preference I only partly understand and don't question, so long as the paw is reasonably clean.

Nikola is in an affectionate mood and would like his face pet extensively; when I stop, he turns his head sideways, holds it in his claw and stares at me meaningfully with a half-lidded eye. When I am petting him particularly well, the pale skin around his eye colors delicately in a parrot blush. Jez has wandered off to be replaced by Bliss' long snout; when the dog gets too close, Nickola tells him to "go lay down" or "no." I move him away as directed, maintaining the requested boundary; Bliss is, well, blissfully unaware, as he usually is where his snout is concerned.

I'm tired and, as is often the case, a little lonely and somewhat sad. Before I sleep, I will give the animals I live with some touch and affection to the tastes and preference of each, and in so doing, my need for those things will also be met. This is not the only reason I keep them, but that's part of it---that many of our simple daily interactions are so kind, so physically affectionate, so honest and so essentially similar. That we are all very diverse animals is perhaps too obvious to state; the similarities, the suggestion of a universality of need, interests me.

Comments

[cphoenix.livejournal.com]

Nickola is already bossing around your dogs? And has already learned two commands and is using them appropriately?

Scary smart.

Do parrot human-voice commands have any noticeable effects on Bliss?

For some reason, this reminds me of the time I heard one of my dogs give her sister a "don't do that" bark. I had trained that one not to do something, and a few minutes later she saw her sister start to do it; she gave a low short "whuff" of a bark and her sister stopped whatever-it-was. Next time one of them started to do something I didn't want, I did my best to reproduce the bark. Her head snapped around like "Did you just say something in _Dog language_?? I couldn't tell if she stopped the behavior because she understood, or out of simple surprise, but she did stop IIRC.

If your dogs, similarly, give each other instructions, it might be worth watching to see if Nickola starts barking meaningfully at them, and if they listen.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Nickola came to me understanding about dogs and using English words as part of his verbal communication; I doubt that he's picked up anything new since coming to live with me, but he is a shockingly astute and communicative animal. Figuring out what he means by things is pretty interesting, because while some of his communication is shockingly English-accurate...a wistful "see you later" as I was walking out the door to go to work yesterday, for instance...a lot of it I have to try and translate from the bird meaning.

His "dog commands" don't exactly correlate to the human version of those commands, but his meaning is very close; "go lay down" is most often used when the dogs have begun to be more active even when they aren't very close to him and he doesn't seem annoyed (or even seems excited, trying to get closer). It might mean something like "the dogs are doing something, something may be happening, alert the flock," a grey-sophisticated version of an essentially universal parrot vocalization. Sometimes, as here, it seems to be boundary-setting; "I don't want the dog any closer." He does use tone to differentiate these meanings. As it happens, I share Nikola's idea of what the appropriate space between any dog and himself ought to be (a couple of feet), so enforcing his boundary on that one is easy.

He definitely associates the phrase with dogs, although he sometimes uses it when none are present, usually during a transition of someone or something entering a room. "Go lay down" may mean "I want you to approach me more slowly" or just a generalized "there's something happening, it could be threatening, alert the flock" in that context.

Bliss looked curious when he first heard Nikola speak, but the dogs ignore it now; an uncorrected/unrewarded command is meaningless, and Nikola is not allowed near enough dogs to correct them (even if I was willing to permit it; I want the dogs and the bird in one piece!) Still, many people with dogs and parrots report the animals forming their own relationships and understandings between each other, especially when the parrot enjoys feeding the dog...

Your dog story is adorable. Communicating with animals is always more effective when you study how they say things to each other; I think Nikola probably agrees!

[cphoenix.livejournal.com]

Here's another adorable-dog story. Same dogs.

When they were young puppies (just a few months - I forget exactly, 2-3 I think), we half-accidentally trained them not to beg for food.

We had some yummy-smelling barbequed meat for dinner. We sat on the floor with them, as we often did, just spending time in their vicinity... and completely ignored them while we ate. We were, of course, very careful not to drop any, and they were too small to reach the plates.

They spent about fifteen minutes going "Hey, what's that? It smells really interesting! Can I see? Can I taste?" And we ignored them, not in a punitive "you did something wrong, I'm shunning you" way (which I had used to great effect when necessary), but in a "I see you but I'm busy" way.

Long before we were done eating, they lost interest and went back to playing. They never seemed distressed; just went from curious to not-curious.

That was all it took. They didn't beg for people food anymore. A few months later, we took them next door to a neighbor's BBQ; their dogs were fairly well trained (one of the neighbors worked at a pet store), but were begging some and were sniffing in the trash. Our dogs were oblivious to the food. As far as they knew, people food was inedible to dogs, regardless of how it smelled.

So, fast forward a year or so. I had been giving them large carrots to eat, which they enjoyed chewing up. One time, I made a mistake. I took out three carrots, gave one to each, and bit into the third.

They stared at me. I could see the wheels turning. And from then on, they occasionally begged for people food. Not with any great energy, and not always... but it was a noticeable change from before they saw me eat the dog food carrot.

I'm convinced, after watching these dogs, that not all training needs to be repetitive. Or, in different language, that dogs have ways of learning what humans want other than being trained; they can sometimes figure it out and remember it from a single session.

Somehow, these dogs became very, very good at putting things into categories, and learning from one-time instructions. Once I gave one a new ball to play with; she started to mouth it; I said "no" not really thinking; from then on, it was a not-toy and she totally ignored it.

Perhaps it might be related to how careful and thoughtful I trained them to be with their mouths. From the beginning, I was determined that they would not put their teeth on people, even in play or by accident. So it started when we first got them at about 10 weeks (rescue): Any tooth contact, and I'd immediately say No, stand up, and shun them for a minute or so. That made a big impression. Later, I'd hold their jaws closed for half a minute, not with any violence, but not letting go until I was ready to, after they'd submitted and had time to think about what they did.

