Adding a dog

[Marnie]

i am not familair with those breeds you mentioned, but i would say St Bernards would be good protectors yet gentle. ( if you can stand the slobber)

i have 4 whippets in my house and while they have a high prey drive, they leave my birds alone.
they know they live here and are not prey. i have no worries there.
the other day i came home and Baby was not in his cage and i was in a panic imagining the worst.
i could not hear him or find him anywhere, then, out of one of my plants on the window sill he came.
i was sooo relieved. here is a free bird in a 4 dog house, and he is safe and sound.
usually when the bird comes near one of my dogs, the dog gets up and moves away.
i think they learned respect for birds back when i had the amazon. that bird ruled the house and came and went as she pleased. she kinda laid down the ground rules when it came to birds and my dogs have accepted them ever since.

keep looking, the right dog will come along. i would stay away from bird dogs though, it only makes sense.

[Shelby]

It seems that the working group or the herding group seem to be pretty relaxed when it comes down to other animals.

Please do not get a herding dog, such as a collie, unless you can give it lots of room to run around outside DAILY and are willing to put in lots of time training and keeping it busy. Herding dogs have been bred to work and they NEED space to run around and something to entertain them. I know several sweet, well-trained collies and other herding dogs. But I also know people who got collies and leave them home alone all day while they are at work, then come home and bum around the house. These dogs became destructive and high-strung because their owners didn't do their research and/or are lazy. Herding dogs are great companions, but realize they need mental stimulation and room to run.

I also support going to a humane society or animal shelter for your dog. We got our dog at a humane society and she was sweetest, most loving, non-destructive, mild-tempered dog I have ever known. Lots of times, the dogs at humane societies were abandoned as puppies and the shelters have had them and worked with them since they were very young. Or, they belonged to somebody who had to move and couldn't bring their pets.

[pennyandrocky]

i adopted my german shepard pitbull mix from a shelter and she loves the birds my lands on her back all the time. her favorite place to lay at mealtimes is under the birds that might be y she loves them so much.the only problem i ever had was a i used to have bullied her and would keep her in the game room, she still never even growled.