Halloween is awesome. Trick-or-treating is fun, no matter your age: it’s either fun because you’re still getting free candy or it’s fun because you’re giving it out. Watching people rock their costumes is a simple thing, but joyful nonetheless!
Sometimes, people even have their dogs out to greet trick-or-treaters as they come. Put a costume on them and it can easily make the neighborhood’s night! Unless you’re like the family in this video from Thursday, October 31st, and your Black Labrador Retriever and cockatoo combo had something else in mind for the trick-or-treaters:
@theparrotladyMy parrot barks like a dog at strangers 👀 #cockatoo #parrot #dog #guarddog #funnyanimals #friends #fyp ♬ Spooky, Scary Skeletons (House VIP Remix) – Crystal Knives & Lex Allen
I would love to go trick-or-treating at The Parrot Lady’s house. Can I have the parrot?
The Parrot Lady has two animals, and they’re very unlikely partners in crime: a Black Labrador Retriever named Copper and a sweet umbrella cockatoo named Sweet Pea. Sweet Pea has actually been on a little bit of a healing journey over the past year, and Copper has played a big part in helping her get back to normal.
Now, she’s doing great, and she’s really come back into her own… kind of. Sweet Pea thinks she’s a dog: she plays life one, snuggles like one, and she even barks like one when she thinks someone is in her yard. There is no one else she could’ve learned that from, and listen to her! Copper is an excellent teacher.
Parrots can learn to love dogs
Copper and Sweet Pea are the best of friends, and it shows – he taught her how to bark! That’s important, I mean, what if he’s asleep and the mailman comes by? They’d be totally defenseless!
Just like Sweet Pea and Copper, your parrot can definitely learn to love your dog as long as you set them up for success early. Bigger birds will usually feel less threatened by your dogs, especially if they’re introduced when one or both of the animals is young. When you first get them, you should:
- Have the cage set up in an area the dog frequents so your bird has a chance to see it.
- Take the bird out in a harness/leash at first so they can’t spooky and fly away.
- Keep them a good distance apart until they both feel comfortable.
- Avoid letting your dog bark at the bird or stare it down too intensely.
- Don’t let either animal lick the other one.
Once your bird feels good around the dog, they can start spending more time together, though you should always supervise – even when you feel like they don’t need it anymore. You never know what could happen! Luckily for Copper and Sweet Pea, mom was right there the whole time they were barking at those scary trick-or-treaters.
