CAG vs. Chihuahua

[Taprock]

This morning Buzz was out of his cage hanging out on the floor in the front room. My son had just walked into the kitchen when we heard squealing from the front room - that fast. We ran in to find Thor the Chihuahua limping on three legs holding his back leg up. We believe Thor walked past the chair and Buzz ran out and bit him. Buzz has acted like this before but usually the dogs are aware of what he's doing and avoid him. Thor was ok after a few minutes with no visible injury. Buzz was told he was bad bird and put in his cage.

I'm not sure if we Handled it ok. Should we have done something different?

 

[Allee]

I'm glad Buzz and Thor are both all right.

I really can't give advice on the correct way to handle a situation like that, my dogs are never allowed in the rooms when my birds are out of their cages. I may be more paranoid than most but tragic accidents happen in just a few seconds and the damage can never be undone. All three of my dogs are extremely well trained and I still never take that chance.

 

[Taprock]

Allee - is your concern for dogs or birds or both? We have trusted the dogs with Buzz because they have been around larger birds before and they respect him and stay away. We do not trust them with Ziggy who is smaller and they just want to sniff. The dogs know both birds are happy to bite if they get in their face, so they usually give them space.

 

[Allee]

My concern is definitely for both. I didn't mean any disrespect at all, I also live with dogs and birds, I know numerous families do so successfully, I just can't do it. I have a five pound Yorkie and a cockatoo so I do understand and empathize with what happened. I only meant my solution is to never let my dogs in the same room when my birds are out.

 

[Birdman666]

Sounds like a CAG game.

Tusk has been known to hide under cages, pop his head out, and "ambush" feet... he just pinches, but there are times when it friggin' hurts.

I know for my bird this is a game...

He even says "Oh you stinker!" when he pops his head out and goes for your feet...

SO, YEAH... THIS IS A FORM OF "EVIL" PLAY.

 

[Anansi]

I'm glad Buzz and Thor are both all right.

I really can't give advice on the correct way to handle a situation like that, my dogs are never allowed in the rooms when my birds are out of their cages. I may be more paranoid than most but tragic accidents happen in just a few seconds and the damage can never be undone. All three of my dogs are extremely well trained and I still never take that chance.

I too just want to say how happy I am that both Buzz and Thor (love that name! Hahaha) are okay.

That said, I agree with Allee's take on this. Whenever birds are able to interact safely with dogs or cats, what is happening is the suppression of their natural instincts and inclinations. (Whether via training or due to fear.) Suppression, mind you, not elimination. The hardwiring is still there.

Basically, it's a situation wherein the predator species is continually fighting its nature. And every moment of "positive" interaction is a victory. But in such a scenario, a split second stimulus can conceivably trigger a lethal response in a dog or cat who has been "bird friendly" for years. This has happened. All it takes is for instinct to kick in before training can curb the response.

The stimulus can be a painful nip by a parrot, or sudden flight triggering the chase instinct. I'm not saying your dog's aren't well trained. I'm sure they are. I'm only saying that you truly never know.

And as illustrated by Buzz and Thor, the danger isn't one way. A CAG can cause serious injury with that beak as well.

So personally, I'd look to separate them for their mutual safety. Especially in light of an incident having already occurred.

 

[Birdman666]

I'm glad Buzz and Thor are both all right.

I really can't give advice on the correct way to handle a situation like that, my dogs are never allowed in the rooms when my birds are out of their cages. I may be more paranoid than most but tragic accidents happen in just a few seconds and the damage can never be undone. All three of my dogs are extremely well trained and I still never take that chance.

I too just want to say how happy I am that both Buzz and Thor (love that name! Hahaha) are okay.

That said, I agree with Allee's take on this. Whenever birds are able to interact safely with dogs or cats, what is happening is the suppression of their natural instincts and inclinations. (Whether via training or due to fear.) Suppression, mind you, not elimination. The hardwiring is still there.

Basically, it's a situation wherein the predator species is continually fighting its nature. And every moment of "positive" interaction is a victory. But in such a scenario, a split second stimulus can conceivably trigger a lethal response in a dog or cat who has been "bird friendly" for years. This has happened. All it takes is for instinct to kick in before training can curb the response.

The stimulus can be a painful nip by a parrot, or sudden flight triggering the chase instinct. I'm not saying your dog's aren't well trained. I'm sure they are. I'm only saying that you truly never know.

And as illustrated by Buzz and Thor, the danger isn't one way. A CAG can cause serious injury with that beak as well.

So personally, I'd look to separate them for their mutual safety. Especially in light of an incident having already occurred.

Yeah.

My sister's cats NEVER ONCE went after Tusk.

Tusk, however, went after them mercilessly...

My friend's greenwing, Lucy, thought cats were a sport, and watching them do laps around the room half way up the wall was funny...

The cat wasn't quite as amused with this little game.

I also think THOR is the perfect name for one of those little dogs...

 

[Taprock]

Thanks. I should clarify that Buzz is out only when supervised and the dogs aren't wrestling. We learned that if Buzz sees wrestling he tries to get involved. He flew into the middle of a dog wrestling match one day. I was terrified but it was hilarious how both dogs realized he was there and ran. They wanted nothing to do with him and he was happy he broke everything up. So we learned from that. We have allowed no interaction between the parrots and dogs. I worry more about Thor than Titus. Titus was raised with birds, Thor we adopted at 7 months.

Buzz does play the grab game. He tries to get my husband repeatedly until he is shown "Mr. Towel" and told to knock it off. I guess I was concerned that this wasn't an accidental thing but Buzz going after the dog. He has been threatening to go after my feet when I've gone past but usually warning him is enough.

In my experience birds and dogs...the birds always lose, so this was a new concept, that I had to worry about the dog.

 

[Birdman666]

I actually allow Tusk to play that game with me, as long as he remembers the "that's too hard!" command.

He will actually set up "ambushes" for me at times and pounce...

Sarah does something similar with Maggie... (the "Death From Above" game.)

I just try and turn it into play.

 

[RavensGryf]

I'm glad that both Buzz and Thor are okay . I know that you, birdman Mark, and other experienced members "get it", but I just want to say this to remind the general audience...

I read many times how dogs or cats are afraid of birds and that 'big menacing beak' they have. Sure a large bird (or a smaller one for that matter) can inflict a fairly deep flesh wound on a mammal no doubt. BUT, so much emphasis seems to be placed on this fact, that it might make it easy to forget that even the largest birds are "small" or at best the same size in comparison to a dog or cat. If that dog or cat is bitten, not all will run away... if the mammal's instincts kick in at that moment and retaliate against a bird bite, guess who will lose IF a dog or cat truly decides to take the bird down? It won't be the mammal who loses... Even small dogs have sharp teeth and strong jaws to puncture and crush. Then there's also the issue of the natural bacteria found in mammal mouths and cat scratches that can cause a bad infection or be deadly to birds.