Training AnimalsTrust Is Earned, Not Expected

With Sebastian, building a relationship happened relatively quickly. She became comfortable with me quite early on and has allowed me to pick her up, play with her and spend time interacting with her. She was also very enthusiastic during our first few training sessions, which made it exciting to begin introducing different behaviours and seeing how quickly she responded. 

Iago has been a little more cautious, but that has made building our relationship especially rewarding. She is a very affectionate and curious bird who will come over for attention, but she is still learning to trust me enough to feel completely comfortable with physical interaction. She has already come a long way. When I first started spending time with her, she would lunge at me. Now, she is much more comfortable with my presence, and those lunges have stopped.

I often give her the opportunity to decide whether she wants to interact by simply offering my hand and allowing her to make the choice. Sometimes she will barely move, and I am genuinely happy with that. Other times, she will open her beak and make it very clear that she is not quite ready for that level of interaction yet! Rather than seeing this as a setback, I see it as valuable communication. She is telling me where her comfort level is, and respecting that helps to build the trust we are working towards. 

One of the most rewarding things about working with Iago has been seeing those little changes in her confidence. She wants attention and will seek me out, but there is still a little hesitation when it comes to completely trusting my hands. This means our relationship is developing at her pace, and I am learning to appreciate every small step along the way.

A big part of building my relationship with both birds has therefore been simply spending time with them. Not every interaction needs to be a training session. Sometimes I will sit with them, talk to them, provide different forms of enrichment, or simply allow them to come over and investigate me in their own time. These quiet moments have been just as important as the more structured training sessions.

I have also found that providing different types of enrichment and opportunities to explore has helped me understand their individual personalities and preferences. They are incredibly intelligent birds and keeping them mentally stimulated is just as important as meeting their physical needs. Training gives them an opportunity to learn, problem-solve and engage with their environment, while also helping us build a stronger relationship. 

The biggest challenge has been remembering that progress is not always linear. Some days they are incredibly interested and engaged, while on other days they may have completely different priorities. And that is part of working with animals. Their willingness to participate can change depending on their mood, environment, motivation and previous experiences.

With Iago especially, I have learned to appreciate the small victories. A bird choosing not to lunge, remaining calm when I approach, coming over for attention, or simply allowing me to interact with her without feeling the need to defend her space are all meaningful steps forward. With Sebastian, the progress looks different because she is already much more comfortable with physical interaction. The challenge is therefore not getting both birds to the same point but understanding where each individual is and working from there.

There is something incredibly rewarding about earning an animal's trust, especially when you know that trust was not guaranteed. You cannot force it, rush it, or expect an animal to trust you simply because you want them to. Trust comes from consistency, patience, positive experiences and respecting their boundaries.

Training Sebastian and Iago have been a reminder that some of the most important training happens when you are not actively asking for a behaviour. Sitting with them, talking to them, providing enrichment, observing their body language and giving them the choice to engage have all helped to build the foundation for everything else.

And, of course, working with macaws comes with plenty of personality, noise, curiosity and the occasional attempted finger sacrifice! But that is what makes it so much fun. Every session is an opportunity to learn something new about them - and about how I can become a better trainer and caregiver for them.

 Written by: Pippa Fourie