Advice on adopting a puppy when we have a conure

[SandraK]

Guys, I only meant to make the point that spaniels, and poodles too, were all originally bred as sporting dogs. Whether they are used for that purpose or not, they have that background in them until the day they die.

 

[FLmom]

I have a cavchon. She has lived very peacfully with cats rabbits and now our parrot. She does love to chase lizards but she never catches them.

 

[Pentameter]

Any type of dog can hurt or kill a bird. They are predators by nature and while domesticated, the dog still has a basic prey drive. This seems to be especially stimulated by clipped birds (which resemble injured birds). If something runs from them, their instinct is to chase. Even play behavior from a dog could easily result in a bird's death, not to mention the danger of canine mouth bacteria to a bird!

You can absolutely own both types of animals. However, the bird should never, ever, EVER be loose in the home when the puppy is out, and vice versa. Crate train the pup and keep them crated when the bird is out, or only take the bird out in a secure, dog-free room (closed door, not baby gate, especially if your bird is flighted).

 

[Skipper]

Add to the fact that Conures are fearless and may go after the dog, resulting in the dog defending its self. Keep them apart.

 

[SandraK]

Add to the fact that Conures are fearless and may go after the dog, resulting in the dog defending its self. Keep them apart.

My first gcc, Beni, would fly over to the sofa, run down the arm or back of the sofa to the seat and gnaw on our geriatric cat's tail if he wasn't stopped. I found out because I'd be sitting on the sofa watching t.v. with KitKat fast asleep next to me and she'd start growling. When I looked at her, I realized Beni had the end of her tail in his beak and was biting down on it. Beni (and I) were darn lucky that KitKat was very geriatric and laid back because she could've taken him out with one swipe of a fully clawed paw.

 

[gibsongrrrl]

My moms toy poodle snatched a bird right out of the air in the backyard once and one of my chihuahuas will chase a bird in the yard. My other one will turn her head and not even look at a bird if I lands right near her outside because I always made them look away in the beginning. Both my chi's have a healthy fear of my girls and totally ignore them, but I would never let them out of the cage if the dogs were in the room unless they were in their totally enclosed nylon/mesh playpen. When I first got weeble, they were curious about her until one day she flew out of the cage when the dogs were in the adjoining dining room behind a fence and it scared them so bad they ran for the crate and hid under blankets. I've worked with them a little on this by training them to either leave the room when I mess with the cage door like I am going to open it or go in a crate, but I still wouldn't trust them to all be loose in the same room ever. I used to also take them on walks together with weeble in a cage in a fully enclosed per stroller to promote the idea that we are all a pack/flock, but again I don't let any of this give me any delusions that I've trained out any natural prey drive instincts. I do keep a fence around the cages so the dogs can't mill around or under them looking for food and invade the birds space also, whether they are in the living room or bird room. I think it is good for them to all be around each other in the same room so it isn't a new exciting thing when anyone is just moving around and doing normal things, but with safety measures in place. I've seen the dogs play growling and wrestling around near the bird cages and weeble doesn't even look at them, let alone get startled. The birds fluttering around the cages garners no interest in the dogs either unless it startles them and they run for the crate. Now beeper seems to act aggressively towards the dogs and I am pretty sure she would go after them if she had the chance so that's where the fence comes in very handy to keep them separate. So in summary, It can be done, you just have to always be mindful and don't get complacent. Especially don't make it personal or too emotional by thinking "my furry pet would never do that". I was very surprised that my one chi would chase yard birds and found it very telling. Another thing I will say is that if you do have a crate in the house don't let the bird explore it if the dogs aren't in the room. I have a crate in just about every room and one time the hawkhead I had tried to go in it because she was on a hormonal quest for a nest. The dogs were in another room so there was no disaster, but I learned to keep a towel over the front so it didn't look like a cavity to her. I think the nylon with mesh collapsable types are best so if a bird would land in the crate, nobody can get to anyone like they could with wires.

 

[gibsongrrrl]

Here is one example of how I use the fence in our old place

 

[gibsongrrrl]

Here's another from the birdroom when we first moved in and they were still in their smaller cages. Weeble layed an egg the first day in and I slept in there on an air mattress with the dogs for over a month, lol. Worried mom and all. I've had people say the fence is a bit overboard, but I think personal space is important. I also don't want the dogs don't see the birds as food dispensers and nuts and star anise is toxic to them. Safer for everyone.

 

[Pentameter]

If the bird was out, the bird could still fly down and climb on the fence or fly over it. It's nice for keeping the dog away from the base of the cage and from eating food/poop etc, though!

 

[gibsongrrrl]

If the bird was out, the bird could still fly down and climb on the fence or fly over it. It's nice for keeping the dog away from the base of the cage and from eating food/poop etc, though!

The birds are never out when the dogs are loose. The fence definitely isn't for that.

 

[GCChris]

I think it just takes a lot of supervision, and common sense. I cringe whenever I see a picture of a bird sitting on a dog, sorry, same with small babies and dogs. It's just not worth the risk, and definitely never leave them alone together. I have a frenetic rat terrier, who should by all rights be after the birds like crazy, but he's actually scared of them and just gives them that 'whale eye' look when he slinks by. I still would never leave them together, and if I had a larger house would likely separate him in another room. The biggest dog issues I have with the birds is him vacuuming up poop, bits of wood, food, and various other bird debris, I had to put a gate around the cages and playtree too for that reason.

 

[karen256]

Hi All
We've had Alfie for over 6 months now and my partner and I adore him to say the least. He is a GCC and around 8.5 months old.
We then thought of adopting a Cavoodle (Cavalier x poodle) puppy to be a companion. Alfie would always be in the cage while we're out and be out of reach from the puppy. I'm just concerned about the out of cage time, is it likely to be an issue? I'm worried the puppy may accidentally or even deliberately hurt my Alfie.

