When one of those pets is much more fearful than it should be, it's bound to go much differently than you might have expected.
I got Oscar many years ago. He's my Orange Wing Amazon Parrot, and he's named Oscar for a reason. He can be a grouch.
But lately, his personality is starting to blossom. He's demanding more attention, and he seems to be more interested in what anyone is doing around the house.
He used to simply sit in his cage and growl. As in Leave Me Alone, I'm Going To Attack You If You Get Closer growl.
He did have a time where he was somewhat more cuddly but for some reason, he decided that wasn't for him.
Now he's deciding that he wants some human contact.
We are adjusting.
He sits in his TV Set sized cage on the room divider in the middle of the house. I put him there so he can see everything that is going on during the day, and that he can basically sleep in peace at night since the dogs have always stayed in the bedroom overnight without too much running around.
Lately he has been asking to be let out. Asking as in repeatedly calling "Hello" at an ever increasing volume that approximates the volume of the explosion of Mount Krakatoa. I'm wondering if there won't be a visit from the City asking what is that noise and telling me that there have been complaints from someone screaming Hello and laughing repeatedly, but that's an entirely different story.
Once the door is opened on the cage, Oscar has been content to sit on top and watch the goings on with an occasional foray onto the room divider to clear the top of it of anything that I may have had the temerity of leaving there. If it is in reach, a parrot will eventually chew on it. Then they will either knock it off whatever it is sitting on it, poop on it, or sing to it. Their choice. Not yours, and it will always happen when you least expect it.
One day, I was sitting in my bouncy chair and I heard a soft movement of air in the house. That was followed by a loud rattle and thump.
Looking around, I saw one green bird sitting happily on top of the door to the dog's crate.
Well! This is new!
I turned my chair to have a better view. Oscar didn't mind me but he was intent on staying on the door.
Rack was sitting in the crate, craning his neck to see what was going on. Watching me, then Oscar, he was wary.
Oscar got bored quickly when he realized I wasn't going to chase him away. Climbing down the cage after first testing the dog's mats on top for taste, he stepped down to the floor, then pulled himself into the crate.
I wasn't going to stop this, but a curious bird and a fearful dog, could make for a volatile mix.
I was able to grab my camera and walk into the living room for a seat on the coffee table. This needed to be watched since there were many tasty things around for him to get into such as wallboard, woodwork, and fragile things inside the house that also included the dog.
Oscar had placed himself inside the crate as if in greeting.
Yeah, right. Greeting. That's what we will call it.
Rack is a patient dog, but not terribly assertive. He waited watching Oscar.
Oscar used to preen Lettie when she would allow it. She didn't allow it much, and it usually had to wait for when she was asleep and when I was brave enough to put him on the ground. When she woke up, she'd be out of the room in a shot.
Maybe that was what was churning around inside his head when Oscar was inside of the crate. Go meet this new dog. Maybe we can preen.
Oscar likes to preen. If I stand next to his cage, my ear and my hair will get a thorough preening. He hasn't gotten too rough yet, and I haven't ended up with a pierced ear but...
Oh right, Oscar, in the cage.
At this point, my mind was wondering how much longer would this last.
Rack was being approached by Oscar. He was going to have his leg preened.
Nope. Just Nope.
45 pounds of black and white fur flew out of that crate and trotted as far away from that feathered beast as quickly as it could.
Oscar remained in the crate alone. He was probably just looking for a friend but he had ejected Rack thoroughly.
Then he actually laughed. Some may say that parrots don't understand human noises, I disagree. He's done silly things for his own entertainment and has laughed afterwords. I think this was one of these times. He laughed at the fact that he could eject a dog from a crate.
More like shooting fish in a barrel than anything else.
But it has established a pattern. Oscar has found out that he can crawl into the crate, fly around the room, and visit. Rack may not like it, but it will make for an interesting story.
After all, how many people can say that their parrot bullied their dog?
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