All these responses are awesome. And the big three have been mentioned: the chocolate, avocado, and Teflon - what hasn’t been mentioned is that you have a bird dog.
I have no doubt you will be able to tell Jelly quite simply “no”, and that will be the end of it, but with your bird dog, you’re going to have to do a bit more serious training. It absolutely can be done. My parrots have walked in front of my hound dogs without anyone touching them (and my cat as well), but that took years of training with some of my prey driven hounds. Not saying the lab is dull witted, but you’re going against the natural inclination. My parrots will drop snacks for the dogs, and that helps build the relationship.
A well timed tweak on the muzzle has taught respect to the wrong nosy nose poking into the wrong cage as well.

SC and Mars are some of the best bird resources anywhere. I will say when married to my Ex, I was on the hook for 4-6 hours of cockatoo time, basically every day. I'm not sure I'd do it again, but I very much miss that bird.

quote:

Originally posted by irreverent:
All these responses are awesome. And the big three have been mentioned: the chocolate, avocado, and Teflon - what hasn’t been mentioned is that you have a bird dog.
I have no doubt you will be able to tell Jelly quite simply “no”, and that will be the end of it, but with your bird dog, you’re going to have to do a bit more serious training. It absolutely can be done. My parrots have walked in front of my hound dogs without anyone touching them (and my cat as well), but that took years of training with some of my prey driven hounds. Not saying the lab is dull witted, but you’re going against the natural inclination. My parrots will drop snacks for the dogs, and that helps build the relationship.
A well timed tweak on the muzzle has taught respect to the wrong nosy nose poking into the wrong cage as well.

Thought of this as well. But by the time I retire Jelly will be 13 and Bella’s will be 10. We’ll be in the Senior years so hopefully they will be a little less apt to chase.

Because right now yes, Jelly will kill anything that’s not a dog or human.

Instinct in dogs can be a challenge. We have Anatolian shepherds guarding the goats and my wife has an Anatolian/Great Pyrenees (Mom) / International Man of Mystery (Dad) cross for a pet. It isn’t that Abby is dumb or disobedient, it is just that she isn’t sure if she can even hear you when she’s in “instinct mode”.

Then I absolutely recommend you don’t get a bird.
I can’t tell you how many horror stories I’ve heard.
And the please don’t judge me but we had an “accident” and I lost my bird. And the accident was a dog or cat.

Sorry to be so blunt.

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:

quote:

Originally posted by irreverent:
All these responses are awesome. And the big three have been mentioned: the chocolate, avocado, and Teflon - what hasn’t been mentioned is that you have a bird dog.
I have no doubt you will be able to tell Jelly quite simply “no”, and that will be the end of it, but with your bird dog, you’re going to have to do a bit more serious training. It absolutely can be done. My parrots have walked in front of my hound dogs without anyone touching them (and my cat as well), but that took years of training with some of my prey driven hounds. Not saying the lab is dull witted, but you’re going against the natural inclination. My parrots will drop snacks for the dogs, and that helps build the relationship.
A well timed tweak on the muzzle has taught respect to the wrong nosy nose poking into the wrong cage as well.

Thought of this as well. But by the time I retire Jelly will be 13 and Bella’s will be 10. We’ll be in the Senior years so hopefully they will be a little less apt to chase.

Because right now yes, Jelly will kill anything that’s not a dog or human.

Ah. Ok, I thought Jelly would be the easy one. My cattle dog cross wouldn’t touch a thing without my ok..she actually taught everyone else (pets, rescues, etc) the rules for me..I was worried about your lab being too game.
My dogs and my birds are kept in separate rooms. The parrots have their own sunroom and the French doors are kept closed. Dogs are kitchen mostly, with living room access as allowed while monitored (evenings when we are home, etc.)
They are not allowed access to the grey parrots. Period. Neither is the cat.
The Amazon is the only one whose cage is in the LR (he’s a relatively recent rescue, was being quarantined and it just worked out to be the best spot for him) and he can and will easily address any noses that get too nosy(cage is closed and secured when 4 footers are out in LR).
My grey birds have seen a few generations of dogs now, so they know to be watchful but not too worried. I have one male dog now that I will never trust. He is just too game. Either he is locked up or the parrots are.
And it is a constant vigilance, which has become part of our daily routine. Every human in my house knows the rules. Please make sure you understand that- parrots are a way of life, and you will adapt. Your bird will bless you with their intelligence, love, and wit, and you’ll be forever changed. And as a last note, they tend to bond to ONE person. My girl grey won’t allow anyone else to touch without a bite, but I can do anything with her. My male grey will bite me but not hubby. Thems the breaks. Make sure your sig other understands…and that you may not be the bird’s first choice…

ETA: watch some bird reels on facebook. You’ll see the behaviors and how they act out.

I know some birds are intelligent. Anybody know where the term, "bird brain " came from?

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
I know some birds are intelligent. Anybody know where the term, "bird brain " came from?

Well, I used AI for the answer and sounds accurate to me. It said:

The term “bird brain” has been around since at least the 1930s and originally came from the assumption that birds have small brains and, therefore, must be unintelligent. It was used as a slang insult to call someone stupid or scatterbrained.

However, the irony is that many birds are actually incredibly intelligent—especially species like crows, ravens, parrots, and even pigeons. In recent decades, science has revealed that birds have highly efficient brain structures and can solve complex problems, use tools, recognize themselves in mirrors, and even understand abstract concepts.

So, while “bird brain” started as an insult, it’s kind of outdated now—modern science would suggest that being called a birdbrain might actually be a compliment!

Cici was watching TV with me lsat night and a shampoo commercial came on.
There was a man in the shower washing his hair and Cici exclaimed SHOWER SHOWER!
DADDY SHOWER SHOWER!

That is how smart Cici is.

When she sees a cooking show, she'll say daddy's in the kitchen.

She can absolutely associate visual ques with speech. and vice versa.

My wife, power carves raptors from wood. She is scheduled to teach a class at John C. Campbell Folk School on carving later this month. Here is a full size hawk she displays at art shows along with other birds. Note the snack the hawk has his eye on....

That is amazing work.