I literally have Archie’s back.

Yesterday, I took him out fairly late (8pm), although he had been out earlier. He seemed tired, and I no longer expect him to step up when I stick my hand in there. He DOES 99% of the time, but I’ve learned here that if he doesn’t, I quickly pull back and leave him alone, giving him a kind, understanding word, like, “Oh, okay. You’re not in the mood now.”

For the remaining 1% of the time, I just leave the door open and within 2 minutes, he’s dying to step up.

So last night, he’s on me. And I get into a good head rubbing sesssion. Like it doesn’t end. He never makes a single objectionable movement. 5 minutes become 10. So I start petting his back, something I’ve worked on in a very limited way. But yesterday?

He said, pet me all you want! He didn’t flinch an inch.

Now, I know he was tired, but I never heard that this could be a positive thing for training. So I started thinking he must be SICK, but his behavior today doesn’t indicate that at all.

So let’s see what happens when I go home now. If he lets me rub his back again, as Ed Norton said to Ralph Kramden:

“You have reached the next plateaux!”

Next day, he just told me to drop dead.

Thats amazons for ya. FWIW, dont scratch or pet in any other area than the head and neck. Going to other areas can tirgger hormone responses and you do not want that believe me. Its smart to allow him to refuse that activity, if he decides to. Forcing stuff on a parrot, especially Amazons, is a good way to bust trust and invite a nip or bite ( because hey, you didn't understand his body language when he "spoke " to you initially).

I always try to end the scratching session myself, rather than letting Salty decide. I think it makes him eager for more next time. But thats just my own opinion in this case.