Dr. Lintner's 24+ years of experience prove invaluable in assisting and treating behavior issues. She is a priceless asset to the avian and veterinary community. She works closely with our primary behavior and training consultant, Kelly Ballance.
Kelly is dedicated to learning all she can about behavior, animal welfare and training. She has learned from well known experts including Susan Friedman, Ph.D, Sharon Harmon, Steve Martin, and Barbara Heidenreich. She has attended behavior and training classes and conferences as far away as Florida (and several states in between). In April 2009, she completed her Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis through the University of North Texas, an institution recognized for its quality education and sound research in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis.
Kelly also has a solid background in animal welfare. Her work with "problem" parrots has saved lives. As an employee at The Oregon Humane Society from 1999 to 2005, she helped place hundreds of birds into new homes. Some came from hoarding situations, while others showed serious behavior problems like biting and screaming. She continues to work as a volunteer for OHS. The Avian Medical Center also helps OHS through discounted veterinary services and adoption outreach.
"The community of animal lovers in Oregon and Washington is downright amazing. People from all over the Pacific Northwest step up to help by donating their time and money, and by choosing to adopt."
Kelly chooses operant conditioning methods, with emphasis on positive reinforcement when training or modifying behaviors. She has experience with problems such as screaming, lunging, biting, and fear avoidance. She has worked with new and old world parrot species, even ducks and chickens. Most importantly, she chooses positive reinforcement training first, which has shown to be highly effective in both animal training and is based in the science of behavior. Using positive reinforcement allows opportunities for birds to begin having a positive relationship with their human families.
"It sounds weird, but I really enjoy the challenge of working with birds that show aggressive behaviors, as positive reinforcement has such a huge impact in their lives. While you may never get the bird to step up, you can improve their quality of life."
Her emphasis when dealing with behavior problems is on utilization of the least intrusive, most positive methods. She enjoys sharing with others what she has learned about the art of training and the science of learning.
"The human animal bond is a precious thing in this world, and if problematic behaviors are addressed effectively, with compassion, that bond is more likely to last a lifetime."
Kelly understands what it is like to live with behavior challenges, having shared her home with many foster parrots that included screaming cockatoos, biting amazons, lunging macaws and destructive conures. All of these birds found happy homes, and Kelly believes it is mostly due to positive reinforcement training.
One of her strong points is that she communicates training techniques and behavior science in a seriously entertaining manner that makes it fun to learn. It is important to make the techniques as convenient as possible to apply in daily life.
"When you're sharing your home with a screaming cockatoo, I think it's close to impossible to ignore it for the time it would take to extinguish the behavior. I would rather have a solution that won't leave your ears damaged beyond repair and your sanity in the dirt! Further, it's hard to be in a state of mind to work on something long and drawn out to rectify the problem.
I love how environmental changes and the positive reinforcement of other behaviors can create an amazing difference with screaming, without having to use a water bottle. May not end it totally, all parrots can be expected to make noise, but why scream non-stop if something else is more effective? What if saying cute things or ringing a bell works to get the bird the same thing that screaming used to? Why not give the bird another tool to get what it wants that doesn't cause the family to go deaf? When people use positive reinforcement, it's very satisfying to know that they are choosing a humane method of training, rather than just spraying the bird with water!"
Kelly's passion may be birds (from chickens to macaws) but she also enjoys working with a wide variety of companion animals including dogs, cats, rabbits, rats, chinchillas, and other small mammals. She has also recently started working with horses under the guidance of an experienced trainer. She currently shares her home with 2 german shepherds, and occasional foster birds. Her Quaker parrot recently passed away in early 2009.
Kelly offers consultations nationwide; in person, via email and by phone.
To set up a consultation, or attend one of our classes, give us a call at (503) 635-5672
Be sure to check out all the links we offer on our Resources pages too!