Birds and dogs

[Pepebirdie]

Thank you all for your advice and input. My family member is going to get a golden doodle puppy in October. I am worried but I want to know what I can do to prepare

 

[Pepebirdie]

So...just wanted to update you all. My family is getting a golden doodle puppy in just a few weeks. What should we do to prepare? Also how effective is bitter apple spray and is it safe to use around birds?

 

[fashionfobie]

I would make a physical barrier to prevent the puppy from jumping on the cages, a series of doggy gates, a dedicate bird room, or something similar. I personally would not want to risk a bird injury based on bitter spray. You can't promise the spray will prevent a playful and curious pup for getting into mischief.

 

[FeatheredM]

I would prepare for lots of training and I would also look at this thread

The return of 'Jaws'...

We had a our first day of puppy kindergarten. It's very treat based, even though Ruby learned to come with just praise and a squeaky toy. So, what she's learned is to lunge at hands. And she bites. Hard. I'm wearing long pants to stave off attacks, as she goes for anywhere when hands are...

forums.avianavenue.com

 

[Sparkles99]

Thank you, @FeatheredM ! Exactly what I thought of.

Pepebirdie, if you've had a puppy before, you know what you're in for. If not, check out my thread. There is hope. That 'shark' is now growing into a lovely pup!

 

[FeatheredM]

Thank you, @FeatheredM ! Exactly what I thought of.

Pepebirdie, if you've had a puppy before, you know what you're in for. If not, check out my thread. There is hope. That 'shark' is now growing into a lovely pup!

I remember our puppy, she took about only two naps with us in total because she had so much energy, and trying to train her not to bite was nearly in possible. I miss her so much

 

[Sparkles99]

I forgot to mention that my pup loves bitter sprays. Things are perfect for chewing & couldn't be improved upon, until you put bitter apple or cherry on them. Sublime!

And I use doors/walls to separate species. Birds shouldn't really be exposed to omnivores/carnivores. It's not fair.

 

[Pixiebeak]

I have 4 small breed dogs that all joined as puppies with parrots already in the home.

All trained to never go near the parrot cages continous life reinforced. 2 are now very old seniors 15 plus and 2 are over 7 now. Gated away when babies, plus leashed when young and tied away from birds when out as young pups

They were also trained not to focus on them react to them bark at them or move towards them.

Parrots also continously discouraged to ever go near tge dogs.

None ever trusted , always supervised. Always a risk . Never left alone together.

Dogs trained to give space move away if parrot on me or land near them. They know back off, go to your bed.

Its not for everyone, its not for every dog or parrot. Even trusted dogs have killed parrots.

But we are all together dogs, me and parrots when I'm home and in the same room. If I have guests or a lot of activity or drama then the parrots are locked up, or the dogs are.

 

[Pixiebeak]

To prepare, I would have baby gates. I have a gate on the outside of the door. So 2 layers of protection when needed a closed door and a baby gate. As doors can pop open....and I've read several posts of a door that was thought closed and came open and the unthinkable happened. And gates to put around the bird cage , as night and dogs knocking over cages or getting to the burds. Bird cages use the elevated ones. Put a band of acrylic around the lower part if cage if the dog is/ will be tall enough to reach cage. Or get a cage with those nearby seed guards.

I would do puppy classes. Watch a bunch of Ceazar and how he works with dogs. He uses his body and energy to block to ask for space to have the dog move awaway, how he follows through. He does this with food, with doors, with other dogs, other pets. That is much how I did it. Teach your dog to be respectful on a leash do not allow them to walk ahead of you, you go through doorway first, if you walk towards your dog it moves out of your way, you don't move out if its way. No jumping on you, or stops when you ask. Have them wait a moment when you out their food down, I always have mine sit first, tell you tell them ok you can eat.

Socialize your puppy, expose it to a lot of different people, places. Lots of walks. Lot of car rides . My home improvement stores alow leashed dogs that behave in stores. Plus take them to the pet stores a lot too.


My neighbors hot a cute sweet loving playful puppy. Then they never ever walked it! They never took it anywhere. It's only been in their home or a small high fenced backyard that it can't see out of. Sure they play with it in the backyard. But now at 6 months old its nuts! It's terrified of everything! It barks like a maniac. Now its terrified and aggressive to new people and some of their extended family members . Its becoming so aggressive to my dogs through the fence. They are well meaning idiots!

Taking your dog on walks is so important. Every day. Twice a day. Meeting lots of people and other dogs when young is so important. A yard is not enough to use up a dogs energy. Having your dog learn to walk calmly past a fenced barking dog. City dogs need walks in wooded parks , learning about water, at least occasionally. I once lived in New York and adopted an older dog that had never been exposed to anything like that. He was so freaked out by tall weeds and trees and sand at first.

I volunteered at a dog shelter , and helped aggressive/ fearful dogs. Walks were a huge part of that .

