I want to use operant conditioning on Francisco, my Gyr/Merlin, to see if I can't reduce some of his bad habits (screaming and manteling/carrying). Using Karen Pryor's article on falconry and OC as my guide, for the last week or so I have been trying to develop his association between the condition reinforcer (a pea whistle) and a tidbit. The question I have is how do I know when he has made the association and I can move on to the next step?

Thanks,
Ted