Interested to hear about experiences, I also plan on a asking Alfie's vet before making a decision.

All dogs can be a potential risk (even toy dogs have been known to kill human babies) but some are riskier than others and with some, the risk is so small as to be almost nonexistent. I think you are making a great choice of breed. Many breeds, especially smaller breeds and terriers, were originally bred for killing vermin, and retain a strong prey drive, but both breeds in your mix are low prey drive. I know if I was getting a small dog, that's the mix I'd look for (or a pure cavalier).


You do need to be careful but I think generally a puppy of a low-prey drive breed or mix, growing up with birds, is very likely to just accept Alfie as just part of the house, and to not show any particular interest. I don't know if it helped at all, but when I got a puppy, I would keep it confined to a fenced off corner of the kitchen, away from the birds at first, but I would place a few molted feathers around the puppy's area so he would be used to their scent. I would also take my GCC to the kitchen to look at the puppy when he was sleeping.
None of the dogs cared about the birds at all. The only problem I had was one of them, when he was a puppy, liked to forage for crumbs under the playgym and almost tipped it a few times. A redesign on the gym basically stopped that.
My dogs and birds have always been allowed run of the house when no one's home with the birds confined to their room if no one's home. I don't consider my dog to be a significant risk.

BUT it does depend on the dog. I wouldn't trust any high-prey drive or very hyperactive dog at all, or any dog that wasn't used to birds. A relative of mine did lose her orange wing Amazon to a dog. She and her sister both had boxer dogs; her own boxer was trained to leave her Amazon alone, and the Amazon also trusted the dog and wasn't afraid. But, one day her sister was visiting and her boxer, who was not used to birds, burst into the house when the door to the bird room had been left ajar. And the dog managed to run in and kill her companion of over 30 years almost instantly.

 

[karen256]

I'm not laughing if someone's bird gets killed.

Sorry, but the internet alternates between saying were bred to hunt birds originally or bred from dogs that were bred to hunt birds originally. Either way, they are decended from hunting dogs and literally every source I check say it is an issue. Seems strange to deny it when it could endanger someone's birds to be misleading about known and widely accepted facts.

Well there's a difference between a hunting dog and a dog bred specifically to kill small animals (like terriers). Spaniels and retrievers were bred more for spotting game and retrieving it, not for killing it themselves. Cavaliers may not be the best breed to get, but they are one of the better of the small dogs. Of all the toy breeds, they are the ones most like large dogs in temperament. Compared to small terriers, ect. they will be safer with birds (on average).

Dogs all pose some risk, it's just that some people are inclined to say dogs and birds should never be in the same household and that's going a little too far. After all, dog attacks send a quarter million people to the hospital every year in the US alone, yet most dogs don't pose a threat to people.

 

[Jaguar]

The reality is that there's a lot of things in our homes that are dangers to parrots... be it other animals, exposed electrical wires, open water, stoves, ovens, fireplaces, mirrors, open windows/doors... on and on...

The key to success is the diligence of the owner. Keep them away from the danger and no harm shall come, spare accidents we can't avoid. Becoming complacent or improper safety procedures could result in a dead bird. It's not any more complicated than that.

 

[Ankou]

I'm not saying they are bad dogs. (No such thing as a bad dog, IMO. If there is ever a truly 'bad dog' there are almost always a bad owner somewhere in it's history that created it.) But one of the things I like about dogs is each breed generally has an established function it was intended to preform (be it herding sheep or companionship) and known temperament. They also have long histories, with new breeds being created from old ones with old instincts still intact.
Each dog is an individual too but breed helps us make an informed decision since we can make some generalizations and have at least a starting point for expected behavior. We can try to choose dogs that fit best with our own lifestyles.
In the case of someone who owns other small animals, why not look into other small breeds with less prey drive? There are lots of dogs to choose from, almost all of which are fantastic companions.

According to every source I've found online, cavaliers have a heightened prey drive. I could not find one article from a major source of information on dog breeds that doesn't mention they can be a risk to small animals due to their hunting heritage. I agree terriers are even more challenging and all dogs are predators, just one descended from dogs bred to chase and retrieve birds will likely be more of a challenge to keep than something bred for other non-hunting activities.
There will be dogs with high prey drive with non-sporting lineage and hunting dogs with very low prey drive but we can still make generalizations based on their breed of what their temperament may be like.

 

[Pentameter]

I've heard of pugs killing pet birds before. The type of dog does not matter. All it takes is one incident.

 

[GCC_Quijote]

I think, in essence, everyone agrees that there is risk to your bird involved and you will have to take extra precautions if you decide to get a dog.

Our conure thinks he's 10ft tall, and will attempt to challenge animals much larger than him if he feels they are in his territory.

 

[Evelyn]

I have a 10 year old pug and a almost 4 year old Chihuahua and a 3 year old Chihuahua, I am very careful with Jackie when I have her out, I always have to be with her when out as I don't trust any of my dogs with her. I had a dog long time ago , kill one of my birds and it was awful, I felt a lot of guilt. It happened in seconds. They must be kept separate.

 

[flickstick23]

I have an australian koolie x german Sheppard i never leave them alone together but the bird and her love one another is was a bit touchy at first as reeb (my sun conure ) was always trying to bite her nose but now there fine lexi ( the dog ) sits underneath where reeb sits and loves to clean up all the fruit and pellets he drops... i think its totally upto you mate you can take advice from others but the choice is yours mate. I dont see a problem with it just be careful

 

[flickstick23]

As for the "hunting dogs" people on here . Some.dog breeds are better then others for hunting , but they do not come out as puppies and think i have to kill other animals they are trained to be hunting animals so train your pup right and theres no probs i think