Dive-bombing the dog

[SilverSage]

My dog is a sweetheart, and has never chased a bird. I shouldn't say that, he did it once. One time, when we brought the first ones home, he tried it and we put an end to it! He is very smart and KNOWS the birds belong to me, and not to him, and he respects them. He likes birds, he loves it when new ones come, and you should SEE the look he gives me when the budgie chicks are crying for food and he thinks I am not reacting fast enough! "Mom, they are babies, can't you hear them? They are going to STARVE! What kind of person ARE YOU??"

Anyway, the birds steer clear of him, he steers clear of them. I have worked very hard at our pack-flock-family dynamic. Well we recently brought home Scout, our new Turquoise IRN baby, who is fully flighted and quite the "velcro bird" who always wants to be in the middle of the action. A couple of times now, fearless Scout has tried to land on Ranger's back, and obedient Ranger has ducked and run off with a confused look as if to say "Bird? Don't you know the rules?? We cannot play together!" Today though, Scout went to land on Ranger's face. Feet out, beautifully hovering, preparing to claw at his eyes for a foothold, I swear that bird is afraid of nothing. Ranger is well trained, and again, evaded and looked confused, but I am wondering if any of you have had to train your birds to leave your dog alone, and if so, how? I trust Ranger to obey IF he has time to think about it, what I am afraid of is the possibility of a split second moment of surprise and a snap without thinking. I have never seen a bird so utterly unafraid of every single thing. I love it, but this part concerns me.

 

[Agapornis]

Awww, poor Ranger, he's TRYING to be a good boy! This would make me nervous! I don't ever allow my birds to come out when my son is visiting with his dog. But his dog isn't as well behaved as Ranger! I would also like to hear what others do in this type of situation. Btw, Scout sounds super cute! Can't wait to see pics!

 

[GW.Joe]

I am afraid of is the possibility of a split second moment of surprise and a snap without thinking

I think that says it all

So really the only answer is not to allow that "split second" to occur under ANY circumstance

Until the bird can be properly station trained you will have to control his access to where ever the dog is

 

[SilverSage]

Exactly, that is why I posted here asking if anyone knew how to train the bird not to do this, as the dog is already doing his part. Any advice?

 

[Allee]

So really the only answer is not to allow that "split second" to occur under ANY circumstance

Until the bird can be properly station trained you will have to control his access to where ever the dog is

Dani, I totally agree with Joe here. I have two reasonably well-trained dogs and a station trained bird. I never allow them out in the same area. In my humble opinion, that's asking both of them to defy nature. I'm 99% sure my untrained birds would be safe in the room with my dogs, that's not safe enough for me. I guess it's a matter of asking yourself, "Do you feel lucky", when it comes to endangering a pet's life, I personally, never feel that lucky.

My suggestion would be to station train you bird in a room free of predators and see how it goes. Maybe other members will come along with more helpful advice.

 

[thekarens]

My birds and dogs are out together when I'm in the room with them, but my birds are clipped and my dogs are trained. (I have Maltese, a Boston and a poodle.)

If I were in your situation I'd keep them separated.

 

[getwozzy]

I also suggest station training and keeping your dog separate while Scout is out just to be safe. You could also give him a light clip where he could still fly if need be, but just enough to keep him from flying everywhere all the time.

 

[Julianna]

I bring Pippi out with my dog for short, supervised times, usually timed for when my dog is either napping or at least in a calm mood. Pippi often wants to go over to "play" with my dog, but I just distract her with a toy or something else entertaining. My dog just steers clear if he can. By now he knows that small animals inside the house are not for chasing, and are therefore uninteresting or possibly frightening (yes, my black lab is afraid of a small bird ) Many people on this thread have recommended station training your bird but have not detailed how to actually do this. I would just reinforce the behavior of staying in one place with treats and praise, and if Scout flies away, just place him back where he's supposed to be staying. First give him a treat for staying for just 5 seconds, and then extend the period of time to 10 seconds, then a minute, etc. Eventually the time between reinforcers will be long enough for him to be considered "station trained." (Please note that my parrot is not station trained; this is just how I would do it if I were going to train her)

 

[RavensGryf]

I think many of us have situations where we have worries with dogs. There was a similar thread in which I posted my personal situation. It was pretty scary and quite a cause for concern. I did what I had to do. Though your dog Ranger is well behaved around birds (you're fortunate with that), some of us have to take more drastic measures!
http://www.parrotforums.com/cockatoos/45742-new-u2-she-s-causing-trouble-dog.html

Here's an article is about station training for you. I got it off another old thread, and the link was originally posted by MonicaMc. Good luck
Stationing | Lara Joseph

 

[SilverSage]

Thanks! I will read up on station training, honestly I had not heard about it until this thread. We have a large flock and a well trained dog (which is fortunate, but was not luck, it was unwavering dedication to discipline and consistency, as well as choosing a dog without a high prey drive according to breed) and we are all one flock-pack, so I will not be putting my dog away every time I want to interact with one of my birds, especially when he is being so obedient and is not the one causing the problem. That said however, I really appreciate the advice to do so, because I know that many times with many dogs, and many humans, that is the only option.

I also feel that clipping would make the problem worse, not better. In my own flock, I do not clip wings once the bird is tame, and try not to have to do it ever (except when the birds will be shipped, as I am afraid of the airlines messing up and freeing them). In this case I feel any clip to Scout's wings would simply make him less able to escape a situation, not less likely to get into one.

So it looks like the answer is station training! Thanks guys! Like I said I had not heard of that before. None of my other birds cause this problem, but it looks like Scout needs a bit of extra training. Thanks again!

 

[GW.Joe]

You could also give him a light clip where he could still fly if need be, but just enough to keep him from flying everywhere all the time.

Especially if Scout is targeting Ranger, it would put an instant stop to it and remove the bird from danger, without changing your pack-flock-family dynamic (which is hard on the family and not fair to the others)

Joe

 

[SilverSage]

Scout targets whatever is tall and in the region he wants to land, he does not seem to have any special interest in landing on Ranger. I am reading up on station training, that seems to be the best way to go right now - clipping is not an option.