 

[Pixiebeak]

I should add i my dogs aren't perfect or trick trained or robots. It just the basics about being a good housemate, respectful. And tte important stuff like leave it, drop it, go to your bed, back up. And you know sit, come, stay. Barking to alert is fine and I thank them then ask them to stop. All 4 walk nice on loose leash, and sit if I stop to talk to someone or if allowed bounce all around them to get love and pats. When they were little I took treats when I went places and let people give them treats or ask them to sit for a treat.

If you need potty training tips. Take them outside as soon as they wake up from puppy naps, after they have a big play, as soon as they finish a meal . And at least every 4 hours. And right before bedtime. Ask them to go potty , say go potty as soon as they are . Praise them for doing so. Watch their body language, they hsve pretty clear im about go potty.

Anyway all that stuff makes fir a good companion. And I think helps a lot in having them around other pets and people.

I hope you have a wonderful new puppy! I want to see pictures!

 

[Pepebirdie]

Thanks everybody
So I have been researching more to prepare our family for the work of a puppy. I am asking questions on dog forums but they aren't as active as this forum is. My question is, what kinds of toys are safe for puppies? I can't find a single toy that everyone on the internet can agree is safe for an unsupervised puppy. Plush toys? Will be destroyed and eaten. Hard rubber? Will break puppy teeth. Soft rubber/nylabone? Will be ingested by dog and require vet attention. Rawhide? Bad. Bone toys are too hard and rope is also unsafe apparently. It's not as clear as what's safe vs not safe toys for birds.

 

[Shezbug]

I always had kong brand toys for my puppies, they have used to have different sizes and strengths for puppies through to strong chewers, I am not sure if they still do though as my dog has not had a new toy for ages because she is never interested in anything but her rope and balls and stolen old bird perches.

@Mizzely might have some advice or ideas- she gets awesome toys for her dog.

 

[Mizzely]

Thanks everybody
So I have been researching more to prepare our family for the work of a puppy. I am asking questions on dog forums but they aren't as active as this forum is. My question is, what kinds of toys are safe for puppies? I can't find a single toy that everyone on the internet can agree is safe for an unsupervised puppy. Plush toys? Will be destroyed and eaten. Hard rubber? Will break puppy teeth. Soft rubber/nylabone? Will be ingested by dog and require vet attention. Rawhide? Bad. Bone toys are too hard and rope is also unsafe apparently. It's not as clear as what's safe vs not safe toys for birds.

Actually there are a lot of arguments about what is safe for parrots, too And just like parrots, there is no "one toy fits all" for dogs. A lot of it is figuring out your own dog's chewing style, etc. My 75lb dog, for instance, still has stuffies from a year ago that are pristine, but then my mom's dog, a little 12 lb thing, will destroy them inside 5 minutes.

Mostly, nothing is safe unsupervised until you know their play style. And all toys should be monitored for threads, broken bits, rough edges, etc. Same goes for chews - absolutely do not give an edible chew to a puppy unsupervised.

Puppy Nylabones are softer and safe for puppy teeth, but still you want to monitor them. Kong also makes puppy safe toys.

I really like Barkbox toys for my dog, but for my mom's it's not a good fit. Bullymake is good for super chewers.

Overall, it's basically trial and error and supervision until you know.

 

[Pixiebeak]

@Mizzely is correct on knowing your dog ! Harder when they are brand new to you! I have one soft dog squeaky animal toy that one of my dogs has had since day one puppy 7 years later she still has and no other dogs can touch. My other dog de squeak ( removes plastic squeaky) within an hour!

I like giving mine huge milk bone biscuits because they are small dogs takes them a while to chew up. Or any of the dental edible chews. They take a while to chew up and are safe.

I think tennis balls bigger size ones, they can't swallow are pretty good.

And when mine were teething puppies, and still do give them the cow hooves. Because they are very attractive to them to chew on. Takes awhile to chew up. And aren't fatty like the pig ears or things like that.

 

[Sparkles99]

Where do you get cow hooves & how do you prevent de-squeaking?!

 

[Mizzely]

I fill cow hooves with pate dog food and freeze for a cool summer treat

I get them here:

All-Natural, Single-Ingredient Dog Chews | Best Bully Sticks

Discover quality all-natural dog treats your pets will drool over at Best Bully Sticks. Dogs love these long-lasting, single-ingredient chews and treats.

www.bestbullysticks.com

I also LOVE their beef cheek rolls and I usually also get the cow ears.

My dog is not a gulper. Some are. So again it comes down to learning your dog's style

 

[Pepebirdie]

Cow hooves?? Interesting. I have never heard of that before

 

[Pixiebeak]

Pet stores have usually in a bin. I've found at petco, and pet supermarket

 

[Mizzely]

I think Tractor Supply, etc types have them too.

 

[Pixiebeak]

Where do you get cow hooves & how do you prevent de-squeaking?!

I don't... so he gets them rarely. I keep watch . Once he parades around squeaking the plastic thing I take it and the toy and trash them