Defensive BP

I have a '07 female who's like that, always is "s" form, she's a good sized girl & tries to be intimidating, I got gloves though :) and I take her out every other day for handling.

Thanks for the great ideas. I hadn't thought about the head-tap. It does seem to help when I "warn" him of pending handling by moving his hide around, etc. I will try all the above.

Good luck! :)

A final thought. Do you think it would help to handle him with another calm BP? My other two are puppy dogs. I didn't know if he would be calmer if handled with them at the same time.

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Originally Posted by Nvar

A final thought. Do you think it would help to handle him with another calm BP? My other two are puppy dogs. I didn't know if he would be calmer if handled with them at the same time.

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only problem i see there is if he gets nippy, you will need both hands to handle him.

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Originally Posted by Nvar

A final thought. Do you think it would help to handle him with another calm BP? My other two are puppy dogs. I didn't know if he would be calmer if handled with them at the same time.

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You're done with the QT period, right?

Just curious - what's the reasoning behind handling two at the same time?

When I first got Todd, my 08 pastel he was just like that. He was fine right out of the box, but then out of no where he started striking and making his way -across- the floor towards me before I could get him into his new cage. Then even in his cage for the week I left him be he would see me and strike the glass any time I was close.

I had to cover his whole cage and leave it that way for another week...but then I eventually started getting him out with thin gloves on. I had to handle him everyday for the 10 minutes, but I kept him IN my hands and did not set him down in my lap or anywhere else since he was usually very jumpy and also would instantly start to freak out.

-Eventually- the gloves came off and his cage was uncovered when he started to calm down. I was a bit worried at first that we wouldn't ever calm, but right now he is one of the sweater ones I have! He was just a scared little baby, and I would say you just really got to work through it and give them a good chance to get used to you. Keep working at it! :D