I have an Alexandrine parrot 'Asia ' ,he is 22 years old . With my first dog Tia ,(shih tzu cross)she was taught that the bird is higher ranking in our pack than she is and she has accepted this. If Asia comes onto the couch and she doesnt move to the other end the bird with make her move with a threat display ,if she is slow to move( sometimes she likes to pretend she cant see the bird HA HA) I make her move over.I am teaching the puppy 'Remy' the same thing that she also has a lower rank that the bird.Remy is still only 6 months old and is supervised closely when the bird is out ,but the pup is learning that when Asia comes out she is to keep her distance
One thing I have done to teach the pup is everytime she goes and shows too much interest in the bird ie: standing up on the cage etc. I bang a small metal cup with a spoon and tell her NO!
I have never deliberately put the animals close to each other to introduce them to each other, instead I have taught the dogs to be slightly afraid of the bird and to just keep their distance.
Eileen |