Pet birds can be great friends and companions, but they're more challenging than other pets. Birds have only been domesticated for a few decades, while cats and dogs have been pets for thousands of years. Still, a few handy tips can keep your relationship a positive one.

• Use step-ups
• Establish dominance
• Reinforce positive vocalization
• Reinforce quiet behavior
• Train them to sit on your lap
• Move faster than your bird

If you're new to pet birds -- for instance, you just started dating someone with a bird, or you've made a new friend with a bird -- then there are a few things you should know about birds that will help you to understand and predict their behavior, and to have positive interactions with your new avian friend.

• Birds are most like big dogs
• Birds are master manipulators
• Birds love to interact
• Birds are partial to drama
• Cockatoos love to cuddle
• Beaks are frightening, but birds are more delicate with their beaks then we are with our fingers
• Big beaks look scary, but the smaller the bird, the sharper the beak
• Little nips are friendly, not vicious
• Birds like to step up
• Once you're holding the bird, it is the bird's job to stay on, not your job to keep the bird on