I also used a "doggy zen" technique: Hold out food, and close my hand if they moved toward it; when they relaxed, move the hand closer. When I got close enough, say "OK" and let them calmly take it.

I got to where I could put two pieces of food in my hand, hold my hand between them while they sat side by side, wait, say "OK" and they'd each take their own piece of food. And I could feed them peanut butter off my fingers and never feel their teeth.

I've seen it speculated that orangutans are so smart (passing the mirror test, etc.) because they have to think about how they move through trees; they, unlike monkeys, are big enough to hurt themselves severely in a fall. It may be that dogs, being so mouth-focused, can be made more thoughtful in general by making them careful how they use their mouths.

Or maybe not... I've only ever trained those two sisters. But it's fun to speculate on. (I hope I haven't hijacked your thread too much.)

[smile-n-cuddle.livejournal.com]

So beautiful and peaceful.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

It was a sweet moment. :)

[saigh-allaidh.livejournal.com]

Lovely

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I have a neat zoo.

[saigh-allaidh.livejournal.com]

You indeed do. I find it's a wonderful thing to be surrounded by animals, I don't understand how anyone could live any other way. ~:)

[howl-at-the-sun.livejournal.com]

I love that parrot blush, especially if I am kissing the bird and I can feel the hint of warmer skin.

The way you think about animals -- this constant meditation between their experience of the world and where people come to share it with them -- is a cool thing. I keep reading when you talk about it, and it keeps resonating with me on a fundamental level; it's making sense of a feeling I had never articulated and bringing it into more conscious focus.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

I don't quite trust delicate parts of my face around that lovely yet extremely sharp beak just yet, so I have never kissed him, but OMG, bird blush, cutest thing ever. I've seen macaws blush and had wondered about greys, but I didn't know that they did until I saw it. :) Adorable. The coy look while he holds his head sideways in the talon is also pretty priceless.

The blush is one of my favorite things about Macaws, which I love but am pretty darned certain I never want to keep. Awesome that greys do it too! I wonder if they all do, under their feathers...

I'm glad you appreciate my thoughts on this 'living with animals' project that seems to stay consistently one of the most important things in my life; that is a high compliment. Thank you.

[howl-at-the-sun.livejournal.com]

What started you on the living with animals course, if I may?

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

I think I was born with it. For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be around animals--to the exclusion of my own species, sometimes. I can literally say that I was raised by wolves; the pack that I kept starting from age 15 or so to the present figured heavily in my socialization into adulthood. I figured out people from learning wolfdogs, or something like that.

As for parrots, I had some budgies and a tiel as a young child, but didn't have the skills to tame them. I received a probably wild caught Green Conure for my eleventh birthday. I knew nothing and tried to get all the information I possibly could about parrot care, which sadly wasn't enough to do it well in many respects. I did learn to read parrots and bond with them; we had a very healthy relationship, and I'll miss Squeaky forever. It took a lot more experience with less psychologically healthy parrots for me to realize how lucky I was to have started with a bird who didn't have the chick trauma that comes from commercial hand-feeding practices. I am very lucky that Kaya and Nikola are similarly happy, calm and well adjusted. Gavin...well, it could be a lot worse...

But yeah, animals, always. I think my brain would eat itself with misery without them. I probably think about animals more than I think about anything else.

[archteryx.livejournal.com]

Sounds about right for an African Grey to already be bossing the dogs around. What'll be interesting to see is if the dogs start thinking of him as a funny looking human being -- which in turn, maybe'll make them seem less like fangy predators to the parrot and more like, well, pets. I've heard of it happening before!

As for the last coda? You're a critter at heart. You don't ask that much of the world, and you give love and devotion without quid pro quo. Critters are the same way (though they do take bribes! ;> ).

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

It's not at all uncommon for parrots and dogs to form relationships (some of which can involve the parrot calling the dog to the cage and then feeding it. I'm hoping to head that one off at the pass, but I'm pretty certain Gavin already amuses himself this way from time to time!) My dogs are trained to ignore parrots and maintain an appropriate distance when any are out of the cage, but all the critters in my house have their little understandings.

[archteryx.livejournal.com]

Just as long as nothing like what happened to Tacet's sister's cockatiel happens. The sister's wolfdog decided, one day, that the cockatiel'd make a dandy snack, without any warning. She rescued the 'tiel from the dog's jaws but of course, it was far too late.

That wolfdog had also been trained to ignore the bird.

So probably, your policy of keeping the two separate is best. Still, watching the so-called bird brain shamelessly manipulate the canines would be Funniest Home Video amusing. ^>^

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

One always has to be extra careful with anybody who has a high prey drive, especially wolfdogs. If Jez is anywhere near snapping range of a prey species pet who is on my lap, I am pretty alertly focused on her, even when, as in the anecdote I posted about, she's all relaxed and dreamy, and focused on me (although she definitely knew Nikola was there as well).

It's extrordinarily unlikely that Jez would snap for something on my person, especially at this age; when Gavin occasionally flies onto the floor near her, she looks at me, tucks tail and turns her back until I've scooped him up. Nonetheless, when you own a wolfdog, you don't take chances and you must always be attuned to where she is and what she's doing when she isn't securely confined. That's just the way of it. Part of the art of dog training is understanding when, how and why your animal is going to break commands.

Jez likes to stalk the Stellar's jays I feed in the garden. It's pretty cute. The jays watch her and fly off at the last possible moment; again, she's old now and to the best of my knowledge she's never killed a wild bird, but her older brother used to snap them out of the sky from time to time. Jez hunted moles and gophers. Wolfdogs: they are good at killing stuff.