HELP!! My bird is terrorizing our puppy!

Okay, I know everyone's immediate reaction is it's jealousy, but it's not as simple as that. Please allow me to share some history:

When I got Beaubeau (he's a Nanday) as a baby, he was so sweet, not just to me but to almost everyone. He gradually became more attached to me and not as friendly with others, but not really mean. Then, a little before he turned 5, he became very attached to my dog Sassy, (spending most of his time with her, grooming her, etc., like he would do with a mate) and started being aggressive toward our other 2 dogs, and toward us (like attacking our feet when we walked by Sassy). One of them passed away shortly after this started. He recently stopped being aggressive to my husband's dog, Luna, after she finally got a hold of him. (Fortunately, my husband was right there and saved him.)

Well, we got a puppy (Bear) about 4 months ago, and for the first few months, Beaubeau didn't bother him. Then about a month ago, Beaubeau started attacking Bear on pretty much a daily basis, I mean really going after him, and now that I think about it, it seems like it started about the time he stopped going after Luna. I know that birds can become agressive if they mate, and I am assuming that is the reason for his aggression since it started after he became attached to Sassy.

So, at first I would just scold him and tell him "no biting", but now I am putting him in his cage for a time-out when he attacks Bear (provided I can catch him), and I tell him sternly, "bad, no biting" and pull the cover down over his cage for about 10-15 minutes. Is this the best thing I can do? If it is hormone related, is there any hope of changing his behavior? I am at my wit's end! If he doesn't stop this, I am going to have to re-home him and the thought of it is breaking my heart. I'm so afraid he wouldn't be happy. Plus, Sassy is 15 and although she doesn't appear to have any health problems, I can't imagine she is going to live much longer, but it's not fair to our poor puppy to make him live with this.

Does anyone have any advice to offer? Thank you!

A time out is usually the best way to deal with biting but must be done immediatly after the bite, liike bite whoosh cage, or the bird will not assocciate it with the bite . Letting your parrot in such close proximity to your dogs is just asking for truble and as you have seen, the bird will loose ( maybe die) if things get serious.

Difficult one... the only way to stop a behaviour is being 100% consistent.
So if you only catch your bird in the act every other time, of maybe only one out of five attempts ... earning cage-time is not going to make a big impression.

Can you watch that little naughty birdy like a hawk and make every attempt and therefore every time-out count?
Then do so!
If not... I do not think you can teach the bird to stop it that way.

It is no fun to have to cage birds (or other animals for that matter) but I think you can give both those animals the run of the house... but not at the same time!
One of these days the pup will have had enough and bite ...

So it's like those people who have birds and cats: they all can come out to play with their humans, but never at the same time.

I would honestly consider a wing clip for this bird terrorizing your puppy. If you're having trouble catching him, he's attacking your dog, he needs to be clipped so he can't fly (at least as well).

You may find a huge attitude adjustment after a clip. That way it gives you back more control of where he is (he will have to rely on you more for getting places) and won't be able to attack the dog from height. It just seems like the safest option for everyone involved. That way he doesn't get shut in his cage, and he'll learn very quickly what happens when he terrorizes the dog.

It's not fair for your dog to be attacked for doing nothing.... please be diligent about this!

Is it just me? Syd - GCC - moved in when my dog was alive. He was trained to within an inch of his life and I trusted him and his obedience 100% but I would not have put him and Syd loose in the same space for worlds. It would only take a split second and the bird would come off worse.

Since he died last year my daughter has taken on a Labrador puppy now just 6 months old. I have him 3 days a week while she works and this dog I can't yet trust obviously. There is no way again that I would have both of them in the same place. Either Syd is caged or the puppy. It's just not worth the risk quite apart from the disease contamination risk. Puppy's nose goes in all sorts of places that I don't fancy.

Remember, 1. cage = good, safe, food, toys
2. covered cage = good, sleep safe
I have found that rather than depending on a YouTube video, you might be trying the wrong p approach. It seems you are doing one of the following things:
1. Rewarding aggressive behavior,
2. Teaching that dark is bad,
3. Fighting his natural instincts.

3. Conures choose a single mate and Beaubeau has chosen Sassy and is doing what nature tells him... Protect your chosen mate at all costs.

Possibly, you're trying to affect the behavior of the wrong pet.

itzjbean said:

I would honestly consider a wing clip for this bird terrorizing your puppy. If you're having trouble catching him, he's attacking your dog, he needs to be clipped so he can't fly (at least as well).

You may find a huge attitude adjustment after a clip. That way it gives you back more control of where he is (he will have to rely on you more for getting places) and won't be able to attack the dog from height. It just seems like the safest option for everyone involved. That way he doesn't get shut in his cage, and he'll learn very quickly what happens when he terrorizes the dog.

