Taki's First Walk | Aviator Harness Training

*Special note about dogs below

This is me demonstrating how I put Taki's Aviator Harness on followed by us going on his very first full fledged walk. You can find a link to the product at the bottom of the description.

A harness or carrier are THE only safe ways to take a cockatiel or other small bird outside. They protect your bird from literally being blown away by the wind accidentally, protect your bird from thieves and predators such as hawks, and with an aviator harness your bird can even safely fly outdoors which is wonderful enrichment for them. Once Taki's wings grow out (they were clipped before we got him) I plan to teach him to fly on his harness- but please make no mistake! A clipped bird CAN fly outdoors even if you think they can't, and a clipped bird can still be blown away by the wind and get lost! ALWAYS use a carrier or harness when taking your bird outside!

This is roughly Taki's 10th or 12th harness training session. The most recent 4 sessions or so he has allowed me to put the harness on and I immediately followed that up by taking him outside for 3-5 minutes to play. Once I was confident he could stay calm in the harness and stay calm while outdoors, we took a full fledged walk!

I did wind up decided that for future walks, Taki's harness needs to be on tighter than how it was in this video. The manufacturer video says that the harness should be loose enough to fit one finger between the bird and the harness, but I believe that mostly applies to larger birds like Macaws, Amazons, African Greys, etc. For Taki, I decided that the harness should be as tight as it could be while still allowing the leash to easily and fluidly turn around his body to reposition for flight. By the end of the walk with his harness as loose as it was, he had actually gotten his foot caught in the harness, so please make sure you make the harness nice and tight but still able to easily reposition itself for flight.

I didn't film me taking the harness off as I felt that part would be a little unnecessary (self-explanatory, and possibly boring). If you'd like me to film me removing the harness in the future, please leave a comment down below!

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ON THE NOTE OF DOGS/CATS & BIRDS long winded soap box explanation ahead

We keep our beagle and our birds separated AT. ALL. TIMES. While our beagle, Banjo, completely ignores the birds she is still a dog and it's unrealistic and unfair for us to expect her to ditch thousands of years of instinct. It is our responsibility as the owners of birds and a dog to keep the dog safe from the birds and the birds safe from the dog. The ONLY time the dog and the birds are even in the same room is when both my husband and I are in the room with them and able to give the animals our full, undivided attention to make sure they stay a good distance away from each other and do not interact. Banjo is nearly blind and nearly deaf and hardly notices our birds- I STILL take all the precautions I can to ensure no accidents happen.
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This video is NOT sponsored- I just really love this product for keeping your bird safe outdoors.

https://www.mysafebirdstore.com/HARNE...
^ The size recommended for use with a cockatiel

https://www.mysafebirdstore.com/HARNE...
^ For budgies, lovebirds, parrotlets, and similarly sized birds

https://www.mysafebirdstore.com/HARNE...
^Quakers, Senegals, Doves, Most Indian Ringnecks, Rainbow Lories, Rosellas, Noble Macaw, Lg. Conures such as Suns, Jenday, Nanday, Blue Crown, Caiques

These also come in small, medium, large, extra large, and extra extra large for birds bigger than a conure and all the way to to a hyacinth macaw.

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Shameless self promotion: check out my Etsy shop! I sell cockatiel themed patches :)

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PatchedUPSt...