I'm just amazed at what you have accomplished with Mouse in such a short time.

Nikki
Phoenix, AZ

Me too! Mouse is just an amazing little guy, but so are all of our birds if given the opportunity... i'm really, truly hoping that by sharing what we're doing as we go along, people will realize that there's nothing complicated or mysterious about this kind of training, and it's so incredibly rewarding.

It's not like i've been doing a lot of rigorous, tedious recall drills, either - i've made a game of seeing how many recalls from how many different locations indoors and out i can work into the normal course of our day... you'd be surprised...

Now would be the perfect time with my 4 month old CAG, but I'm just too chicken to try letting her fly outdoors. I envy your courage.

Nikki
Phoenix, AZ

It is scary - extremely. Please look at my response to Nate's "Last Sunday's Fly Day and more..." journal entry.

There are lots of safer ways to approach this with your baby... work on indoor recalls... work on flight skills, including flydowns, indoors... start a Fly Day group in your area... work on indoor recalls... let your fid play outside in a cage or aviary as much as possible... build a cheap flight outside and practice recalls there... take your baby with you as often as possible(harness or travel cage), to get him/her accustomed to new people, places, and situations... work on indoor recalls...

Even if you never fly your bird outside (on purpose, i mean) all of the above will enrich his/her life, give both of you confidence, and help immensely should there ever be an accidental escape...