Dogs protective behaviour over birds

[lisascannell]

Hello, not sure if I am posting in the right section or whether I should be asking this in a dog forum LOL...but, I have a baby cockatiel that I am handrearing. Now I have three chihuahuas. One of the chihuahua's has taken a real interest in the baby bird. All of the dogs are extremely gently and heavily supervised when around the bird. However, the dog that has taken an interest in the bird is showing extreme protective behaviour over it. The baby bird will cry for food to him and if any of the other dogs come near he snaps and growls at the other dogs quite aggresively. Not sure if any others have experienced this behaviour. Does the dog see the baby bird as his "toy" or does he think it's my human baby and is protecting it? I want all my dogs to be able to bond with the bird eventually.

 

[jakrob4]

When I was young a family friend who lived with us for a few years had a dog that was in love with my budgie. Once older the budgie roamed free in the house and the dog never harmed it just sat staring for hours but he certainly didn't let our family dog near it.
The day the budgie passed away from flying into a bucket of water this dog even alerted my grandmother in her bedroom, unfortunately it was too late by the time she realised where the dog was trying to get her to go
After my grandmother emptied the bucket she placed it on the floor then watched this same dog pick up the bucket, walk off, then throw the empty bucket off the balcony.
Everyone was upset but this dog was so quite and sad for weeks afterwards, was so obvious he was devastated.
I certainly hope he wasn't just planning to eat it.
Sorry I can't give advice on your problem.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

i have one of my three chihuahuas who seems to think she is Gilbert's mother. She ADORES him and he loves her too. She had 10 puppies before i had her spayed, so she seems to be a very good nurturer. Before Gilbert could fly, if he leapt off his cage and landed on the floor when i wasn't in the room, Kisses would run over and guard him and bark. She clearly maintained a protective stance over him and wouldn't let the other dogs near him. I was always thankful for that. The only issue i have from their extreme bonding is that they want to be together so much and she will try to lick him all the time. I try to stop it but occasionally she sneaks in a lick which is not something you want to allow.
I am grateful for Kisses watching over Gilbert overall.

 

[Acindo]

To me it doesn't sound like your protective dog considers it a toy. More like it's own baby or yours that it feels it needs to protect. Supervision is always recommended obviously as playfulness from a much larger animal (hahah Chihuahua much larger? ) can always be dangerous.

Hopefully when the bird is a little older and bolder the other 2 will be able to build a relationship to. I wish I could offer you more advice but its not something I have any experience with.

 

[lisascannell]

Thanks for your comments everyone. Jakro that is such a sad story
At the end of the day I'm grateful that my dogs love the bird, it would be much worse if they didn't like it. One thing I know for sure and that is I will never allow my cat anywhere near my bird.

 

[PetoftheDay]

As long as you dog allows *you* near the bird, things will be fine! It has decided this is part of its pack to take care of, so it is a good thing!

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

It's so sweet when these bigger creatures bond with the littler other creatures. For some reason, I seem to notice this come up from time to time in various emails I get about a kitten or puppy bonding with a duck, or vice versa.