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Dog vs parrot

shutterlove

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I recently got a parrot(Linnie) that I would like to take out of the cage. However my 6 year old bichon/poo is totally jealous and I can’t even go near the cage without her incessantly barking. I have to put my dog in the yard every time I take my bird out. I’ve had dogs and birds before with no issues(Golden and Rottweiler) but for some reason this dog acts like it wants to kill the parrot. Any suggestions? I’m desperate
 

Kiwi & Co.

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I have the same problem so I can't really help you.
 

hrafn

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Do NOT let your dog near your bird. Ever. That you managed it in the past doesn't change the fact that you're putting a prey animal and a predator in the same space.

It's only natural for your dog to want to kill your bird. Even a dog with a relatively low prey drive is a hunter by nature.

I would keep them in separate areas of the house, permanently. Have your linnie in a room that the dog isn't allowed to enter, and keep the door firmly shut and locked during out-of-cage time.
 

janicedyh

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Keep them separate. Its luck that you didn't have tragic consequences with your other ones out together. I can't stress enough that even if they get along, are gentile as can be, act like they are siblings....UNTIL they don't. Its unpredictable when and if your dogs (cat) prey instinct will kick in and then its too late
 

Kiwi & Co.

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I would keep them in separate areas of the house, permanently. Have your linnie in a room that the dog isn't allowed to enter, and keep the door firmly shut and locked during out-of-cage time.
For me this is not possible because my house is too small. My room is not in any way bird-proof and my dogs can roam most of the main floor (3 levels) when they're not downstairs in their crates or outside playing/barking. So, for me this is simply impossible.

I have a safety gate around Kiwi's cage and I only let him out when the dogs are not on the same level of the house as him.


I've only had Kiwi out twice with the dogs and both times were accidents.

The first time: my dad was outside and let the dogs in, I imediately retured Kiwi to his cage, The dogs did't notice until I had closed the cage.

The second time: My dad walked by and went outside, Kiwi was in his cage playing but the door was open, my dad let in the dogs because they were barking at another dog, I imediately closed the cage door and Kiwi was okay. (later my dad said that he thought that the cage was closed when he walked by)

As you can see I still need to "train" my dad to check every time ;)
 

fashionfobie

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The two should stay separate. I am also a dog lover and I have had dogs and birds successfully, but they never were out to play together nor interacted together.

I do think you should acclimate your dog to the presence of the cage though. If your dog is barking frequently at the bird it can cause a lot of stress in your home. Your bird may not feel safe, which could complicate training and your bird-human relationship. Also your dog is clearly very upset about this adjustment.

I would do what you can to acclimate your dog to the bird's cage and surroundings to improve the household dynamic.. but not with the intent to have the bird and dog be friends. What has worked for me before when I had two dogs was to have two of everything. If I am giving attention and treats to one pet, give attention and treats to the other pet. Reward your dog when they are calm and silent around the cage. Don't reward the barking behaviour by giving your dog attention during. Currently when your dog barks at the cage you are shifting your attention to him/her.

It may help to move your bird to a travel cage and set him in your bedroom or separate location and use the main cage with your dog. Set the empty cage on the ground, let your dog sniff it, and reward your dog for being near the cage silently. Place the cage back in its location and try and work with your dog by approaching the cage and continue to reward the good behaviour. I do not know your dog so I can't know this will work, this is only a suggestion.

Your dog maybe overwhelmed by the change and breaking this down in increments may help. You need to enforce that the cage and bird in the cage are NOT threats. Your bird is NOT a toy. You can never let the dog and bird interacted directly together, but you do need a peaceful home. It is best for you, your bird, and your pup.
 

JLcribber

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Its time to train the dog.
 

