Introducing new dog to bird

[mgood01]

Does anyone have any ideas about how to introduce a new puppy to a family that already has a cockatiel and a blue-fronted amazon? We're planning on getting a puppy, most likely some sort of poodle cross.

Wondering if anyone has had any experience with this, and how to make things go as smoothly as possible. It's mainly Zoey, the amazon, I'm concerned about. She's very attached to me, not so much my boyfriend (love/hate thing going on), and is out of the cage a lot, part of all the action in the house.

[bekfreak]

I heard poodles are among the worst dogs to have with birds...A high prey drive? I wonder how true this is.

[KrystleLuvsBirdies]

Im pretty sure it will be fine depending on how young the dog is, it may even be a good idea to let the bird nip the dog so it knows not to mess with it from the start. Just keep a hold of the dog when first introducing, are you more worried about the dog hurting the birds or the birds hurting the dog?

I heard poodles are among the worst dogs to have with birds...A high prey drive? I wonder how true this is.

I realy think it all depends on how the animal is raised, i have a foxie which is bred to hunt rodents yet she absolutely loves my guinea pig.

[puffinp]

You can't fool Mother Nature (instinct). Why risk it if you love your birds?

[Willow]

Supervision at all times is a must. Poodles are very smart, andeasily trained. If the dog is socialised to accept the feathers as pat of the family, likely they will do well. All the dogs I have here, including various foster dogs, have quicklyrealized these inside birds belong here. I have border collies, and Amazons.

[FeathersNFur8]

Originally Posted by puffinp

You can't fool Mother Nature (instinct).

I'm with you Puff. The birds are visible to the cats and dogs, and that's the way it will remain. There is a closed bar/acrylic full door gate between them at all times. When the birds are out of their area, the dogs and cats 'go take a nap' in my bedroom behind a closed door.

If my birds were spooked and went to the floor thrashing, there's no way, even with supervision, that they wouldn't be hurt, if one of the dogs pounced on them. It only takes a second and I'm not into playing games of chance.

[svolk]

Originally Posted by FeathersNFur8

I'm with you Puff. The birds are visible to the cats and dogs, and that's the way it will remain. There is a closed bar/acrylic full door gate between them at all times. When the birds are out of their area, the dogs and cats 'go take a nap' in my bedroom behind a closed door.

If my birds were spooked and went to the floor thrashing, there's no way, even with supervision, that they wouldn't be hurt, if one of the dogs pounced on them. It only takes a second and I'm not into playing games of chance.

I feel the same way. My cats and dog are closed off to the birds when the birds are out - it's not the most convenient situation since we really have to ration our time to make sure everyone gets equal time, but my dog is a hyper, rabbit-killing dog and my cats are very sly. I wouldn't trust either the dog or the cats to not go after my birds if they were flying around or got spooked. Even if the dog or cats thought they were merely playing with the birds and did not intend to do harm, my guys are so little that that's all it would take. We make it work though (and it works just fine for us) cause there's no other way that we want to have them co-exist together.

[mgood01]

Hm. I wonder about a really tiny chihuahua? I think the dog would likely be more afraid of the bird.

Seriously, I'm holding off on the dog purchase for a while. Maybe a new bird...caiques remind me of puppies, that might be a good substitute.

[Irish]

Remember that young puppies have almost no impulse control. Until they're older (a year +, depending on the breed--the smaller the dog, generally speaking, the faster it matures) and have some GOOD, solid training down to a fine art (stop, sit, down, stay, come, etc.), it's just not a good idea to have a pup around a bird of any size, period. It's only a matter of time, and someone's gonna get hurt, otherwise. Vet bills for either species are expensive and the experience is always traumatic!

Poodles were originally bred to be cold-water bird retrieving dogs. Retrievers and other bird-hunting breeds are about the worst possible dogs to have around birds. While the modern-day poodle's instincts probably aren't as strong as they used to be when it comes to the birding instinct, I would be extremely cautious having a poodle and a bird loose in the same area together.

Chihuahuas probably wouldn't be as dangerous to a bird as vice-versa. But remember, Chis aren't much smarter than a box of hair, and they tend to remember and hold a grudge if they get hurt, on top of it. Imagine a dog not smart enough to stay away from a big parrot, it gets bit, and for the rest of its life, it holds onto a hatred for the bird that'll last 'til the day you bury the dog (which could be sooner rather than later, if the dog is small enough and the bird is big enough!).

We have 11 dogs and 5 parrots. We are well aware of who can't even LOOK at the birds in their cages (Max, Kiki, Jasmine, Annie), who are interested, but mostly safe (Hope, Rex, Ben, Bitsy, Puck), and who is totally safe around them (Foxworthy Fuzz and Merry Man). Needless to say, though, we take no chances whatsoever, and never leave birds and dogs together in the same room unattended.

[Ty&Lucy]

I have a German Shepherd that has been around longer than either of my birds. She was only 2 when I got my Sun Conure, but has never attempted to "go after" him at all. In fact, I have pictures of him sitting on her head. He will climb over her if he flys to the floor. I just remind her to "be nice" and she doesn't even flinch when he walks over her paws. Our Ducorps is afraid of her and has been for the 3 years we've had the bird. They mutually ignore each other although Lucy (Ducorps) will hiss at Sadie if she gets too close and actually bit her on the ear once from the playgym. Sadie has never tried to retaliate. Of course, the birds are never out unsupervised. One of the reasons I love shepherds is for their intelligence. She has chosen to ignore them, rather than fight them. Pam