baby african grey

Question
We have had our 16week old african grey for just over a week and everything was going fine.  He bonded with my husband better than me but was still more than happy to have affection.  The other day though when I was going to put him in his cage before work there was an incident.  He was sat on top of the door and I hadn't realised our dog must have knocked the door because the next thing I knew the parrot was squaking round the room.  I don't know whether he was just spooked or he got his tail caught or what but now he won't really let me near him.  We keep getting baby steps but then the next day we're back to square one if not worse.  Can you suggest what I can do to make friends.  I have tried feeding him bits of banana, which is his favourite, but today he just kept flying away.  Could it be to do with the dog? as I do have a strong bond with him as he has eplilepsy and maybe demands a bit more attention than usual?

Answer
Any time a bird is scared by something, it takes a while for it to go back to normal. Try giving him a new environment by moving his cage to another room or another part of the room, switching ALL his toys, things like that. (new cage is best, but I know they're too expensive to switch cages all the time). When the bird is brought back to the old environment, it remembers events in that old environment and then "forgets" all the work you've done that day. You can also try just leaving him alone completely other than feeding him for a few days. This way you're respecting his space, and he will soon get bored and want to come out and play with you. Either method should work, just choose whichever you like best.