It's not fair for your dog to be attacked for doing nothing.... please be diligent about this!

Click to expand...

I am seriously considering clipping his wings, because when he attacks Bear he flies at him. His ability to fly is actually not what makes it so hard to catch him. He spends most of his time on the floor with Sassy, and he can move FAST! I have gotten better at catching him, even if it means getting bitten myself because I know I need to be consistent with putting him in time out.


I do watch him constantly and usually can stop him before he can attack Bear. Most of the time he is fine, minds his own business.

wrench13 said:

A time out is usually the best way to deal with biting but must be done immediatly after the bite, liike bite whoosh cage, or the bird will not assocciate it with the bite . Letting your parrot in such close proximity to your dogs is just asking for truble and as you have seen, the bird will loose ( maybe die) if things get serious.

Click to expand...

I had no trouble with him being around my dogs for 5 years. It was when he hit puberty that the trouble started. Unfortunately we live in Florida and it is too hot to leave the dogs outside for very long, so that means Beaubeau would hardly ever get out of his cage, and he has never really liked being caged.

LeslieA said:

Remember, 1. cage = good, safe, food, toys
2. covered cage = good, sleep safe


I have found that rather than depending on a YouTube video, you might be trying the wrong p approach. It seems you are doing one of the following things:
1. Rewarding aggressive behavior,
2. Teaching that dark is bad,
3. Fighting his natural instincts.

3. Conures choose a single mate and Beaubeau has chosen Sassy and is doing what nature tells him... Protect your chosen mate at all costs.

Possibly, you're trying to affect the behavior of the wrong pet.

Click to expand...

I know his cage is supposed to be a "good" place, but he has NEVER liked being in his cage. I have tried all kinds of toys; there are not many he likes. He would rather play under Sassy's blanket. He is not a normal bird.

I haven't been watching You Tube videos - I don't know why you made that assumption.

You hit the nail on the head - that there is really nothing I can do because he is acting on instinct and I am just unfortunate to have a bird that became aggressive after attaching to a mate. I never thought Sassy would live this long - I had hoped the problem would work itself out naturally by now. And he was actually fine with the puppies at first when I was helping my daughter in law out by puppy sitting half the litter every night. We would not have kept one if Beaubeau had shown aggression from the beginning.

Is there any way to teach him that Bear is not a threat to Sassy?

Would time-out be more effective if I used a separate cage for it? I have his old one that is slightly smaller. And should I put it in the spare room? I have read that isolating parrots as a form of discipline is not good.


So, if consistenly putting Beaubeau in time out doesn't work, I will try clipping his wings. However his wings haven't been clipped since he was a baby. Has anyone experienced worse behavior after clipping due to anger?

jodiann said:

Would time-out be more effective if I used a separate cage for it? I have his old one that is slightly smaller. And should I put it in the spare room? I have read that isolating parrots as a form of discipline is not good.


So, if consistenly putting Beaubeau in time out doesn't work, I will try clipping his wings. However his wings haven't been clipped since he was a baby. Has anyone experienced worse behavior after clipping due to anger?

Click to expand...

Yes, a separate time out cage could work. Especially if he doesn't like being caged, after getting put in time out again and again for going after the dog he will learn to associate it with something he doesn't want to do so is much less likely to do it. We've had members here with some good time-out cage success!

If you have to resort to a wing clip, he may be angry but should adjust.

Again, I say this is instinctual behavior. Conures do not mate for life. In other words, he is being punished for being a bird for this season. I have long had many conures and as I see it, your only real option is to convince him you are a better choice of mate after the current breeding season (which isn't the same as other birds) by attending to him in a bird-flirty way. Preen him, eat with him, praise him, whistle at him, give him special treats.

Some would argue against any training. I am not a proponent of that. I do think, however, that this season is a lost cause. Only minimal training will be successful. It actually will be easier to train Bear especially with the expected death of Sassy.

You imply that Sassy is old. She easily tolerates this behavior from Beaubeau because of her age. I had an 18yo Pineapple that tolerated attention from JoJo, budgie. When she died, I even moved his cage. After several months, I bought Tommy for him. This story shows not only elderly tolerance but reminds us that birds need grieving time, too, especially if Beaubeau still views Sassy as his mate.

Do you have an extra room for Beaubeau's future time-outs? Conures are headstrong! Rather than a place of safety (toys or not, that is his home ), banish him to alone time that room. Cover any windows and mirrors because they allow access to "friends."

Please know that each bird is different and an individual much like people. Species assignments equate to our saying, "All Asians are smart."

