# New border collie pup and a tiel?



## Em&Me (Jul 31, 2011)

So were thinking about getting a new border collie puppy since our landlord's daughter had a liter and she's saving one for us.I'm worried about how Emily is going to react and what the dog might do. Also since my little sister is to young to really take care of the dog, my dad is at work most of the time, and mom has to watch my little sis, I would be the doggy momma to pretty much, and I don't want to have Emily feel I'm picking the puppy over her (since I already have to spend my days at school instead of home with her) but I also want the puppy getting enough exercise and love. And does anyone have any tips on how I can get Em and the dog to be friends so I don't have to freak out that the dog might get her


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

Yay!! Be sure to post lots of pics if/when you get the
pup( I'm a sucker for puppies!!)! I can't help though as my dog is not allowed in my room or generally anywhere near my birds.


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

You will need to keep them in completely separate rooms where they can't see each other - the dog nor the Cockatiel will feel left out or threatened.


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## chloe92us (Jul 12, 2011)

I LOVE border collies. In general, since they are herders, they have less of a "prey drive" than other breeds, and tend to have soft mouths. But, you have to be extremely careful especially while a pup. In my experience, dogs learn very quickly. Border collie pups are very active; a tired dog is a good dog! Make sure the new pup gets LOTS of exercise to wear him out too.


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## elinore (Jul 22, 2010)

Well, I can't speak for general puppy-ness, but my uncle, who lives next door to us, has an 8 year old Australian Shepherd who is always at our house anyway so I do understand the herding dog mentality! When I got my tiel, the dog was only a few years old and had been trained to be a hunting bird dog (very interesting in a herder lol), so I was concerned about how she'd react to my bird. I remember bringing the dog into the room and explaining to her that this was HER bird, not just any bird, and I needed her to take care of this bird and be good to her. It sounds silly, but really all we had to do to make the dog understand is explain things clearly to her, then reinforce them. If she got excited about the bird, for example if the bird flew and made the same noise as a bird she would otherwise hunt, she was reminded, "No, Molly, that is your bird. You be nice to your bird" and she got the message. Herders are ridiculously intelligent, so it's very easy to make them understand you with body language and tone of voice. With herders, they respond really really well if you give them a job to do. Once Molly knew her responsibility was to protect "her" bird, there were no problems at all. Just stay constant and supportive but firm. When my uncle got a tiel a year ago, we repeated the same trick and told Molly that this was her new bird and she should be good to him. Sometimes the dog does get jealous, but she and the bird deal with their relationship pretty well, with Molly nosing the bird if he gets too close to her space. I would assume it will be harder for you, since you've got a puppy to deal with, so hopefully somebody will have some puppy-specific tips, but herders are fun! Just remember to always be safe with the two of them interacting. If I didn't trust our dog completely and absolutely, I would never let her near any of my other pets. It's not a reflection of how "good" or "bad" a dog is, but we do have to recognize their potential to hurt our other pets, which is not their fault at all. Just be a responsible and safe pet owner and everything will work out fine!

Just for fun, I've attached a picture I took around last Christmas. The bird loves playing with the dog's biscuit bag, but of course the dog isn't so pleased with that. Here, she's just getting up to go nose the bird off her bed, while our bunny and my two gerbils look on and the bird is just happily singing and chewing on the plastic biscuit bag. Here we have four species happily interacting together as I look on laughing with a camera


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## morla (Aug 15, 2011)

Border collies are awesome! I have a yellow labrador retriever!


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## geenz (Apr 4, 2011)

I can vouch for a dog changing things. Our golden retriever is 19wks old now (we got him at 7.5wks old) and having him around means the birds don't get to come out of their cage as much. They usually get to have out of cage time once a day, usually in the evening when Murphy is sleeping. He used to jump on the cage but he hasn't done that for a while now, he's been really good with them. Sometimes we get them out near him while he's sleepy, and then praise him for not reacting. The birds don't mind him walking by their cage anymore, and Fawkes and Jesse will happily sit on him. Murphy just looks at them and then lays back down again. Now before anyone attacks me on this, I'd just like to point out that my birds are fully flighted and can get away if they get scared, and both Matt and myself are always right there beside them if Murphy starts getting too "sniffy" towards them. I would never let them near him without strict supervision.


