New U2 & she's causing trouble with the dog

Hey all,

I took in a 15 year old U2 yesterday as a rescue. The family said they were to busy for her and they were moving and could not bring her. She is adjusting just fine as I put some new rope toys in her cage so she could destroy things if she was stressing from the move. Anyway the night went well and she was up bright and early. Now I have a sun conure but i have separated them into different rooms so she doesn't stress being around another bird. I keep noticing every time i walk into a different room the U2 will scream and scream but i want her to learn that screaming for attention when you leave will not be tolerated so i will not enter back into the room until a few minutes after she stops screaming. My concern right now is that my dog is very interested in her like he is jumping off the ground to get up top where she is sitting. I have started a reward training thing with him where i give him a cookie for ignoring her and not jumping on the cage which seems to be working pretty well but she has realized very quickly that he was giving her attention every time she would scream since he would go bolting into the room. Have any of you had this problem with your dogs or do you have any advice?

YIKES, that is one scary situation right there. :11:

I don't know what type of dog you have, but I highly recommend training the dog immediately, as the behavior could have deadly results for the U2. Additionally, the U2 could inflict SERIOUS injuries to your dog.

I have 2 dogs, too, and have never had a problem like this. Obedience training is the key.

That does seem like bad news.

My dogs were raised with birds, so they know better than to even look at them cross-eyed. My dogs are large so it was imperative they are well trained and behaved.

What does this dog do with the sun conure? What sort of dog? Can't you keep them separate?

I have an American eskimo. The weird part is when she comes to the bottom of the cage he smells close up but does not jump or pursue her the way i would expect with how he jumps when she is at the top. My only guess is that she is much more talkative then my conure and much louder so he gets excited I called an obedience company this morning because I would eventually like to be able to have her out without having to worry or having to put the dog in a separate room. I mean he doesn't even chase the birds that are in the back yard.

The only time he ever bothered with the conure is when she first came home and if she was receiving more attention then him. It took him a few days to get used to her so I'm hoping it is the same with the too but either way i am having a behaviorist come in to do some training with him.

Both of our U2's will scream just to get the dogs to howl....

It's some sort of game....one will scream, then the other....dogs howl...birds listen, then laugh (Mickey has an evil little laugh) and then scream again....wait till the dogs stop howling, then laugh/scream/howl...this could go on for hours I'm sure....but I redirect the birds or take them to another room to quiet them...this is the only way to get it to stop.

As far as the dog jumping at the cage, this should be stopped. Can you make a barrier of some sort? The dog will probably calm down once the bird becomes "old news" but bad things could happen in the meantime. Also in re-reading is the bird in the cage or on the cage?

Why don't you correct him for jumping at the bird?

She is in the cage, and the dog has been corrected many times in the past 24 hours, it seems like he is starting to calm down around her now, not jumping so much as standing or sitting in front of her cage and watching her.

I hear you loud and clear with this problem. A brief backstory: Don and I recently moved into my elderly father's house. Didn't want to do it at my age (depressing) but made sense for us at this time, and dad needs more of an eye kept on him lately. AND SO DOES HIS DOG!!

So, his 8 year old crazed, UNTRAINED, small animal killing machine (aka extra psycho Jack Russell Terrier) he affectionately refers to as "Patty" is an outdoor dog with an indoor penned in area with her bed, food, etc. To try to train the instinct out is not possible with a breed (and individual) in which hunting and killing instinct is so deeply and strongly wired into their brain. It's what they're made of.

I keep the parakeets in a safe part of the house, and the parrots in half of my (large) room. Well, since my dad is slow walking in and out of the backyard, occasionally it's hard for him to get in or outside without the dog slipping by. She is always shooed out of the house right away, but still it is far from ideal. I am about to construct a special 'screen door' made for the bedroom door. Ridiculous I know, but I don't have to tell you how seriously I take safety for my birds. This screen door made with the 'pet resistant' screen material should keep things safe when I don't want to constantly keep the door shut (unless I'm not home) and keep things with more air circulation.

I want to show how the screen on the window in the back of the room looked BEFORE we finished revamping the room and I changed the material to pet resistant screen.



The REASON the hole is so big (it was a smaller hole) is that the dog jumped through it. Yes, THROUGH IT. all I can say is thank God I was right there and the birds were locked inside their cages at the time. That dog was thrown out of there faster than you could believe. That's why NOW, the screen looks like THIS!! .... Pet resistant screen.



STILL, if I'm not home or even out of the room long enough to take a shower, the window gets closed, or most of the way. Though I don't think Patty will try to jump through a tight screen, I'd rather be overly cautious than under. The Honeywell HEPA air purifier in here is miraculous too. Keeps things fresh and air circulating when closed up. You do what you have to do...

My current dog was raised with birds and was easier to train than an adult dog, but as a child I had an adult dog (A Malamute with a very high prey-drive) who loved to try to get at the birds, and sadly, she did once. I lost my poor budgie, Emerald, to a mistake where the bird fluttered through the bedroom door and into the hall where the dog was. The result was heartbreaking.

Jewell, my Malamute, was never permitted in the room with loose birds, but her predatory nature was so strong (Maybe it could have been trained out, but I was 12 years old and didnt know how) that she used to try to get at the birds when they were in their cages, which was frightening because she could have knocked one over and let the bird out. Also at that time, I kept all my birds clipped so they would have been easy prey - I now try to keep them flighted.

