I have a 20 month old JRT who is obedience trained and usually very responsive to me. Then last friday I got 2 baby budgies. My JRT has become obsessed with watching them to the point that she was so focused on them she would not respond to any commands, even for favourite treats. She was climbing up onto the back of the sofa to try to reach them and not sleeping at all during the day. It was like living with a different dog and I was considering calling the budgie breeder to give tham back.

We've been to our usual obedience training class this evening and Helen suggested a pet corrector spray. I've used it 5 times and I've got my lovely well trained responsive JRT who follows me everywhere in the house back

Ate my dinner in peace for the first time in 5 days.

Oh happiness!

That's very interesting, i have a not so well behaved 4 year old JRT,and we have had our Lovebirds before Ziggy, and he is exactly the same ,infact both of our Jrt's do the same,i can't feed the birds if the dogs are in the room they go loopy,also Ziggy is having issues with our kittens thankyou for sharing this info, will try it on mine.

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Ah, funny you should mention a spray and JRT as I started a thread about this a few days ago although my spray was a water one
I didn't know such a thing existed that you could buy, and from a quick google search it appears it is endorsed by a dog behavourist. Interesting!

The Pet corrector is still working and now when she gets excited about the budgies I just have to show her the cannister and she calms down and sits with her back to them or plays with her toys..

I hope it works for you, let me know how you get on

Had any luck with the water squirter, it wouldn't work with my JRT as she loves chasing/biting water and we play with the hosepipe!

I have used the P Corrector with good results. I think it is better than a water spray (and more effective).

It just has to be used to the instructions and for very specific behaviour management rather than just general naughtiness

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"I am not perfect and i don't have to be, before you start pointing fingers, make sure your hands are clean" - Bob Marley

https://sites.google.com/site/blisschalet/

hey, metal! :--)

i would not use a punisher to re-arrange the dogs reaction to the birds -
simply because there is always the potential for an accident, in which a bird escapes,
and having learnt no other behavior in the birds presence than to react to an aversive and avoid looking at / approaching them while they are in the cage, the extra excitement of having the bird(s) free in the house will overwhelm any fear of an aversive, and the bird could suffer serious injury - which with birds as small as keets, often means a slow death.

it takes a bit longer, but teaching the dog to be =calm= and allowing them to watch the birds as a Reward for calm behavior is an exceptionally potent means of shaping calm interest, and also means that the dog has some! idea of an alternate behavior to chase + kill, which may help in the event of an escape.

== Look At That! == from Control Unleashed (book) is another wonderful training technique, teaching the dog to actually look on-cue at the arousing / scary / threatening stimulus, and rewarding them for calm behavior at a distance, then reducing the distance as the dog masters the self-control and becomes habituated to the stim.
my cat learned to lie beside my (wild-caught) cockatiels cage, but i decreased the distance very slowly, not only to ensure that the cat was successful + not too excited, but to reduce my birds stress, as a cat is a terrifying predator. nevertheless, the birds were on top of a 6-ft tall narrow secretary and the cage covered the entire cabinet top, leaving no room for a single paw, whenever i was out!

teaching the dog -Now- to leave-it, meaning walk away from the cage for a highly-valued reward (tug, chase a fetch toy, etc) would also build a safe just-in-case practice, for any future escapes.

* management * is also important -
budgies are not hefty birds, and their cages, tho large to allow wing-room, are not heavy, like a parrot cage. if the cage is at all accessible to the dog, even potentially, i would suggest using 2 ceiling-mounted pairs of eye-hooks to secure the cage with a V of cord, or a chain, to link it to the eyes.
now it is up high-enuf that the dog cannot possibly reach it.
the birds will also feel safer, and may get more light if a window is nearby.

if the keets are fully-flighted, meaning wings are not clipped regularly, the rule is to have not one, but Two! latched doors between cage + outside world... Just in Case. so if they are in the living-room, not only the interior door but the exterior storm door should be latched, so that if one is opened, the other is still locked + closed.

when it is time to clean cups or add seed, i would evict the dog to a safe area -
a crate, the bathroom (with a NOTE on the closed door, NOT to let the dog out please!), the bedroom with door closed/note, etc.
a baby-gate is insufficient, as if a bird escapes, the dog can be on them in a heartbeat if they fly past the gate - a closed + latched door is much safer.

even with the cage mounted above the furniture, i would not leave the dog at-large in the room if no-one is at home; launching from a table, the sofa back, a desk, etc, might allow the dog to hit or brush the cage, which would terrify the occupants - one of our Siamese leapt off the china-cupboard onto a bird-cage, and nearly gave the poor keet a heart-attack! luckily, we were home, peeled the cat off (she was not co-operative, LOL...) and put the bird into a dark, quiet closet for about 20-mins to recover. *whew*
after that, the bird was in a closed bedroom anytime we were away from the house, or even at dinner, just for safety + the birds nerves.

cheers, and happy B-Mod,
--- terry

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007