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## igottafeelin (Aug 29, 2011)

we have a german shepherd that luckily Is very obediant. If I see the dog looking at the bird I tell her "off" and she walks the other way. It's hard for her though I would never let the bird be out of the cage with dog around.. Since you might be getting this puppy make sure to do proper training and all will be fine. The puppy stage will be hard though. Do a lot of research and be very diligent in your dogs training. If you do that all will be fine. Obviously don't have the bird out when the puppy is out. Keep in mind my dog was 6 before we had a bird. We had a cat for years so her "off the cat" comman is in check. I almost have to chuckle when I tell her "off the bird" a whole flock can be in the backyard and she doesn't care... but man does she want to "play" with belle. our companion bird. lol


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## geenz (Apr 4, 2011)

This is Murphy the day we bought him home, being introduced to Fawkes


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## Angie W (Sep 3, 2011)

I have 2 border collies and they are very intelligent. My oldest border collie is 12. He is the tame, trained one. Only he is allowed inside when I have the birds out. At first, I had him lay right beside me when the birds were out. There was 1 time when I turned away that I heard his jaw clamp shut and my lovebird got lucky that day. After that, he never has tried it again since I scolded him and told him how bad that was. My point being that border collies are a lot like 2 year olds. Sometimes they will try to defy you, so be careful! Now I am always watching when they are in the same room together.


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## Em&Me (Jul 31, 2011)

Thanks for all the replies everyone! And it's awesome to hear everyone has been ok with their dogs and birds being separate, but the thing is Emily is still young and quite the companion bird, she has to be on someone's shoulder at all times pretty much, and she can be quite spastic  but the puppy will almost definitely be very rambunctious! so how can I have a very attached companion that is and a super hyper ball of energy that is about 5x bigger than her? Quite a puzzler for me


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## chloe92us (Jul 12, 2011)

You'll figure it out! Will just take trial and error....and a squirt bottle! lol. I give the cats and dogs a squirt whenever they show too much interest in Mango. Now they don't even glance in his direction; they couldn't care less.


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## jeme (Jan 19, 2010)

I was just going to mention a squirt bottle!

We call it "hydro-therapy" around here.

My black lab, Tika, was showing a dangerous level of interest in Pepper when I first got him. My husband remembered the squirt bottle trick we used on her when she was young.

When Tika got too close to the cage, she got a quick squirt of water and a firm "no". If she was laying down, away from the cage, we made sure to reward and praise her. She caught on right away to that, so we started taking Pepper out of the cage with Tika in the room. Again, if she got too close or showed too much interest, a quick squirt of water and a firm "no". We did this with one person handling the bird and one person in charge of the water bottle.

Only took a couple times for her to become much more respectful and calm around Pepper. We can now have Pepper out in the same room as Tika, and Tika mostly ignores him.

Pepper has even jumped to the ground and Tika just watches from where ever she is in the room.

Tika is a smart dog and wants to please us. Once she figures out what it is we want her to do/not do, she's usually very good. 

Of course, we never leave them alone together and keep a close eye when they are in the same room.

Border Collies are VERY active, intelligent dogs and need A LOT of exercise and mental stimulation. They are great dogs, but without enough exercise and something to do, than can be destructive and even nippy. Be sure you know what you are getting in to before bringing home a puppy. If they puppy can stay with mom and siblings to 10 or 12 weeks, even better so that it learns bite inhibition.


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## Em&Me (Jul 31, 2011)

Ok thank for all the advice,right now I'm trying to earn some money for all the doggy stuff since I heard it costs a lot,so I'm doing small stuff with my friends like lemonade stands and yard sales but I'll add squirt bottle to the list for sure


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