The Dog I Was Thinking of Giving Back

[drlisaort]

I'm so sorry for your loss. And for those of us who have beloved dogs our hearts melt for you...it's even more sad because your dog only did what was "natural" ...not your fault...not his...and certainly not Owls. Thank you for posting such a difficult message--one we all will learn from.

 

[getwozzy]

Ohmygoodness I'm so sorry about Owl


IMHO I also think you should work on training Rio. If you and everyone else in your household puts forth an active effort to train rio, it will be sooo worth it in the end. As with our birds, we need to set them up for success. Rio can be a successful part of your family- you just need to teach her how.

We have 3 large dogs- 2 huskies and a German Shepard. My huskies are crate trained- there is nothing wrong with putting a dog in a crate. They sleep in their crates at night with the doors open- they voluntarily go in them...or if I tell them to, and they do it without questioning me. It's a safe place for them. Last night I woke up at 2:45 am to them howling (probably gunshots or thunder), I put them in their crates and locked the doors and went back to bed...the howling stopped and everyone got some sleep. They also know "leave it" because otherwise we would've lost a couple cats.

 

[SoCalWendy]

Crimson, yes I completely agree. All breeds were bread to do something. Dachshunds were bagger dogs , they would send then down in to the holes to seek and destroy them. Yorkshire terriers were bred to kill rats. In both breeds they have basically the same drive. It's always good to know what your dog was bred for to get a better understanding of what drives a certain behavior, like seeking to kill a bird. I forget what Jack Russell's were bred for. But in all cases establishing you as the pack leader is a very important step in dog ownership.

 

[SoCalWendy]

It's a yorkie! I doubt she'll be herding, hunting, and such. Crate them is only for brief period while the birds are out and about. Like us, we spend majority of our time with the dogs and while they're crate or outside is when I have my smaller birds out. The kitties goes into the bed room with the door shut. Then when the dogs are out and about is when I have the macaws out. So I have everyone scheduled to do certain things. I love my dogs and not about to give them up just because they kill but I also will prevent stuffs like that from happening to have a happy household.

Plus she sounds pretty good to me walking her dog trying to potty train her and all. To me she sound like a good parent!

Sorry didn't realize it was a Yorkie, so herding is out then, geez!! I was generalizing. Terriers are the worst around birds in my opinion (excellent hunters)and the size doesn't matter.
Yes she is a good owner, I didn't imply she wasn't. I have 2 dogs, albeit no hunters, and it works for us.

The fact that it works for my household and yours Mikey, doesn't mean that it works for everyone. Feather alone has to make that decision.

Terriers or 'terrors' as I like to call them aren't that bad if you understand what drives them. My breed the Doberman are terriers, bred and trained properly they make very good companions. The problem is most people do not understand what their particular breed was bred to do. When looking at a Yorkie, you wouldn't immediately think "rat hunter" you think small, cute and cuddly.

When I was a kid I had a dachshund. One day my cat had kittens. She loved cats, but because she was bred to hunt vermin, she snuck in a killed every one of those kittens and proceeded to line them up in a row. It was creepy. I never looked at her the same after that. Now, I understand why she did it. Her drive to hunt kicked in.

 

[SoCalWendy]

If anyone would like to look up to see what their dogs were bred to do you can go here: AKC Breeds - Complete Breed List

Have a wonderful day

 

[EclecticSoul]

All your dog needs is some training and consistency. It always amazes me how quickly people give up on their dogs. dogs arent born known what we expect of them. You have to teach them. I dont mean to come across as rude, but being a dog trainer I see this all the time. It saddens me. Take the dog to a training class, learn how to properly communicate with her. Find a trainer that uses positive reinforcement training. None of the old school choke chain correction based training. Dogs that actually want to please you and do what you ask because its fun and they get rewards( positive reinforcement) are much more reliable then dogs that do what you want out of fear(correction training) in my experiences. I hope you take the time to make it work for her, but if you feel you cant commit to training her, then another home is your best bet.

 

[daniell]

Decades ago we took our Golden Retriever to Italy. I was jogging with him in the country. Many people there raise chickens. Suddenly my dog grabbed a chicken. In a minute it was dead. Since all our previous encounters with chickens were wrapped in plastic, I had no idea that he would do this. I was terrified. Many people there have guns. I found the owner. I had money in my hand, I told her how sorry I was, and I wanted to pay for it. She said, don't worry about it, we will eat it now.