do dogs and birds go together?

[raquel]

when you let your birds out to play what do you do with the dog? My dog will chase anything that runs from her. I just don't want to have to lock the dog in another room if I let my bird out. My hubby would have a cow over that one. So can a 5 year old dog learn to leave the birdy alone? Should I not clip their wings so they can get away from her? Not sure what to do.

thanks in advance

[linda040899]

A Pembroke Welsh Corgi shares my home with me and he, too, will chase birds if they fly but that's his herding instinct kicking in. He's been here long enough where he knows what's going to happen if he chases them. However, that doesn't necessarily deter him.

Dogs are naturally predators and some are worse than others. Birds are prey so the two don't go together in the same air space, even if closely supervised. Accidents happen quickly and injuries sustained as a result may not be repairable.

Not clipping flight feathers will help but it's not a hard and fast answer. Putting the dog in another room is the safest thing and DH will probably just have to understand that the lovebird is your pet and you want to spend time with him. :) Safety always comes first.

[Pips mom]

If you can already say for sure that your dog WILL chase things that fly away, then NO, doggie needs to stay away! Linda is right, BUT Pip's previous owner had three big dogs, and apparently Pip was out with them in the same space, and they shared that same space and got along, because when he posted Pip's add on craigslist when trying to re-home him, he had a pic on there of Pip sitting on a dog! Also said that Pip likes dogs! Well, we had a dog here who was also very good with the birds-----he was a big black lab and he was old and never paid any attention to the birds----if it wasn't food, then he wouldn't waste his time with it! My tiels would walk on him sometimes and he was such a good dog and we would laugh because labs are supposed to "bird dogs" He never bothered our birds and we still had him when we got Pip and Pip used to land on him all the time and seemed to just love him! That black lab was ernie and back in aug. he had to be put to sleep because he was having seizures, and we tried all we could, meds to control the seizures, but eventually it just got worse little by little and once it got bad, we decided it was best :cry:
I think depending on the dog, and also the age my play a part, the older the better----definitely puppies should never share space with birds! but some dogs won't even bother with birds and act like they aren't even there, like ernie did-----but, to find this out for sure, we always kept two of us right there nearby for a while, one to watch the dog and one to get the bird if there were any problems, and we were very careful.
Now that Ernie is gone, we kinda would like to get another dog, but I'm scared to now because Pip is so social with dogs and will want to be the dog's buddy! and what if this time we aren't so lucky and get a dog that will hurt the birds! so we've been hesitant to get another dog----maybe someday!

[tokameaki]

my chihuahua killed a wild bunny, they always come to my door with something dead and i dont know if they found something dead or they killed it, but i did saw one of them killing a bunny...i try to rescue the bunny but it die in my hands....so i dont think i will ever let my dogs play with my birds.....no way my 3 pound chihuahuas are nippy like piranhas or something....i guess biger dogs are nicer but not mine dogs lol...becareful anyway

[Buy A Paper Doll]

When the dog moved in with us (long story) there was an adjustment period for my birds, as they were used to having the entire house to themselves. Now, out-of-cage time requires close supervision. The birds are very nosy and really want to investigate the dog.

The dog seems to understand that she is not to touch the "inside" birds, but I don't ever want to find out whether I'm right or wrong on that. My solution is that the birds are not allowed on any surface that the dog is able to reach. And nobirdy is allowed out of my sight when they're out of the cage.

[bellarains]

Raquel,

Along with the natural instincts of dogs, there is also the danger of pasturella, a bacteria that dogs carry in their saliva. That bacteria can make a bird very sick, and quiet possible kill them.

We have a dog, three cats, and six birds. We now have a basement which they mainly stay in, but before, we always rotated animals. If the birds were out, dog and cats were put up. When birdies go up, dog and cats came back in. Tell hubby it's really not that big of a deal, the dog will have way more time out than the birds;)

[FabFeatheredFour]

Had to share this picture:

http://inlinethumb53.webshots.com/39476/2952899110054473373S500x500Q85.jpg

Whiskey and Milo "playing" milo actually really loves Whiskey and will sometimes hitch rides on his back. Both macaws will call whiskey to their playgyms and toss him food. Milo asks him to sit first. Adorable.

But seriously, I wouldn't ever let a dog and bird interact without close supervision.

[Pips mom]

Oh my gosh, that picture is just adorable! Very cute!

[raquel]

I love that pic. They are so cute.

[Screamer]

Had to share this picture:

http://inlinethumb53.webshots.com/39476/2952899110054473373S500x500Q85.jpg

Whiskey and Milo "playing" milo actually really loves Whiskey and will sometimes hitch rides on his back. Both macaws will call whiskey to their playgyms and toss him food. Milo asks him to sit first. Adorable.

But seriously, I wouldn't ever let a dog and bird interact without close supervision.

That pic is so cute:) Beautiful bird and pup