Dogs and Birds.. TOGETHER?!

Hello Everyone!

Just want to hear your thoughts on dogs and birds co-habitating!

We have a 6yr old Hahn's Macaw we are fostering. (been with us a week)
We breed and show Australian Shepherds.
Our dogs are extremely well behaved and are very obedient.
My stud dog has ZERO interest in the bird.
ZERO.
My little female is curious.
She wants to sniff its butt, like she does to our chickens.
She doesn't offer to chase, bite, attack, jump on or even lick.
She knows "off" and will retreat and lie down several feet away.
(we use this training on sheep and ducks in herding)

Our little Hahn's watches them like a hawk, but doesn't mind their presence if he is immersed in preening my earlobe or the hairs in my pony tail.
However, I am more worried about the psychological effects this could have on the little bird.. Even though they seem to be getting along well enough, could this make him so stressed out he continues to pluck? Are there any truths in dogs and birds cohabitation peacefully?

it's prey vs predator........I wouldn't trust a cat for 2 seconds, I might trust a dog but....it's always a risk. I recommend separate play times....not for nothing some people understand their situation better than a message board, but I wouldn't risk it. A macaw is a big bird, and that might allay the attack response but, I dunno....I personally wouldn't risk it.

I have a large dog and two cockatiels. They are never left alone unsupervised EVER. I don't allow the birds on the floor/ground just because if our Doberman decides to walk by he could seriously crush them with one step. If I have to go somewhere, birds always go back in their cage, though the dog gets run of the house while I'm gone. He has no interest in the birds but will sniff them and their cage occasionally.

It can be done...with precautions. As far as your Hahn's feeling comfortable with the dogs around...it just depends. If he is not used to being around other animals that are not birds, I would not let them interact...all it would take is one chomp from your Hahns or one swipe of the paw from your dogs and there could be an injury.

Not impossible.... but there are always risks.

Hi and welcome! Continue to pluck?

Flboy said:

Hi and welcome! Continue to pluck?

Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing that out. OP, you never mentioned that your foster macaw was a plucker. Did this behavior start before or after you acquired him? If it is very recent, then it may very well be because of the dogs making him uncomfortable.

Our home is shared by two Yorkies and an African Grey. They are NEVER EVER in the same room unless I am within quick reach. Dogs are predators and mine are terriers - tiny little hunters less than seven pounds each. Tsali is prey. The Yorkies are very obedient and the few times Tsali has flown low enough for them to have interactions, the yorkies were excited, but didn't offer to attack.

Will I ever trust them together -- NEVER.

itzjbean said:

Flboy said:

Hi and welcome! Continue to pluck?

Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing that out. OP, you never mentioned that your foster macaw was a plucker. Did this behavior start before or after you acquired him? If it is very recent, then it may very well be because of the dogs making him uncomfortable.

Click to expand...

He is chewing on his feathers. This behavior was well in play before we obtained him from his surrender home last week. The vet and I firmly believe that the plucking and chewing off the feathers is from him being locked in the basement with little to no interaction for the last three years by his previous owner. He seems to be a happy bird now that he is with us and interacted with daily.

Thanks for the update! I must say it'll really be difficult to find folks to agree on dogs and birds hanging together! And I do understand that your original note is not insinuating this! There are many of us here that have had to bury loved ones due to dogs, myself included in this group! Even in play it is so easy for things to go wrong!

I guess I should probably make it clear that the dogs and parrot do not play together, let alone be in the same room if the bird is out playing. The only time the two are in the same room is if the bird is on my shoulder hanging out with me or on my arm. He stays put. And so do the dogs.
My concern is if just the simple presence of the dogs could make him overly anxious/nervous. =/
For example; if he is in his cage eating, playing, whatever.. and my dogs begin to bark or play with each other - could/will this cause him psychological/mental harm?

In my humble and newby to birdness opinion, I would have to say yes. The dogs irregardless of how well behaved could cause enough stress to perpetuate plucking.

We just got our baby and he has heard dogs barking and playing aggressively the entire time. Is it his favorite thing? No, it’s not mine either... but he recovers quickly when we reassure him. He has no reason not to trust us. We would never allow any of our small pets (sugar gliders and Percy) to interact with the cats or dogs or each other. We would have only ourselves to blame if a little one (they bite first ask questions later) bit a big one and got bitten back in self defense.

In your case, your foster really has no reason to trust humans yet... so your reassurance may not go as far. He may adjust better if he’s allowed to trust people first before he’s exposed to barking/aggressive play. I’m no expert in the parrot world at all, but I have taken a few animal behavior classes along the way. My sister’s birds also heard dogs bark and play. They were well adjusted but the rescues she took in were kept out of visual range at all times until (if ever) they adjusted.

To be quite honest, Percy has heard so much barking, he’s already joined in. He’s staring to growl (our eskie is a talker) and bark at the dogs... lucky us... another dog lol

Being he already plucks it could keep it going although as always nothing is a guarantee

I think as long as you're working on getting him trusting and happy which he already seems to be at least somewhat then the barking shouldn't be too bad. It's not like a bark is sending him into a panic situation. A bit of time to get used to it and of course looking to solve the plucking should be okay as long as you reassure him whenever you see him getting upset by the barking

I have little to add to an excellent conversation. Count me as one who has had to bury a parrot attacked by a dog.

All of my subsequent dogs are rescues and breeds less likely to be hostile. If you must mix avians with dogs, the protocol must be foolproof, simple, and repeatable. It is a matter of the entire family establishing habit-patterns that are ingrained.

I have a 7 month old German Shepherd with prey drive... and in fact, all dogs have prey drive. Whether or not they show interest is not enough to convince me that if my birds move in an enticing enough way that my dog would be able to resist the urge to either A.) play due to motivation of prey drive, or B.) attack due to motivation of prey drive.

Trusting your dogs is a 50/50 risk with any prey animal. There's a 50% chance they won't, 50% chance they will. Every time they're near each other without one being contained, you flip a coin. Lots of times the coin flip works in your favour, but it only takes once for it to be a lifetime of regret. I personally choose not to stress out my parrots or rabbit with the presence of my dog, and also choose not to frustrate my dog with the presence of my other animals. I've got another 25-35 years with my parrots... I hope to enjoy them and they me for that long and more. As much as I would love to enjoy time with all of my critters at once, I just can't bring myself to risk it.