Dog + parrot?

[Arjadaga]

I think a male eclectus would suit me, my second choice would then be a TAG. But I have yet another question, would a labrador retriever do well with a parrot? I cant say he (the dog) is calm, but he's very friendly and just 2 1/2 years old. He has never hurt anything, I'm just not too sure how my dog would react if he saw a bird up close (he has seen birds before, but never took much interest). Thanks!

[Ray P]

It`s hard to say what any dog would do under any given situation.

When my dogs are out or my birds they are supervised.

My dogs are good around the birds, but you never know. (IMHO)

[Luvparrots]

i have 10 year old pug that leaves the room when my parrots come into the room. She stays away from them. My daughter has a labrador retriever, aka bird dog, and I cage my three parrots when Scout is around. I just do not want to take the chance of losing one of my flighted friends. My daughter knows her dog, Scout.... that she sees my parrots as lunch or dinner, and from what I know about Scout, so do I.

[Irie5447]

Hi, I have three Labrador Retrievers ages 2, 6, 9 years old. I also have a a Quaker parrot and will be getting a CAG in a couple weeks. I just want to say that I felt exactly the same way as you when I brought home my Quaker and was worried about the dogs. I constantly made it clear the bird was off limits and when they got near the cage or bird I would gently say no. Now they are at the point where they could care less about him and know that he is part of the family and not to be played with. Several times my bird has flown over to one of the dogs and actually land on their backs when laying down and the dogs don't care. It was the same way with my 2 cats also. Just make sure you constantly reinforce your rules and supervise all the animals together and hopefully they should all eventually get along.

[judygram]

A lab is a natural bird dog but you need to supervise any time both are out of their cage and maybe putting the one up while the other is out and about the house until you know how it goes.

[Arjadaga]

Thanks to all. Will keep your advice in mind.

[Talon]

Dogs have an instinct towards birds in my opinion, although they may seem disinterested and well-behaved around your birds for years, there is always that time when they get startled by something your bird may do and instinct WILL kick in. ALWAYS supervise them when out together. I have a friend who went out for a quick coffee and left their 2 birds out with their 2 small dogs who never paid any attention to their birds. Their birds wings were clipped. WHen they got back a few minutes later, their were feathers and blood all over the house....sadly they lost one of their very much loved birds to their dogs......They have such sadness and guilt they live with every da. yYou can never be too careful or too watchful.

Edited August 24, 2011 by Talon

[GT_Jacket]

We have a female black lab that is still very hyper (~1.5 years old). I know she has a taste for birds because she has caught and killed probably 1/2 dozen in our back yard.

 

We have a baby fence up around Echo's cage and always have the dog locked outside or crated or on a leash when Echo is out. I hope with time we can get to just supervising them together but I'm not sure we ever will.

 

It is a pain because Bella (the lab) does not like not having the freedom she was accustomed to when the bird was not around.

 

Brett

[Casey Luria]

I am dealing with this problem too. I have a small two yr old Shih Poo who is definitely not a hunting dog but very playful. I think he just wants to play with this grey thing when it flutters to the floor. The Amazon is less likely to be on the floor. Anyway, even though I doubt that Jake would eat the bird I am sure he wants to play with him and could hurt him doing this. I have the dog crate trained and keep him in that crate if I am not around. I make sure the dog is with me, he usually is anyway, even when I go to the bathroom. Jake also wants to eat anything the parrots let fall to the floor which all of you know is a lot. It is making the dog sick when he gets too many pellets etc. This is something I am having a lot of trouble enforcing since I believe in positive reinforcement. Any suggestions?

For now, I just keep the birds and the dog apart and hope that Jake will become less interested in time.