Life With Toby

Having a macaw is NOTHING like having a dog or cat. They need so much more...and they give so much back to you. Don't get me wrong, I love my dogs, it's just a different kind of relationship.

Toby is very affectionate. He loves to cuddle, preen, kiss, nap, take walks and just hang out with us. When we take naps with Toby he will perch on the pillow 2 inches from my face and not move or potty until we get up.

Toby loves to be with us. No matter what we're doing... he wants to be part of the action, or at least nearby so he can see us.

Toby is aware of more than we imagined! He will notice if you move or change the smallest thing.

We've read that macaws have the intelligence levels of 5 yr olds, but when you see those brains in action, that's when you realize what an amazing creature they really are.

We are lucky.... Toby is very quiet for a large macaw. He does have his moments when he lets a scream loose, but for the most part he's very quiet.

Toby is a talker. He loves to babble to himself. He learns new words all the time without us trying to teach him. And it seems he gets obessed with words at times. When he first learned to say his name, he said over and over for 3 days!

Toby loves Celine Dion. When we play her music on the stereo, he gets very excited and will talk, dance and sing with her.

Toby takes very good care of his feathers. His tail was in bad shape for about the first 6-8 months of his life when he wasn't very good on his feet. But these days, he takes very good care of it and it's usually in great shape.

Toby was potty trained in about a week. When he was just a few months old we started working with him on the potty training. He picked it up so quickly! He does have accidents, but he knows not to poop on us!

It's very easy to read Toby's moods. We can tell when he's tired, hungry, happy, excitable, cranky or just plain goofy.

Toby gets along great with our dogs (GSD, Yorkie mix & Chihuahua). He's a bully to the dogs and can easily chase our 120 lbs German Shepherd out of the room. Although the other day while Toby was on my knee, Manto, the German Shepherd, came up and gave Toby 3 big sloppy kisses. I think Toby enjoyed it!! The little dogs know to stay out of his way... they've felt that beak before!

We never dreamed we would love Toby so much. He has become such a central part of our lives. We haven't taken a vacation since we've had him because we worry how he'll be without us! He's a great part of our family and we're very thankful that he's in our lives.