Download Just Ask the Expert: What to do about a biting bird

Just Ask the Expert: What to do about a biting bird
Q: A client told me that when he holds his pet bird in his hand and it bites, he corrects the
bird by flinging it off his hand and onto the floor. What should I advise this client as far
as this method of correcting the bird?
A: While this method may be commonly used to deal with a bird's biting behavior, it has
several potential pitfalls. What the owner is attempting to do, whether he is aware of it or
not, is to punish the bird for biting. By definition, punishment is a stimulus that, when
delivered appropriately, decreases the chance a behavior will recur. Appropriate use of
punishment (appropriate in this instance meaning there is a good chance of success)
requires that the punishing stimulus be delivered within a second of the behavior you
wish to decrease and every time the behavior occurs and be strong enough to be effective
without causing fear or harm to the animal.1
Since most people can't meet these requirements, in this case it's likely the bird has
learned to fear being held. Thus the owner may be inadvertently increasing the chance the
bird will bite when held. In fact, punishment has been shown to be associated with four
detrimental side effects2:
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Increased aggression
Generalized fear
Apathy
Escape-avoidance behaviors
In this case, the owner is fortunate he has not caused physical harm to the bird as well.
Another potential pitfall of punishment is that the owner is failing to teach the bird what
to do, which is easily done by using positive reinforcement—a stimulus that increases
the chance a behavior will recur. Teaching the bird what to do instead of punishing it for
what you don't want it to do is usually the safer and more effective solution. More sadly,
punishment can damage the human-animal bond and lead to a pet that is fearful and
anxious around its owner.
Remember, "If the behavior didn't matter to the animal it wouldn't keep doing it."3
Approach all problem behaviors by trying to understand how the behavior is reinforcing
to the animal. If a pet's underlying motivation can be found, the owner can look for a
more appropriate behavior the animal can learn to do in place of the inappropriate
behavior. For example, if this bird bites only when the owner walks by a certain place in
the home, such as a window or door, or when the owner raises his voice and talks in an
excited manner with someone, then the bird may be biting out of fear. When the owner
then throws the bird to the floor, the bird has succeeded in escaping the scary stimulus.
So the bird has learned that biting is an effective means of escape, and its behavior has
actually been reinforced instead of punished. Determine why an animal does something
and how that behavior may be being reinforced, and then identify an appropriate behavior
the owner can reinforce.
Continuing with this example, where fear is the root of the problem, the owner should
consider using a wooden perch and teaching the bird an "up" and "off" command for
stepping up onto and down off the perch. These behaviors should be rewarded with tiny
tasty treats, such as small pieces sunflower seeds or pieces of fruit. The perch can then be
used to retrieve the bird from the cage, to move the bird from place to place in the home,
and to return the bird to its cage. If the bird becomes alarmed, it cannot bite the owner—
and a problem behavior will not be reinforced by flinging the bird onto the floor and
allowing escape. Eventually, the biting behavior will be extinguished. However, it is
critical that the owner observe the bird and learn to recognize the signs of fear and the
stimuli that cause it. A program of desensitization and counterconditioning could then be
used to decrease the bird's fear of these particular stimuli.
Once an animal learns that one behavior is regularly followed by a positive
reinforcement, it will usually choose that behavior more than the behavior that is not
being reinforced. Reinforcing appropriate behaviors should always be tried first.
Punishment should never be the first choice and can only be recommended after all other
safer, more humane methods have been tried. If punishment is to be used, it must be used
carefully, according to the rules described above and abandoned when it does not appear
to be working, as in the case described here.
Obviously, understanding how animals learn and how to safely change behavior can be a
complicated subject. If you feel unprepared to manage a particular behavior problem,
refer the case to a veterinary behaviorist (dacvb.org) or other qualified behaviorist.
1. Schwartz B, Wasserman EA, Robbins SJ. Operant conditioning: Basic phenomena. In:
Psychology of learning and behavior. 5th ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company,
2001;132-164.
2. Azrin NH, Holz WC. Punishment. In: Honig WK, ed. Operant behavior: Areas of
research and application. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts,1966.
3. Friedman SG, Haug L. From parrots to pigs to pythons: Universal principles and
procedures of learning. In: Tynes VV, ed. The Behavior of Exotic Pets. Blackwell
Publishing, in press.
Valarie V. Tynes, DVM, DACVB