Dogs and Greys???

[Kathytharris]

Hi there I was wondering if any experienced Grey owners may lend me their wisdom. I would love a Grey but I have four dogs (a labradoodle,6, two jack russell crosses,4&2 and a Great Dane of 1) would there be any way of integrating a Grey into this already mad house or would it just be unfair on both dogs and bird? I work 3 days a week but there is always an adult at home. Any help would be very much appreciated. Thanks very much

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

When Sophie came home, Max, my senior lhaso apso took one sniff and let me know " you will do!"

. Adopted two new maltese pups, and Max trained them to not attack or expect her to play. ( Amazing as he was almost blind!) Long story short, its only Ollie left. They are best friends, share their food, and are supervised with meal time. Ollie loves to give Sophie his chicken, she shares her peanuts. The biggest problem with big dogs, they want to play, and can kill a grey with one swipe of the paw.So its not really a matter of them trusting, its a matter of the bigger dogs want to play and can kill the bird while not meaning too. Nancy

[Greytness]

I have 4 German Shepherds and 9 parrots, including my Grey. For the most part I keep them separated from my birds whenever they're out of their cages. However, when they're in the same room together, my dogs pretty much ignore them. My birds are all flighted, not only for their own enjoyment but also for their own safety should a troubling situation between them and the dogs arose.

[birdhouse]

W/the right combination of critters (humans incl) it's very doable. Around here at least the dogs & the parrots have a very special bond. The parrots have the up side of the power curve, of course. But there's still no argueing how much they love each other & no end to the fascination of watching them together.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MOdS_XGZOk

 

None of those were mine but they could be.

 

 

 

 

Enjoy the whole thing if you like.by all means. But pay a little extra attention at about 30 sec in. 'Nuff said? ")

Edited March 5, 2015 by birdhouse

[VStar Mama]

Really, success or failure is going to depend on your honest opinion of your dogs.

 

I am parrot-less right now 1) because the right Grey hasn't found me yet 2) I haven't really been looking hard because my two dogs are killers.

 

Well, with the exception of a mouse, they haven't actually killed anything so maybe it is unfair of me to characterize them so harshly, but they both have high HIGH prey drive. If the parrot gets loose when I am not home...it could very easily end badly. Since both of my dogs are senior citizens with health issues, I'll keep looking while enjoying their last years.

 

Not to say that I'd say no if my Grey found me while my dogs are still with me.....but I am not going to delude myself into believing that my dogs aren't a threat to small, furry prey animals.

 

Such an assessment is one you have to make for yourself! Good luck to you!

[Greywings]

V-star is very smart about considering the prey drive of the dogs in your home. A very good dog can suddenly react to movement with aggression. We have 2 dogs, some cats and several birds here and they mostly ignore each other. Sophie who is only 20ish pounds and Widget who seems to be a Chihuahua/chupicabra cross at only 9 pounds are both pretty good about not reacting to the birds unless they fly to the floor. Our smallest grey is a Timneh who is also our most aggressive bird he will attack the dogs or cats who may just be napping or sitting quietly so we have to watch him very closely to avoid any retribution. Always supervise any time when they are both loose, always as it only takes an instant to end a life.

[Timbersmom]

Vstar's point about the prey drive is very important. I have 4 house cats. However, they are neutered cats who have never been outdoors, always in. They are fat and lazy to be honest They show more curiousity about Timber than anything. He torments them at every opportunity (hanging low on his cage to grab at their tails as they pass by etc.) but he has never hurt them by biting hard. It's more like he is trying to get a reaction out of them. He also waits until they are all in the room with him then lets loose with his loudest noise (sounds a bit like a jackhammer) and watches them startle and run from the room. That said, I would never leave them all out together without me supervising. As greywings said, a fatal accident can happen in seconds.

[BaileysPapa]

As several have already said, SUPERVISION is the key. However, know that in my almost 50 years of bird rescue, I have seen many birds maimed & killed by dogs who were their best friends. I took in a Cockatoo who had been raised with a small dog for over 10 years. They were best friends, the pet parents had movies (before videos) of them playing & eating together. One day something happened and I wound up with a Cockatoo with one wing and one leg. Plus, severe emotional trauma. It is often a compatible mix until "something" triggers that prey drive. No bird has ever come out well in that kind of situation. I worked for the SPCA, and had opportunities to foster, adopt and take in, all kinds of dogs, cats, ferrets, etc. But once I knew I was dedicating my life to birds, I never took in any carnivores. As I said, no bird will ever, nor ever has, won that kind of situation.

