[nagdu] Dogs and Pet Birds

[Larry D Keeler]

Sounnds good! I too have birds. I was afraid that Holly would ggo after 
them. She really doesn't but I don't let mine our often. I would watch the 
birds as well as the dog though. I'm sure a new dog really wouldn't 
apppreciate a bite from your African! I wouldn't! You'll deffinetely have to 
train both! I have a red rumped parakeedt and a Burkes parakeet. My red rump 
is gentle and can come out. I've let Holly nose him while I hold him to get 
used to him. Now, she pretty much accepts him as us. But, a note to remember 
is that it can be done but several of the breeds used come from bird dog 
lines. Poodles, labs and retrievers all have bird dog in there linages. 
Having said that, the poodle-westie mix I had which I had to recently put 
down would not mess with my birds what so ever! He'd cry when they got on 
the floor or in his water dish! He lived with doves, lovebirds and 
cockatiels.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alysha via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2014 5:34 PM
Subject: [nagdu] Dogs and Pet Birds


> OK, so I have a question that may be a little unusual. After I'd had 
> Hammer
> for about 5 years, I decided to get a pet parrot. I knew that Hammer is
> pretty much the most calm, gentle dog on Earth. He has never been 
> distracted
> by small animals of any kind and has no prey drive to speak of. I took him
> with me to the breeder to regularly visit my baby African grey before she
> came home, and the only interest he showed to anything there was the
> occasional piece of bird food on the floor. A year after I brought home
> Ellie, my grey, I adopted a second bird named Rocky (a green cheek 
> conure).
> The birds live in my living/dining room area where I spend the majority of
> my time at home. They spend most of their time on their cages, their 
> hanging
> bird gyms, or on me, but they will occasionally fly to the couch or other
> places in the room. Hammer has been perfect with the birds and even knows 
> he
> can safely ignore Ellie when she clicks her tongue and yells "Hammer, come
> here!" Both birds are flighted (their wings are not clipped) and they are
> allowed out-of-cage time pretty much whenever I am home.
>
>
>
> Now that my completely trustworthy boy is retiring at the end of this 
> year,
> I'll be bringing a new, unknown pup home. One of my biggest fears about 
> this
> is that the new dog will not be safe to have loose when the birds are out. 
> I
> wouldn't leave the dog and birds out together unattended, but the worst
> could happen in a split second even if I was sitting right there. And if
> they can't all manage to peacefully coexist, it will mean that all of them
> will have lots of serious restrictions (less out-of-cage time for the 
> birds
> and more time on a leash, in a crate, or in another room for the dog).
>
>
>
> My plan (as far as it goes) is to keep the new dog on leash pretty much
> constantly for a couple of weeks as recommended by the school and see how 
> he
> reacts to the birds. I can offer praise and treats if he seems to ignore 
> it
> when a bird takes flight. The birds will be caged or in another room when
> the dog and I are playing. Does anyone have any more suggestions? Have any
> of you dealt with this before? It's scary because birds are so fragile, 
> much
> more so than cats, and can be seriously hurt or killed by a dog, even if 
> the
> dog is just playing! It's definitely something I've already brought up 
> with
> the school and will continue to discuss with them, but I'd also love to 
> hear
> any experiences or words of wisdom you guys might be able to offer.
>
>
>
> Alysha
>
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