How To Re-Train A “Swearing Parrot”

I think that almost every parrot owner finds it very amusing to teach his pet the odd swear word. However, the novelty of having a “swearing parrot” can very quickly wear off, if swear words seem to be the only words in his vocabulary. If you don’t fix this problem, you will constantly be worried about what he might say when you have visitors. You may even end up moving him to a location in your home where he can’t be heard, which isn’t very good for your parrot’s mental health, and which doesn’t give you the enjoyment you were looking forward to as a parrot owner.

So, how do you change your foul-mouthed parrot into a parrot that your church-loving grandmother would approve off?

The first thing you need to do, is to understand why your parrot swears so much in the first place. The reason is very simple - your parrot is a very intelligent creature, and he has worked out that saying swear words gets your attention, and he thrives off getting your attention!

Now you realise that by swearing, your parrot is only trying to get your attention, you must stop giving it to him whenever he swears. Whenever he says a word that is unacceptable to you, just completely ignore him - i.e. don’t look at him; don’t tell him off; and definitely don’t laugh. Whenever he says an acceptable word, go over the top with your praise - i.e. give him lots of fuss and attention; give him a piece of his favourite food; repeat the word back to him etc…

Another thing to be aware of is that you aren’t necessarily the only source of swear words for your parrot. For instance, there are an awful lot of swear words used in modern TV programmes, so, if you watch a lot of TV, it is very easy for your parrot to constantly add new swear words to his vocabulary. Therefore, be mindful about the TV programmes you watch when in the same room as your parrot. Also, teenagers find it very funny to show-off a “swearing parrot” to their friends, so, if there are teenagers in your family, make sure they aren’t undermining your parrot re-training programme!

If you consistently implement the simple suggestions above, your parrot will fairly quickly learn that being a “swearing parrot” doesn’t get him the attention he craves, and he will start to do the things that do get your attention - i.e. he will work out which are the “attention-getting” words, and he will start to say them more and more often. This re-training is definitely worth the effort, because being the owner of one or more “swearing parrots” is only amusing for a very short period of time.