are dogs really that harmful to birds?

Question

im thinking about getting a cockatiel and im doing some research. i came across a website that said dog and cat saliva will kill a bird within 24 hours. it said to never let a bird and a dog be in the same room together and to wash your hands after everytime you pet the dog or cat. i have a dog and i pet her all day and she likes to lick everything. does this mean i cant get a bird? i never read this in any of the cockatiel books i have.

Answer 1

I have dogs and cats and birds.
It is true that cat saliva is very bad for birds, and if a cat gets a hold of your bird it will likely die unless you take it to a vet. I do not let my cats in the room when I take my birds out of the cage. And the cage is strong enough that the cats can't knock it down or anything.
On the other hand, dog saliva is not at all deadly. Furthermore, dogs seem to find it easier to learn to leave birds alone. Most dogs, anyway. You can use your own judgment with your dog, as to whether you can let it in the room when you take the bird out. Neither of my dogs would purposely hurt a bird. It will not hurt the bird if the dog licks it even! Just be careful the dog doesn't injure the bird.

Answer 2

I never had this problem and there are many stories of dogs getting a hold of a bird with the consequence of being slobbered with dog saliva. A good bath and all is well. Perhaps since dogs and cats have unique flora in their mouths, a bite could be more damaging than just a traumatic injury inflicted by a bite. It's like for humans, generally a human to human bite is more likely to become infected than a dog to human bite. I have dogs and cats. My bird interacts with the dogs closely. Now my cat is too predatory for playful contact. No harm. The birds and dogs play well with supervision of course. I don't agree with the poisonous saliva theory. Have a tweet day.

Answer 3

I have 4 dogs and 4 birds and have never had a problem. I've heard that human saliva is toxic to birds but never a dog's. I tend to agree that it would be more of a problem if it was a result of a bite and then an infection happened to kill the bird. My dogs are actually afraid of the birds because if they get too close the birds will peck at their noses, or try to preen their fur which they don't like.

Answer 4

I have never heard of this before, but you should always wash your hands before handling your bird, they tend to nibble on your fingers, and somethings you have touched could affect them. I have a dog, and breed cockatiels. BUT I would never let my house birds out while the dog is inside. My terrier killed my very first inside bird, she didn't try to eat it, she just put her foot on it then picked it up in her mouth and that was that. Birds have very small bones and can be crushed very easily. I would never trust a cat or a dog, no mater how gentle they are.

Answer 5

I have never heard of this. Good thing because I had both a dog and a cat, before I got my birds. I would assume they are harmful if they put them in their mouth to eat them. But I have had my dogs, cat, and birds, for over 7 years now.

Answer 6

Never heard of that. The most harm my dogs did was to my chickens, the dogs got loose and killed a bunch of them.

Usually having dog or cat saliva on a bird means the dog or cat ate the bird or chewed on it, and chewing on a bird is very harmful....

Answer 7

That sounds a bit silly to me. I am a falconer and our birds work with our dogs, often in close contact. I've had sparrow hawks sat on the backs of dogs when on point. Our male Golden Eaglehas accidentally killed and eaten a few cats, and he's nearly 15 years old. I really doubt this is true.

Answer 8

i have a dog and a cockatiel. my bird always sits on my shoulder and the dog doesent apear to have a problem when she walks up to the bird. however i wouldent leave the bird and dot alone or anything. i think if you supervise the dog and not let the dog extreamly close to the bird you should have no worries

Answer 9

I have a dog and I used to have birds. They got along fine. To tell you, my dog protected the birds from cats that came into our yard!

Answer 10

Whoever wrote this book is whacko. I think she's referring to your dog actually carrying or biting the bird. I've always had birds and dogs; two of the birds I've owned actually rode piggy-back on my dogs, and both loved it.