Eclectus parrot Driekus shows different behavior after just one week of eating Harrison pellets. He's livelier, plays and destroys more, and his new feathers look better. The story of a proud parrot owner...
We received this incredibly positive response from the owner of Edelpapegaai Driekus, who, in addition to the changes in his parrot, also saw significant changes in his dogs' behavior after attending a behavioral consultation at the practice and reading the books "The Secret of the kindergarten teacher" and "Caring for Parrots." His positive response is reprinted below with permission:
Dear Jan,
Our Eclectus parrot, Driekus, is showing different behavior after eating Harrison pellets for a week. He's more lively and plays and destroys more. And it seems the new feathers look better. This will result in a more attractive plumage in the long run.
Another "problem" we had was with our two dogs: a four-year-old female German Shepherd and a two-year-old French Bulldog. The French Bulldog is very fond of his property, and he defends it—normal behavior for a French Bulldog. However, we found this aggressive behavior. He growled as soon as someone came near him, perceiving it as a threat and communicating this with vicious, in our view, growls.
After reading the book "The Secret of the Preschool Teacher," we implemented the Dutch behavioral protocol. When approaching the dog, we didn't look at him, we talked about everything under the sun, and we ignored what we considered undesirable behavior. As it turned out, the aggressive behavior disappeared like snow in the sun. Thank you so much!
After reading the book, something struck me. Since I suddenly became 100% deaf 3 years ago, I automatically started paying attention to non-verbal communication between people and animals in the difficult communication. That's how I discovered that animals and people communicate a great deal non-verbally. Our dogs do about 98% of this with each other. The posture, position of head and tail and body, is very clear to the other dog. But people also do this unconsciously. I can now see what people say without hearing anything. What do their eyes, facial expression and posture say. I am far from finished learning in this area, but there is a lot to be read in non-verbal communication. And I think the book misses naming that non-verbal communication a bit. You describe it, but in my opinion, you don't name it enough. It is probably also a very difficult way of communicating to distinguish as long as you don't have to use it.
Kudos to the book! It should be a must-read for all pet owners, parents (or parents-to-be), and grandparents. It has enriched my life, so thanks again.
I also want to share the "getting used to" the pellets. In our case, it was bingo in two seconds. I showed Driekus I was eating them myself and told him I enjoyed it. Driekus immediately took over the pellets and loves them.
- Kind regards, Ab -
Copyright © Bird Consultancy | Jan Hooimeijer, MD. No part of this publication may be reproduced or copied without the written permission of Jan Hooimeijer, MD. Sharing the article in its original form is, of course, permitted (and even encouraged) provided that this is always done with clear attribution. This article has been compiled with the utmost care. However, the author cannot accept any liability for any damage of any kind arising from errors in the content.