Question about birdseed & dogs........

[Claudine]

Bob Barker just insists on going under the birdcages & sniffing around BUT he's getting birdseed up his nose & then is constantly snorting & trying to get the seed out. I try to make sure there's no seed on the floor but it's next to impossible. Do you think this will have any bad effect on Bob? This may sound silly but i'm afraid a seed will stay up his nose & then sprout! I think i'm going to have to call the vet & ask him if it's harmful to Bob. He also eats birdseed but that doesn't really concern me as it's just grain & I think it's probably harmless, but Bob snorts a LOT & i'm just concerned. Anybody know if it's harmful?

[areese]

My brothers dog got very sick from eating bird seed. I'd google it and see what the 'net says...

[oceangirls]

My cocker had some problems from eating bird seed as well. Seeds and grains aren't very good for dogs. As for snorting it and it getting stuck there, absolutely - even if it doesn't sprout, it he can't get it out, it can get stuck in there and cause swelling and irritation - I have a dog with chronic inflammatory rhinitis, and believe me, you don't want him to develop that!

Could you maybe put up gates and make the bird area a doxie-free zone? I would think it would make the birds nervous anyway :faint: (it would probably make ME nervous to have my dogs so close to birds).

[LexieLuvr]

ITA with everyone - I'd discourage the bird seed eating if it was my dog. When I saw "my" feral cats eating bird seed off our deck, I decided I had to start feeding them real cat food, and I've been buying generic brand cat food to feed them every day. Feral cats eating bird seed can't be good, either, and these were kittens at the time. Starving kittens, I'm sure. (You should see them now!!)

[HokieMom]

Is he eating it or sniffing it up his nose?

If he's sniffing it up his nose, I'd be afraid of inhaling some into his lungs. I don't know anything about what it would do to his tummy if he ate it. I'd be really afraid of inhaling some into his respiratory system, though.

I've had a parrot - so I KNOW how hard it is to keep seed off the floor. Have you seen those 'skirts' that can go around the bottom of cages. (If you don't already have one). That might help keep some off the floor - but birds just love to fling seed everywhere.

Let us know what the vet says!

[Claudine]

I'm glad to get the head's up about birdseed making dogs sick. I didn't know it could. I think i'm going to have to put up some sort of barrier so that Bob Barker can't get to any birdseed. I have skirts on all the cages & the other birds aren't bad to fling seeds, but my Senegal parrot just flings seed everywhere.I'll call the vet tomorrow & see what he has to say. I am really concerned though because Bob seems to be snorting almost constantly. Thanks for all the advice & i'll make sure he can't get anywhere near any birdseed from now on.

[Patt]

If Bob is still "snorting" in the morning he needs to see the vet.

Go to the middle of this article for dogs eating bird seed. http://www.roanoke.com/pawsclaws/wb/135559

:goodluck:

[areese]

Owen's horrible sinus infection was most prob. cuased by him sniffing something up his nose and it getting lodged in there. We could never see it and it prob. had come out but it caused so much inflamation and swelling that it was a big mess. His first symptom was a lot of snorting and sneezing and then reverse sneezing.

[Jacqueline]

I had a Quaker who thought it was her job to see that Taffy and Daisy got their daily minimum requirement of birdseed everyday. She picked out what she wanted them to have and threw it to them right out of her food dish. And they encouraged this behavior. No amount of telling them no, sweeping, barricades, etc, was going to stop them.

I asked the vet if this was going to cause problems with them. He said that unless they became impacted, no. You could clearly see they were passing it thru in their poop. Of course, they weren't sniffing it up their noses, either. She wasn't throwing them any sunflower seeds, saving those for herself. They sure missed her after she passed.

[Claudine]

Took Bob in to vet this a.m., when I took Skippy in for his anal glands. Bob has a pretty bad sinus infection & yes, vet said it was from inhaling the birdseed. He didn't find any seed in the nose but said all the irritation was from the seed. Bob's on antibiotics for 5 days & then a re-check. I put up a not very attractive chicken-wire fence around all the bird cages, leaving enough space so any flung birdseed can't go beyond the fence. I need to buy something a liitle more presentable, as the cages are in my living room! (no place else to keep them; bedrms. are small)......BUT.....it does keep the dogs from eating & snorting birdseed! Kind of a pain in the neck b'cause I have to step over it every time I take my Senegal parrot out of his cage.....ditto my cockatiels (sigh).