African Gray and newly acquired dog - suggestions for getting aquatinted

[kikidel]

Greetings, new to the forum and looking for information and suggestions to get my 20 yr. old gray to get acquainted with our newly acquired 4 year old Samoyed.

We have had 2 “Sammy’s” that had no issues with be around the bird as we raised them from puppies. Our dog which was raised from a puppy allows our gray to walk right up to her and kiss on the nose, however, our new dog is very loud and “aggressively-curious”.

We certainly will not leave the new dog alone in the same room as the bird.

Typically this breed of dog is very sweet & loving and not know to be a “hunter”.

Look forward to any suggestions that the forum members have to help us with our dilemma.

 

[Laurasea]

I have four dogs. They are trained and it's reinforced all the time. They must give five feet if space to the parrots, they can't look at the parrots. They can't go near the bird cages. In dog speak the parrots are mine, I'm top dog.

I had one Spitz mix that caught and ate a baby Robin on a walk. That was before I got my parrot. When I brought home my bird, my dog went nuts , drooling and staring at the cage and wanted to eat my bird. It took six months of work to stop this, she was a very dominant dog I inherited. I stood in front of the cage and made her back off, I taught her leave it. I could put a steak on the floor and she wouldn't touch it. But I kept the bird and cage in a closed bedroom when ever I left the house. After I had her trained, I went to get the bird out. He has just taken a bath and I didn't realize that, he spooked tried to flutter, and landed on the side of my dogs face!! I told her leave it and she froze, and I rescued my bird . So it can be trained.

But you have to train both dog and parrot to stay away from eachother. I have different dogs and parrots now. My birds are flighted, if they ever land near a dog, the dog immediately leaves. And still I never trust them completely

 

[charmedbyekkie]

Even if you don't leave them alone in the same room, are you as fast as your dog if he suddenly lunges? I've seen too many pictures of horror stories - dog and bird live happily together for years, even a decade plus, then suddenly "freak accident".

Many parrot groups ban pictures of birds and predators together for that very reason. Many parrot owners keep their animals completely separate with separate rooms and separate play times. We've even seen rats attack birds despite being caged.

There's another thread ongoing about risk-taking. Ultimately it's up to you if you are ok with that risk and feel comfortable with how you'll manage it.

My partner and I would love a dog and a cat. I grew up with dogs, and he with cats. We actually were planning on adopting before our parrot came into our life. And Cairo ultimately put a hold on that until he passes away. Cairo came first, so he's our first priority. And my partner knows I'd be devastated if anything happened to Cairo (he jokes I'd leave him if he caused any harm to Cairo, even if accidentally). I know I'd certainly struggle to forgive a creature that hurt Cairo, even if due to instinct or accident.