With Jewell we put her on a long leash, and every time she approached the cage I would yell "NO! NO! NO! NO!" and reel her in until she was at least 6 feet from the cage. If she came back to me, I would praise her. If she simply stayed away from the cage, I ignored her. I worked on this for about a week, and she learned to stay away from the cages. She would often lie about 6 feet from the cage and stare at them, but she did not venture too close. This worked so well that when I moved into a much smaller bedroom where she couldn't BE 6 feet away while in the room, she refused to enter my room. Keep in mine that I was 12, I had no responsibilities except my pets, and they were my LIFE. My whole world revolved around my budgies and my dog at that point, so I was able to give her 100% consistency. I sat on my bed for days and worked on this concept with her, she never even had the chance to approach without me knowing. Some people may not like that I yelled at her, but again, I was 12, my training skills were not the honed. Also, I would rather yell at my dog than have her kill a bird. This experience is also why we trained our current dog that he may not interact with the birds at all.

Well some dogs just need to be trained or not allowed around other animals. This recently happened to me: I have a very, very large Blue Copper Marans Rooster who patrols around the yard. He's okay around me and around other people IF I am there to control him. Yes, you can train chickens.

Well a person came to get eggs and for some reason this person allowed her dog out of her car. That xxxx thing had no training what-so-ever. It immediately charged after the horses and the owner did not correct the dog what so ever. Well, the horse corrected the dog and sent if flying through the air. As soon as the hairy little canine landed, he shook it off, and charged after the rooster who had come to see who in xxxx was in his territory. Of course the little hairy dog went straight for Real Deal Steele who flared his hackle feathers, looked at me who said nothing, and he charged like a sumo wrestler. My massive rooster turned into an avian version of Bruce Lee and went all kung-fu on the dog. There was much yelping and crowing. Real Deal Steele lost a few feathers but the dog lost an eye.

Of course the customer started screaming at that point. All of a sudden everything was my fault. Her dog was only having fun.... blah, blah blah.

The moral of this story is to always have control of your dog. If you can't control the dog verbally, put the dog on a leash or keep it in the car (or in your case-out of the room).

And if you ever come to my place watch out for the rooster. He'll flog your eye out.

Please keep your dog safe and your bird safe.

Well the dog has calmed down after a few days and is much calmer now that i put a pen around my U2's cage. The pen doesn't allow him to get closer then 4' from the cage. I still put him in another room when she is out but i will continue to work on this until he has no interest in her at all. Thanks for all the responses.

Honestly, I wouldn't trust that dog alone around the birds, Ever. He's already told you that if he has half a chance he'll go for it. I can't even tell you what would happen if my dogs jumped on bird cages.

TessiB I board my horses and the BO's chihuahua decided that it would be great fun to bark at the horses and antagonize them while they were being fed. My 1200 lb. mare got annoyed and pawed at the little thing and killed her. The BO got mad and kicked my horses out. You can never blame animals for human error.. That poor little dog died because people were being stupid.
I would have told that woman "I guess the horses and the rooster were just having fun too. They were just playing"

I have an uncharacteristically rigid stance towards my birds and dogs: The parrots were here first and are the more vulnerable. Believe me, this lesson was learned the very hard way and I am unyielding.

All of my dogs are "rescues" and are always of breeds that have a safe potential. Mostly Great Danes, but occasional smaller. Dogs with a high prey drive are simply not coming home. For those of you willing to take the risk or obtained a bird into a home with a beloved but aggressive dog, eternal vigilance is essential. Never trust the most benevolent dog with a bird unsupervised.
FYI Danes have never shown a prey-interest nor are they jealous with birds on the shoulder or when being cuddled.

All of my free-flight birds reside in a large bedroom/aviary. A nice solution was to install an exterior-type storm door in addition to the traditional door. The upper half has a screen and an ingenious sliding window to completely isolate as needed. The screen is normally opened for cross ventilation and renders the room totally dog-proof when closed.

Scott said:

A nice solution was to install an exterior-type storm door in addition to the traditional door. The upper half has a screen and an ingenious sliding window to completely isolate as needed. The screen is normally opened for cross ventilation and renders the room totally dog-proof when closed.

Click to expand...

Can I bother you for a picture of this door Scott? Also how it attaches to the door frame? Thanks!

RavensGryf said:

Scott said:

A nice solution was to install an exterior-type storm door in addition to the traditional door. The upper half has a screen and an ingenious sliding window to completely isolate as needed. The screen is normally opened for cross ventilation and renders the room totally dog-proof when closed.

Click to expand...

Can I bother you for a picture of this door Scott? Also how it attaches to the door frame? Thanks!

Click to expand...

No problem at all! Out of town and will return late Tues night. Will take pics Wednesday and attempt to post them on the forum from my iPhone. Not tech savvy, so if that doesn't work will PM you for an email/phone contact to send. (know now to do that!)

Thanks Scott, you might not be able to PM me cause you don't yet have enough posts, but contact any moderator to give me the message! Thanks no rush I'm only trying to gather ideas.

RavensGryf said:

Thanks Scott, you might not be able to PM me cause you don't yet have enough posts, but contact any moderator to give me the message! Thanks no rush I'm only trying to gather ideas.

Click to expand...

Not enough posts to send a PM!

Returned home last night and took some pics of the door and installation today. IIRC it was purchased at Lowe's and installed by a handyman. The unit nicely installs via screws to a standard doorframe and does not interfere with the "stock" door. A cylindrical automatic closer mechanism is located at the top, and it can be "de-tuned" to take a few seconds to shut very gently for the safety of any escapees!

Device used was an iPhone that seems unable to support a direct upload to the forum, and I don't use external sites such as Photbucket or Flickr. Only method is via email or text. If agreeable, you can PM me with the contact info.

Take care, Scott

No problem Scott, thank you! I get the idea. Sounds a bit like a screen door on a front door of a house. I'm thinking now, that I might take some of that heavy pet proof screen and Velcro it to the door frame for when I need it, and take it down so it won't be in the way in the hallway when I don't need it up