I am a wife and a mother of three grown sons. I live in New York and am an equestrian. Most of my free time is spent riding and caring for my horses now that my sons are out of the house.
I give down to earth advice, as I tell it like I see it...and I've seen alot.
Gender: Female
Location: New York
Member Since: January 17, 2009
Answers: 281
Last Update: September 11, 2011
Visitors: 19494
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I would like to start off by saying that I only want responces from breeders, animal rescuers and people of like nature.
This is what happened. I have had my love bird for just over a month. In that time she has become a very loved and close part of the family (I and my husband). Recently, there was a dog that came to our home. Our Upstairs neighbor said that it was a very friendly and gentil dog that belonged to a lady up the road, that is a little off maybe, and she would not put in the affection that the dog required. So the dog would go to neighbors and stay at different ones houses for periods of time. Well I LOVE ANIMALS. So first we would hang out for the evening and then once I realized she was gentil and quiet, after consulting my neighbor, I took the time to let her sleep in the house, because we live in idaho and it is the middle of winter right now and it is amazing the dog hasn't been frost bitten. I proceeded to get her some dog food etc. I was keeping my lovebird Arina in the cage while the dog was around so that it could grow to know her. I did not do this out of complete ignorance, because I did a lot of research in the past before I got the bird and everyone that I spoke with, in person and online that had multiple types of animals, said that they live together in harmony and there is no problem. I even saw videos on YouTube of birds sitting on cat's and playing with dogs. This was not an aggressive dog. The only thing of concern that happened was that I saw the dog catch a mouse and eat it. Now I understood this behavior, because the dog is out there during the day fending for it's self. The reason why I let it slide is because I read that many people's animals keep their animal instinct, but do not exhibit that behavior towards the family animals. No matter how small. Anyway, I decided to take the bird and put it on my shoulder to visit our neighbor because it was squawking very loud and my husband was sleeping before work. I took her out and everything was fine, the dog and my neighbor's dog were both calm, and as I was about to take her back in the house, she flew off of my shoulder, and in a split second, the stranger dog lunged at her and grabbed her in it's mouth and i surley think it would have eaten her if it hadn't been for both of us ladies yelling and lunging at it to stop. Natuurally we kicked the dog out, and now I feel aweful, because he is sleeping outside. :( I know it wasn't deliberate, he was just doing what was natural to him. But here is the issue I have. I always saw my self as someone having many animals in the future, all different sorts living together in the same home. I see these people that rais Wild Animals like tigers and such that have birds and cats and children and they all play out in the open together in the living room, all coming into contact with each other at different stages in their lives. Where did I go wrong? What are these people doing that I did not do? What does one have to do to have these different types of animals living together. What is it that keeps the peace? Are there certain breeds that are more prone to get along with different animals. My husband had a cat, and that cat started living with him and his parents who have a dog...they chase each other sometimes, but they can be left alone together in the house and they do not kill each other. That dog did not grow up with cats or anything. What steps should I take now when deciding on getting multiple pets in the future? I don't want to have to keep them all in cages and in seperate rooms. What can I do? Thank you for your advice. (link)
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I've had dogs that were very friendly with other animals and others who were not. Some dogs have very high prey instincts which cannot always be trained out of them. For example...I presently have a very large German Shepherd. He's an angel, not at all destructive, doesn't wander, comes when called. His manners are impeccable. Yet, the sight of an animal, especially a moving animal and particularly running, sets off his prey drive. He will not stop until he "tackles" the animal. If he encounters a large animal, he'll tussle with it until it submits, belly up, then he'll let it go. On the other hand, if a chipmunk happens to be his target, he'll go for it and the outcome isn't very good because a swipe of his paw or a nip from his teeth will be fatal. I also have horses. They get along fine with dogs, but, again, my shepherd cannot be allowed near them because he has a high prey drive and will chase them and attempt to bite them.
My point is, not all animals play well with others. Some need to be the only animal in a family. Certain breeds are much more docile than others. You should do a breed search and see which ones would suit you. Another thing you could do is learn whatever you can about animals, in general, so then when the time comes to bring two different species together, you'll have background information on which species will have the best chance of success.
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Rating: 5
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Wow that is so helpful. Thank you very much. I agree, I feel like my mom's dog would never hurt a fly, but this one needed to hunt. So that's what I'm going to do from now on, I'm going to learn more about the breed before I bring it into my home. :)
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