Are Parrots Good With Dogs? How To Make It Work

There are thousands of cute videos on the Internet involving cats, dogs, and parrots intermingling with each other. Some are funny while some are heartwarming.

We surely don’t know behind-the-scene efforts required to make them compatible. 46% of the animal-loving American households have dogs.

Parrots make a humorous and wonderful companion as well.

So, is it a good idea to keep dogs with parrots? Instinctively no, but potentially yes. If you are patient and dedicated enough to train your dog to not treat parrot like a toy, then parrots and dogs can get along. Dogs are predatory animals and if you leave them to bond on their own, it’s likely only the bigger one will survive.

However, there is a way to make this unlikely couple bond well without trouble. If you are up for a challenge, you will find this information to be helpful.

The order of introduction matters

Sometimes, the order in which you introduce your pet to the surrounding matters more than the breed. If you introduce the dog to an environment where the parrot was first adopted, it will pose a different problem than in a vice-versa situation.

Also, it also matters at what stage of the dog’s life you are introducing the parrot to. Is the dog in its puppy years when it is introduced to the parrot?

Is the dog in its adult year when it is introduced to the parrot?

When a dog is introduced to a parrot as a puppy, it would be difficult to train it to not chase the parrot. But when the dog has reached its adult years, it becomes easier to train them.

You should train the dog to obey the words ‘stop’ and ‘out’ (to spit out anything it has in its mouth immediately). This will help you in controlling any dire situation involving the parrot and the dog.

Equal division of time and attention is an important factor

Knowing your schedule

One of the important things that you need to consider is your schedule. Some breed of parrots needs more attention than you can take out from your schedule.

You would need to invest a lot of playtime and training with your parrot to develop trust and intimacy. So the first thing you need to ask yourself is – can you manage it?

Also, the most important thing to remember is that the abundance of time doesn’t mean equal distribution to attention. If you are working from home or don’t work outside, you might think that you would be able to manage all of their attention.

But that is not always the truth.

Managing rivalry and jealousy

Dogs are territorial and are often prone to jealousy. If you introduce a ‘new’ member, it might grow jealous towards it. It would mean that you are cutting out playtime and attention from your dog’s time and giving it to the parrot. So keep this factor in mind as well.

Keeping utmost supervision during their interaction

You will always have to remember that you will need a lot of patience. Along with that, you will have to manage a possible rivalry between the two pets for your attention.

You cannot trust a dog with a parrot even when caged.

Don’t be under the delusion that a parrot cannot harm a dog. They can startle a dog with its screeching. It can also confuse the dog with mimicry of your voice or from the surrounding.

It can also peck it with its beak or scratch it with its claws. After all, most parrots are smarter than dogs, as we show you in this article!

You might also think that a bird in a cage will be safe from a dog. But a determined dog, in a mood to play, will smack down a cage and traumatize the parrot. The parrot might injure itself as it flies and bounces around the cage crying for help.

How to intermingle multiple animals

In the wild, dogs and cats come on the top of the food chain and birds fall on the bottom of it. Dogs and cats are predatory creatures and it’s in their instincts to hunt and kill.

While cats might kill and eat, dogs just find it fun to chase, hunt, and sometimes kill. This is how you should initiate the interaction:

Teach them to respect another’s space. When you introduce them in an artificial environment such as our homes, they would need to stick by the rules of the settlement. Make sure you train each one of them how to respect each other’s space. In return, you would need to give adequate attention to each of your pet
Know their unique personality before mingling them. Always remember that the personality of a pet triumphs its breed. Each of the pet has a unique personality and you need to know it before you mingle it
Doing it slow and steady while giving them their individual space. If you are trying to mingle your parrot and your dog, make sure you are doing it slowly. Give a room to a parrot where they can fly without a care. Make this room a no-entry zone for your other pets – be it a dog or a cat. When you introduce your parrot to your other pet, make sure it is caged
Read the signs of anxiety and aggression. If your cat or dog gets aggressive, calm them down and give them a treat whenever they are in their best behavior around the parrot. It will take some time for them to accept the new member’s presence in the house. If your parrot suddenly becomes aggressive, you should read our article on that here!
Taking measures to be extra careful during their interactions. You can use scat mats around the bird’s cage and bird’s room to discourage your dog or cat from coming close to the parrot. Always keep them under your supervision when you keep multiple pets in one room. You can never be overconfident when it comes to keeping multiple pets in your home

Observing and determining their compatibility

Being alert and consistent in their training

You need at least 3 months of consistent training and strict observation to see some results. Even after that, make sure you don’t leave them completely alone.

Pets can be mischievous behind our back and your absence can create havoc and panic on the victim. Parrots, cats, and dogs – they all have the potential to hurt each other.

Can dogs and parrots get along? — It looks a little rough, but these two are just playing 🙂

The golden rule of compatibility

The general rule of thumb you should follow, before you adopt any other pet, is to go for a pet similar in size to the existing one.

Even if you are thinking to get a parrot for your parrot, you should at least consider size as a factor. You can choose a different breed but the size should be the same.

This rule doesn’t always apply to all cases. But make sure that the bigger pet doesn’t harm or bully the smaller one. You would need to be alert all the time to make sure there are peace and harmony in the bonding.

The sign of compatibility and incompatibility

You can observe they are mingling when you notice that they are not stressing each other. A parrot that is shaking all the time might be stressed. If that’s the case, you should read our article on shaking in parrots here.

Also, you should read our article on things that might scare your parrot here!

Be it any combination of companion, if they are becoming hostile with no avail, keep them separate.

We need to ensure that they accept the presence of ‘another’ even if they don’t prefer to interact with each other.