# should I buy a couple of parakeets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 26, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-couple-of-parakeets/626385 "2012-06-26T20:19:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-couple-of-parakeets/626385/1 "2012-06-26T20:19:00Z")
I was thinking about buying some parakeeets for the house, but the woman at the pet store claimed that it wasn’t a good idea because I have a dog and if the dog barks it can cause enough stress to the parakeet that its heart might explode. Was this woman on crack? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-couple-of-parakeets/626385/2 "2012-06-26T20:21:04Z")
More likely the little beggars will learn to bark. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-couple-of-parakeets/626385/3 "2012-06-26T20:28:24Z")
Sounds like bullshit. Did the store have any books on proper care of parakeets? Maybe she can show you the chapter where she learned this factoid. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-couple-of-parakeets/626385/4 "2012-06-26T20:32:07Z")
Birds are, naturally, scared of dogs, and so they should be. However, dogs and birds can learn to coexist peacefully (I had a canary for years that got along fine with my roommate’s American Eskimo, though the bird was never uncaged when the dog was around). That doesn’t guarantee that they **will** coexist peacefully: your dog might indeed turn out to be intensely interested in the keets and the birds might well suffer from stress as a result. Excessive stress or shock can kill a bird, but so can just about anything else (they are in many ways unpredictably delicate/tough little critters). A sensible summary [here](http://www.lisashea.com/petinfo/safety/parakeetdog.html). ---
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-couple-of-parakeets/626385/5 "2012-06-26T20:36:46Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > Sounds like bullshit. Did the store have any books on proper care of parakeets? Maybe she can show you the chapter where she learned this factoid. She said that she learned this from other customers in the past who bought parakeets and had dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-couple-of-parakeets/626385/6 "2012-06-26T20:47:29Z")
Kimstu nailed it. Can you bring your doggie over to some other bird owner’s house? Maybe one that already also has a dog (so the bird doesn’t get stressed). If your dog sniffs the cage and lays down, you’re good to go. Oh! I know - take your dog to Petsmart, if you have one in the area. They allow dogs on leashes. Walk him over to the bird area and see what happens. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-couple-of-parakeets/626385/7 "2012-06-26T20:50:50Z")
Probably not the best idea for the pet birds encased in glass cages at Petsmart, stress-wise. I second the idea to visit a friend or neighbor with birds. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-couple-of-parakeets/626385/8 "2012-06-26T20:54:30Z")
> [@Lionne](#): > > Probably not the best idea for the pet birds encased in glass cages at Petsmart, stress-wise. I second the idea to visit a friend or neighbor with birds. Dogs already go there, and they’re pretty used to it. Like I said, my local Petsmart almost always has people + dogs wandering the aisles. ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-couple-of-parakeets/626385/9 "2012-06-26T20:55:31Z")
If she actually used the words, “heart might explode”, I would seriously question her knowledge on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-couple-of-parakeets/626385/10 "2012-06-26T20:58:51Z")
I don’t know for sure about the dogs causing stress with parakeets, but nonstick cooking pots can kill them! Not kidding, the fumes are lethal to birds. **[Cite 1](http://birds.about.com/od/adoptingabird/a/tenthings.htm)**. **[Cite 2](http://www.starlingtalk.com/warning.htm)**. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-couple-of-parakeets/626385/11 "2012-06-26T21:21:55Z")
> [@copperwindow](#): > > I was thinking about buying some parakeeets for the house, but the woman at the pet store claimed that it wasn’t a good idea because I have a dog and if the dog barks it can cause enough stress to the parakeet that its heart might explode. Was this woman on crack? Did the pet store also sell dogs? Relatedly, did any of the birds’ hearts asplode while you were there?