Quite honestly, forgetting the older dog that your bird is closely-bonded with, I think that the most responsible and safest thing that you can do in this particular situation is to totally separate your bird from your other dogs. It really makes no difference at all how your bird "used to" act around your dogs, the fact of the matter is that for whatever reason, whether it be hormones, jealousy, etc., doesn't matter, he now cannot safely be around your other dogs. And I'm not simply talking about your other dogs being attacked by the bird, that's one issue, but a much larger issue is your bird's safety! You stated that he already had one of the dogs get a hold of him in it's mouth, and had that dog clenched-down he'd already be dead. It only takes one little nip by a very small dog on a Nanday's head, chest, or back to kill him, or permanently paralyze him, bite off a leg, take an eye, crush his skull, face, jaw, etc. And even if you or others are with the bird and the other dogs, there's no way you can prevent the split-second it takes for one of the dogs to kill or permanently injure your bird. And it works both ways too, it only takes a split-second for one of your dogs to lose an eye.

I mean, you can keep doing "time-outs" in the cage, positive-reinforcement, etc., but the fact remains that you have a very serious and unsafe situation in your home, and regardless of what the bird's interaction with the other dogs "used to be", there is no way to guarantee that it will ever go back to that, and as it stands it's just not safe to have the bird out in the same room with the other dogs.

***And clipping your bird may very well stop the dogs from potential serious injury, yes, but you may be ensuring the accidental and quick death or serious injury of your bird by doing this..If he cannot quickly get away from one of the dogs by flying-off, and is forced to simply walk/run away, he's surely dead if one of the dogs gets it in their head that they want to hurt him. All dogs are natural, instinctive predator animals, and all birds prey to them...and if you clip your bird and allow him to be free in the same room as your puppy/other dogs, this could quickly result in tragedy...especially once your other dogs realize that he can't get away from them.

***I have 4 parrots and dogs, a Shar Pei and an Australian Cattle Dog. And they basically all ignore each other. However, if this situation were to ever arise in my house, I would automatically just make it so that the new rule is that when the dogs are in the room, the birds are either in their cages or not in the same room, and vice versa. Period. I certainly don't trust myself to be able to protect the birds from the dogs, I'm not that quick or agile, and I don't kid myself that I am. It's our job to protect both our bird and our dogs, and when you can't, then you have to separate them. It's just that simple. I wouldn't separate the bird from the older dog that he is closely-bonded to, maybe make a schedule or a routine where when the other dogs are out in the main room or a room with people, then the bird and the older dog are out in another room, etc. But as far as continually risking the bird out in the same room with the other dog/dogs, I don't think it's a situation that can wait for "time-outs" and such to work...

Sorry, I missed that. So never mind.

Parrots isolated for long periods can and does cause emotional problems. For short periods occasionally, no. Having gotten neglected birds, I can tell you they are the hardest to gain trust from! Glenn, IRN, is my most troubled bird for just that reason. It has been over three years now. But I whine.

There is a big difference between time-out isolation and long-term isolation. Again, I stress that punishing this behavior is too late and Beaubeau has made his choice!

Beaubeau must choose an alien creature as a mate no matter what, so he might as well choose a dog. HAHA Birds have been known to choose inanimate objects as well! So be prepared. You have alot of competition! HAHA

It is so hard to say what is going on here, but the biggest "wild-card" is the fact that you can't control the puppy and his/her reaction. If it were happening to you personally, then your reaction could make or break the behavior (depending on the purpose behind the behavior)....If the dog makes funny noises and runs around (even in terror), the bird may be getting a kick out of this...if you rush into the room when you hear the chaos, the bird could be enjoying that....it could be jealousy....BUT...I am going to say it likely boils down to attention in some form or another (whether that be from you or the dog)--and I would say jealousy falls within the same realm.

For now, I would re-establish control by making sure any dog-to-bird interaction is very structured (as this is for the safety of all of your pets, and it will stop your bird's behavioral momentum if there is no opportunity to display this behavior)...Do not allow the dog to do what it has been doing (As the parrot is getting reinforced by something in the scenario). If you want to bird and the dog to get along, you may need to dig deeper to discern the root of the behavior. Then, interaction will have to be very structured until you work it out.


Do an ABC chart----antecedent= what happens directly before (what is everyone doing, including you and the dog), Behavior=What exactly does the bird do; and Consequence (not punishment)= what do you, the other dog and the puppy do IMMEDIATELY after this happens.


Most behavior is seeking to meet 1/4 functions-
attention
escape
tangible items
sensory needs



The ABC chart will help you isolate what the bird is after. Remember, yelling, eye-contact, laughing, any contact etc are all forms of attention, and barking etc could easily fall into that mix as well....