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I am dog-sitting at the moment and, incidentally, also parakeet-sitting. The parakeets, however, already had their food and water filled up so I basically just ignore them.
A few minutes ago I saw a blue streak flutter past, low to the floor. Simultaneously the dogs (mellow chihuahua, hysterical mini dachshund currently in Elizabethan collar) went berserk, yapping and pursuing the escaped blue parakeet.
Once when I pet-sat for these same people their lizard (which they had forgotten to tell me had seemed lethargic) dropped dead on the first night. How much worse would it be to inform them that their dogs ate their parakeet?
I pursued the dogs, which pursued the parakeet, around and around the living room. Finally I hustled the dogs into their crate (very much against their will) and pursued the parakeet by myself. It bit me. Hard. Twice. And would not let go, even when I put it back into its cage. I had to pry its beak open. OW.
I then saw that the cage door had not been left open, and there was no obvious escape route. Odd!
Upon releasing the hounds, I quickly saw what must have happened, as the fiendish dachshund, which has a back injury and is not supposed to jump, leaped up to the bird cage, popping the lever and snapping the door open! Irritatingly, the cage is too big to move to another room.
I have now constructed a giant barricade around the cage (two chairs, six pillows, one giant bean bag. The mini dachshund has been hurling herself against it and whining for the entire time it took to write this entry.
I think I may stick the dogs back in the crate and go to Starbucks.
ETA: Forgot to mention: the cage door isn't the only problem. The parakeets get hysterical if she jumps against it, and I'm worried that even if she can't release them, they'll have heart attacks. The cage, unfortunately, is in the living room.
ETA II: Decided cage wasn't too big to move and crammed it into another room. Dachshund now hurling herself against closed door and howling.
...that dog has lived with these same birds for four years but NOW they're interesting.
A few minutes ago I saw a blue streak flutter past, low to the floor. Simultaneously the dogs (mellow chihuahua, hysterical mini dachshund currently in Elizabethan collar) went berserk, yapping and pursuing the escaped blue parakeet.
Once when I pet-sat for these same people their lizard (which they had forgotten to tell me had seemed lethargic) dropped dead on the first night. How much worse would it be to inform them that their dogs ate their parakeet?
I pursued the dogs, which pursued the parakeet, around and around the living room. Finally I hustled the dogs into their crate (very much against their will) and pursued the parakeet by myself. It bit me. Hard. Twice. And would not let go, even when I put it back into its cage. I had to pry its beak open. OW.
I then saw that the cage door had not been left open, and there was no obvious escape route. Odd!
Upon releasing the hounds, I quickly saw what must have happened, as the fiendish dachshund, which has a back injury and is not supposed to jump, leaped up to the bird cage, popping the lever and snapping the door open! Irritatingly, the cage is too big to move to another room.
I have now constructed a giant barricade around the cage (two chairs, six pillows, one giant bean bag. The mini dachshund has been hurling herself against it and whining for the entire time it took to write this entry.
I think I may stick the dogs back in the crate and go to Starbucks.
ETA: Forgot to mention: the cage door isn't the only problem. The parakeets get hysterical if she jumps against it, and I'm worried that even if she can't release them, they'll have heart attacks. The cage, unfortunately, is in the living room.
ETA II: Decided cage wasn't too big to move and crammed it into another room. Dachshund now hurling herself against closed door and howling.
...that dog has lived with these same birds for four years but NOW they're interesting.
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P.
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Still interested? ;)
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Teach the dog that the parakeet is not a toy, especially not a chew toy. But the dog can be, if he can't learn to behave.
Edit: If it's not perfectly obvious, this suggestion is pretty much tongue in cheek; I don't condone animal abuse. But you sound awfully exasperated.
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Once when I was hanging out at my friend Susan's house one of her cats killed a pigeon that had apparently incautiously alighted on the windowsill. (This was in a New York City apartment.) Then when Susan put the dead pigeon in the garbage, the cat clawed a hole in the garbage bag, dragged out the pigeon corpse, and was discovered gnawing at it in the kitchen. At least the pigeon wasn't anybody's pet...
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Hmm, it works.
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(Okay, I suppose the dog is more of DOOM than the parakeet-- the parakeet is just DOOMed. But still!)
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