# Attack bird!



## littlemister (Nov 25, 2014)

I have had a male cockatiel for 3 1/2 years. Not sure how old he is as he was my sister's, and when she passed away he came to me for his forever home. He had never been out of his cage, so we began letting him out and he became accustomed to not only us, but to our Boston Terrier as well. He is most attached to me. For the past month, he has begun attacking the dog and anyone who walks into the room where I am. He pecks at their feet and has a high-pitched squawk. Then he goes under the recliner where I sit, waiting for his next victim! We assume it's a territorial issue and he's protecting me, as he preens my hair, lets me pick him up, etc. Is there any way to break him of this? I usually end up putting him in his cage so he doesn't hurt the dog, but doubt he understands the connection between what he's doing and a "timeout." Any suggestions, tips, advice, etc. is greatly appreciated. We're just not enjoying him like we used to and I want to get back to that point.


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## CloudySkies (Jul 11, 2014)

I'm new to all of this myself, but I have learned that a lot of aggression issues like this (for males at least) are due to hormones raging. How many hours of dark, quiet time is he getting per day? I've read several places that say 12-14 hours a day of dark (with only a nightlight amount of light) and quiet is needed to keep them out of breeding mode. If he's not getting that much time per day, that's where I would start. I know there are several other things involved with hormone control but I think the long nights is pretty much where you need to start. My cockatiel's cage is in our living room, so I set up a small cage in a back room that I move him to every night and cover with a blanket to ensure I have total control over how many dark, quiet hours he gets a day. 

Good luck and I'm so sorry about your sister's passing.


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## littlemister (Nov 25, 2014)

Thanks for the advice. There are nights he doesn't go in his cage (except for timeouts for attacking) and get covered up until I go to bed, which is probably not enough sleep. And I know how I act when I don't get enough sleep! He's only aggressive in the living room - he sat with us in the family room last night and was as sweet as could be! I'll keep working on it!


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## CloudySkies (Jul 11, 2014)

I wonder what's getting him so worked up in the living room all of a sudden? Birds are weird. I hope he gets back to his sweet self soon!


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

I agree that he probably doesn't understand the "time out." 

We all love our birds to be sweet. I hope you try the long nights and that it works for you.


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