Dona

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You did mention that you would consider a dog behaviorist. Have you heard of Nancy Williams in Manchester? Not far from you. She worked with my neighbor's very shy/abused rescued Chihuahua. Had to look up that spelling, def not chiwawa right? lol
 

Shezbug

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Both of my dogs can only access the cage/bird areas while being supervised, if I can’t watch them directly they are locked away in another room, outside or in their pens/crates. They regularly like to pick up the bird scraps from the floor around the cages but I only let them do this while I am supervising and they are both well aware they need to be calm and are being watched at all times.
Neither of my dogs are even interested in the birds at all, their only known/shown interest in the birds is the dropped food and toy bits on the floor but I still would not have my dogs run free while my birds are out. Just not worth the risk in my opinion :)
 

shutterlove

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Dona: can you get me the phone number of Nancy Williams? I don’t ever intend to let my bird and dog be together in the same room if Rascal is out of the cage but the incessant barking whenever I get near the cage or talk to the bird is really awful
 

shutterlove

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Thank you everyone for your Parrot vs Dog suggestions. My husband generally takes my dog outside to play while I let Rascal out of the cage to play. It’s just that my bird is constantly looking to get out whenever I’m around so I feel sorry for the bird.
 

Dona

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Thank you everyone for your Parrot vs Dog suggestions. My husband generally takes my dog outside to play while I let Rascal out of the cage to play. It’s just that my bird is constantly looking to get out whenever I’m around so I feel sorry for the bird.
Yes, I'm sure you are keeping Rascal safe. I know how much Gigi enjoys her out time. I hope you can figure this out.
 

Dona

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How long have you had Rascal?
Editing to ask- is he clipped?
 
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shutterlove

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Dona: Thank you. I will call her today. Your Gigi is beautiful. I guess Rascal is an olive green but I like the dark green color better. I am impressed that Gigi eats healthy veggies. I’ve tried broccoli and green beans and carrots but Rascal throws them out of his dish. He likes eggs, turkey breast and apples are his favorite. I do make a birdie bread that has some seed, millet and broccoli in it. Of course he likes bad stuff too like pasta. I guess he is just a spoiled child.
 

Dona

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I remember Brian saying that the olive was his favorite color of Linnie. Then he had a Lutino and changed his mind. :) I love them all. But it's fun knowing that Gigi is the color of her relatives in the wild. I can't imagine 100's of Gigis flying about in South America. Eek so cute.

Gigi isn't as food driven as most of the Linnies I've heard about. But she eats a variety of things. When she started to fly so often I wondered if her weight would drop but it stayed the same, 50 grams, which I think is good for a Linnie. I guess they can be piggies and become overweight.
 

finchly

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I know exactly how you feel. Been there! Despite our best efforts, we’ve had things happen like: I open bird room door, parrotlet zooms out, dog grabs parrotlet, only the tail was sticking out of her mouth, hubby grabs dog and wrestles parrotlet out of her mouth, I stop screaming to say “is he alive?” (He was fine.)

I have a very stubborn cocker spaniel. Got her as a puppy, the other dogs (even dogs that were here before birds) never cared about birds. This one - wants to eat them. She’s been away to a trainer TWICE plus hubby and I have extensive experience training dogs - he used to teach the class. This one is nuts.

I got a collar (no guys it’s not a shock collar) from ecollar.com that emits a tiny muscle feeling, like if you’ve ever used a tens unit its that feeling. Be sure to watch videos on how to set it up - you set it at the very lowest number they feel. Mine is set on 6 out of 100. Very low.

So at the same time you say “quiet” you press the button and it pokes at her muscle. This has worked on the barking and also lunging at a bird, along with “down” “stay” and “no bird”. I can now have birds out and even when one is on the floor eating her dog food she just looks at it. That happened just yesterday in fact. She walked kind of close and looked at the bird then laid down. LOL giving herself a down command.

We still mostly keep them apart but we have a good-size flock so things happen. Now we don’t have to worry. In fact when I carry them to put (birds) outside the dog stays inside now.

The collar is for training so it’s not on her all the time but at this point I just say “do I need to get the collar?” And she straightens up.

I highly recommend training AND ecollar if your dog won’t or can’t follow the training commands.
 

shutterlove

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I’ve had Rascal ever since Brian would release him at about 2 months. So I guess I’ve had him for 4 months now. Brian clipped his wings so if he tries to fly he just does a nose dive. Gigi isn’t clipped? Don’t you worry that she will get hurt?
 
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