[Greytness]

Two of my German Shepherds have strong prey drives as well. Over time they've acclimated themselves to their presence so that now I don't have to worry about having them in the same room while my fids are out. As a general rule, my birds are kept separate from my dogs 95% of the time. It's my insurance policy in order to maintain their safety at all times.

 

If my dogs were to briefly enter the bird room they couldn't be bothered by their presence. I think they've grown used to them from having walked past their cages. But when they first came home, my dogs were hyper-focused on them, and they would try to nip at their clinging talons whenever possible.

[neoow]

Alfie grew up with a dog and a cat was added later on. Our dog (Ben) was a german shepherd and he was a big softie. However, I never trusted them both enough to let Alfie out when Ben was in the house, I always put the dog outside first. The same rule applied when we got Buster the cat (especially as the cat was forever bringing home dead animals). However Ben was always watchful of Alfie and if he did anything like fall off a perch or just clatter around his cage, Ben would go running over to make sure he was ok. Alfie would climb down the cage to check Ben out too- he'd even slowly stick his beak up Ben's nostril (ew!). Neither of them minded.

Buster the cat was very indifferent about Alfie (thankfully) and never bothered him. Alfie would climb down to try and pluck Buster's tail if he left it leaning against his cage but that was it. However, I still never trusted Alfie to be out of his cage in the same room as Ben or Buster- just in case something awful happened and I wasn't able to prevent it. If Alfie rubbed either one of them up the wrong way, I knew he was done for. (e.g if he bit one of them or irritated them enough).

Alfie did get out of his cage once when nobody was home except for Ben. I don't think I closed the food bowl hatch properly and Alfie climbed out. Thankfully, nothing awful happened. They were home alone in the house together for an hour or two. My sister came home from work, saw that Alfie was out and called me. I had to come home from work to put Alfie back in his cage because my sister was too scared (having been bitten previously) to try it. Thankfully neither Ben nor Alfie had come to any harm. However, after that, Ben was always a bit wary when I opened the cage door/food doors. So I'm not sure if he got spooked by Alfie flying around or if Alfie had tried to land on him.

 

The same rules apply now- I have two indoor only cats. They are bengals so are super high energy cats and love to play with toys that they can consider to be 'prey' (e.g a toy on a wand and string). I definitely would never trust either of them with Alfie out of his cage. They know to keep their paws to themselves whilst he's in the cage but I don't know if they could resist if he was out of it when they were in the room. Alfie for the most part is pretty indifferent about them, but I know he could do a lot of damage to them if he wanted to... and they could easily kill him. In fact one of my cats is very agile and can jump very high, so I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to pluck Alfie out of the air.

When Alfie comes out to play, they get shut out of the room.

 

I agree with others and do think the animals involved will make a big difference to whether or not they'll get on. I have seen videos similar to the ones posted earlier with parrots getting on just fine with dogs and/or cats.

Edited March 5, 2015 by neoow

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

I agree with all the posts! Important to always monitor dogs, cats and birds! No matter how much they love each other! Usually Ollie my dog sleeps with me, and I will be honest, there have been times he has chosen to not sleep with me and as Sophie has an open cage and can fly upstairs,I sometimes find them both scratching at my door to let them in.I do need to be more diligent in keeping them separated! Ollie can't get in the birdroom...but Sophie can fly upstairs and Ollie can meet her there. Nancy

[Brat Birds]

I lost a Tiel to a sheltie that I never thought would hurt anyone. Any dog or cat can injury or kill your bird in an instant. Also, their saliva is deadly to a bird. Any breaking of the skin can be deadly. That said, if you can keep your dogs away from the bird when he is out, you should be OK. The two Jack Russells would worry me. Aren't they, like terriers, very prey oriented?

[aerial.2000]

I have a pure bred lab who couldnt be bothered by Marco and a very exciteable boxer/pitbull mix pup who I dont trust for NOTHING! He has nipped towards the air when they get spooked and take flight so he is never ever trusted alone with them. When we are in the same room he doesnt seem concerned, but Im certainly not willing to take the chance. Besides, if my lab is on the couch and Marco decides she wants the couch she will nip and bite at him until he leaves and shes victorious.

 

Be very careful for sure.

[Acappella]

I would worry most about the Jack Russels. They have such a strong prey drive I don't think it could be trained out of them and, as others have said, it only takes seconds for a tragedy to occur.