My mom is wondering if her dog....?

Question

My mom got a bird a couple of weeks ago and her Springer Spaniel keeps l*****g his lips and drooling when he gets around the bird. My mom was wondering if he is just excited or Maybe her dog wants to eat her bird. Are dogs a Threat to birds or just Cats? How do you know if your dog is just anxious or jealous of if he would actually harm her bird? The lady assured my mother that dogs are fine around birds and she had plenty of dogs at her house.

Answer 1

I would be worried. my dogs only drool for a big treat. ask other experts, because the lady trying to get you to buy her pets might not be entirely honest.

Answer 2

Dogs will be dogs.  They think everything tastes like chicken.

Answer 3

dogs aren't threats to just cats. they will be a threat to anything they can possibly kill. depends on how the dog is trained.

Answer 4

But did the lady have dog breeds that are used for hunting bird like you have?

Springer spaniels are used to flush and retrieve birds for hunters, so it is in her nature to see the bird as prey.  I would just make sure that the bird is always in his cage, or the dog is in another room when you take the bird out.

Answer 5

Springer Spaniels are bird dogs. It's in his genetics - birds = HUNT.

A trained bird dog knows to not hurt the birds. Untrained, however, he may harm the bird. Keep them separate.

Answer 6

Springer spaniels are bird dogs - bred to find and flush out birds.  The bird is a terrible temptation to the dog.  I'd keep them separated.

Answer 7

The dog will probably eat the bird given the chance.

Dogs tend to be fine around birds if they have been raised with them, but they still need supervision at all times when the bird is out of the cage.

Your dog will need time to adjust to the new bird and realise that it's not to play with or eat.

I have two Labs and an African Grey, they are OK with him, but l never leave them in the same room together without someone supervising.

Bob isn't afraid of the dogs and will try and bite their noses, it only takes for them to snap at him and Bob will be dead.

Also dog saliva is toxic to birds and can kill them, so it's better to keep them well away from each other.

Answer 8

It's most likely that the dog is excited when he sees the bird, because springer Spaniels are hunting dogs by nature.  Right now, I wouldn't let the bird be too close to the dog, What your Mother can try is to bring the bird into a room where the dog is at for short periods of time.  This will get the dog used to the bird.  Do this periodically, until the dog gets used to the bird being there.  Good luck!  

Answer 9

Have you heard of "Bird Dogs"? Dogs  l o v e  to catch birds.

My cocker used to catch doves & bring them to me (still alive)

Dogs have a natural instinct to hunt, same as cats.

This dog has the hunt waiting for him behind a cage...and is very tempting to him. :)

Let him watch, but keep the bird at a distance for its safety

Answer 10

Spaniels were bred to sniff out and flush out birds.  

You can put a muzzle on him if you want to introduce the dog and bird, but there's no certainty the dog would be friendly to it.

Answer 11

i bet the lady didn't have a bird dog did she? Brittany's are bird dogs. That's what they're bred for unless you just keep it as a pet.

I would get rid of the bird unless you want it dead by the dog.