My budgie likes my dog and not me?

[MrsWalton1]

We bought our first budgie about a month ago. I've been trying like crazy to hand tame him, but no luck. He seems to enjoy time outside his cage, though. Yesterday I introduced my dog to him- and he stinkin LOVES my dog. Following him through the house (his wings are still clipped from the store, so he's just walking behind him), nibbling on my dogs toenails, pressing his beak against the dog's nose when the dog sniffs him, etc. Does anyone know why this might be? I would think that an obvious predator like my dog would be more off-putting than me, who has been feeding, talking to, and giving treats to my bird for the last month. My feelings are starting to feel hurt haha

 

[Inger]

I don?t have an answer to your question, but I would like to caution you that it?s not a good idea to allow an obvious predator to interact with a prey animal. It?s cute until it isn?t, and this forum as well as the Facebook bird pages I?m on are filled with ?my dog was so well trained? and ?I only left them for a minute? stories that end in a dead bird.


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[ctwo]

I think budgie is showing aggression and will try to dominate the dog, and I would expect that to escalate. One little nip and it's all over.

 

[noodles123]

My bird is also obsessed with dogs (which is terrifying, as she has no concept of danger). Do not let her nibble toenails etc-- dogs carry gram negative bacteria in their spit (as do humans) and birds systems only contain gram-positive (so any form of contact with your saliva or the dogs is very dangerous to your bird). Plus, they have a lot of other junk on their feet/toes (they walk in the dirt, poop, on the floor etc). Additionally, as stated above, never trust them-- it takes one playful scratch or nip to kill your bird and it can happen so fast (even if it isn't intentional).


Your parrot may like the fact that the dog isn't super pushy-- if you have been reaching in the cage or getting to close/intense too fast, you probably need to slow down, back off and build trust. Initially, just talking about your routine or sitting in the room 8 of so feet from the cage while reading out loud can help get the bird used to you without invading its space or scaring it. If you guys are past that, try to make sure you look for signs of willingness and try to avoid producing any sort of stress or fear response-- just because a bird doesn't bite, doesn't mean it isn't scared etc. Also, remember that some birds don't like being touched, so try to make your interactions about more than just physicality.

 

[ctwo]

That's a good point too, noodles123. Even though I only give mines a quick peck on the beak, maybe no more kisses.