My IRN's roam the house but will have to get used to being closed up when the pup is around.
IRN and a dachshund?
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IRN and a dachshund?
I am getting a miniature dachshund and wondering if anyone has introduced a dachshund to their IRN's. I beleive they were originally bred to be a hunting animal so I guess he will be no good around birds. I went yesterday to see the puppy and at 4 weeks they are the same size as an IRN
My IRN's roam the house but will have to get used to being closed up when the pup is around.
My IRN's roam the house but will have to get used to being closed up when the pup is around.
Yep! We adopted our mini dachshund a year ago. He was an adult already. Training began his second day home, lol!
Puppies are dangerous, so don't let him be in a position where he could actually reach your bird. Pups are too playful with their mouths.
With any and all dogs we've had with small animals, the dog cannot even LOOK at the animal. Basically, I set the small animal in front of the dog (out of reach and safe, even in a cage) and correct the dog each and EVERY time the dog even looks at the bird. Eventually, your dog will enter an avoidance stage (should happen quickly) and will actively ignore the bird- meaning, he knows the bird is there but makes it a point not to look.
You need to always be confident and sure of what you are doing. The dog will sense this. You can't be nervous when training a dog- it'll make him nervous too.
An especially good test is a flapping bird. So if someone else is holding the bird makes it flap and you're ready to correct if the dogs looks. Flapping tends to trigger that hunting instinct in all the dogs I've worked with. So training them to even ignore flapping birds is important.
Over time, you should be able to relax and your dog will never look at your bird with that hungry look- unless the bird is throwing food!
I still go through the avoidance exercises with all the dogs, every month or so. This keeps their training updated and they know they still can't touch the birds. It also helps them remember their position in my pack- lower than me.
This is a lifetime exercise. Your training for a dog never ends. You constantly refresh your training. It really is a lot of work, but I feel it's worth it. And you dog respects you for it.
You have to be 100% consistant. If it means ignoring the phone ringing, then ignore the phone. The life of your bird and household harmony is at stake.
Mental dominance is more important than physical. Mental dominance works even when you're not around. ^_^
(EDIT: I removed this bit. I don't want other bird owners to get the wrong idea and let their dogs have access to the birds. It can be so dangerous.)
We have four dogs at the moment and you can see them HERE. The big ones are all over 60lbs. ^_^
Puppies are dangerous, so don't let him be in a position where he could actually reach your bird. Pups are too playful with their mouths.
With any and all dogs we've had with small animals, the dog cannot even LOOK at the animal. Basically, I set the small animal in front of the dog (out of reach and safe, even in a cage) and correct the dog each and EVERY time the dog even looks at the bird. Eventually, your dog will enter an avoidance stage (should happen quickly) and will actively ignore the bird- meaning, he knows the bird is there but makes it a point not to look.
You need to always be confident and sure of what you are doing. The dog will sense this. You can't be nervous when training a dog- it'll make him nervous too.
An especially good test is a flapping bird. So if someone else is holding the bird makes it flap and you're ready to correct if the dogs looks. Flapping tends to trigger that hunting instinct in all the dogs I've worked with. So training them to even ignore flapping birds is important.
Over time, you should be able to relax and your dog will never look at your bird with that hungry look- unless the bird is throwing food!
I still go through the avoidance exercises with all the dogs, every month or so. This keeps their training updated and they know they still can't touch the birds. It also helps them remember their position in my pack- lower than me.
This is a lifetime exercise. Your training for a dog never ends. You constantly refresh your training. It really is a lot of work, but I feel it's worth it. And you dog respects you for it.
You have to be 100% consistant. If it means ignoring the phone ringing, then ignore the phone. The life of your bird and household harmony is at stake.
Mental dominance is more important than physical. Mental dominance works even when you're not around. ^_^
(EDIT: I removed this bit. I don't want other bird owners to get the wrong idea and let their dogs have access to the birds. It can be so dangerous.)
We have four dogs at the moment and you can see them HERE. The big ones are all over 60lbs. ^_^
Last edited by Melika on Fri Dec 14, 2007 1:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
I've been called 'birdbrained' before, but somehow I don't think this is what they meant. say:hah-nay
Just be careful with ANY other animals and your IRN
I have a female Labrador AND a miniature Dauchshund. They both pretty much ignore Harley (the IRN) however, Minnie (the wiener dog) would LOVE to "play" with Harley! We've caught her licking Harley's tail feathers (with us SITTING there! ugh!) and also trying to get into the bottom of his cage! She's not tried to eat him, however she has caught (and killed!) birds and rodents in the yard so we DON'T TRUST HER! The Lab would probably just "carry" Harley around (killing him in the process) however both dogs know the bird is OFF LIMITS! We NEVER EVER leave Harley out with the dogs in the house unless we are physically IN THE ROOM. My recommendation is to just be careful and enjoy ALL of your "kids" PS mini's are SOOOO adorable as puppies and they tend to keep acting like puppies so enjoy (Minnie is 3 1/2 and she's still silly)
Love ALL of my kids: 2 dogs, 1 IRN, 2 kids, 1 Hubby and 3 fish tanks!