Need some dog advice (kinda long)

g8trkim · February 2011

So, we have 2 boxers who are both 6 years old. They are wonderful with LO. They've never showed any agression toward any people... ever. LO steals their toys, food, etc. and they don't think twice. He crawls all over them, etc. You get the gist. Anyway, our female doesn't care for other dogs. She's never attacked, but she will bark and bark, and then cry like she wants to be friends with them, but doesn't know how. She's also had issues here and there with squirrels and possums that have come in the yard. Basically she chases them, catches them, and they are no match. She doesn't bite or anything. She will just lick them like she trying to revive them... it's pretty gross.

Anyway, so today the latch on our gate was faulty or something and they both got out and killed our neighbor's cat. It's an outdoor cat, but it was in the neighbor's driveway just sitting there. I don't know exactly what happened, but I suspect they ran at it for the thrill of the chase, the cat got scared and tried to defend itself, and well it died. I suspect our female was the main culprit, given her history and the fact that she had a lot of scratches on her.

We've made piece with the neighbor's who were very understanding, and said they had a similar issue in the past. And we got cited for the incident and have to pay a ton of fines (not to mention we are going to replace our gate right away just try to avoid any future issues). Anyway, that's all settled. But my concern now is LO obviously. I never thought twice about him being around the dogs, but now I'm scared. And I don't want to be that person who said, "I thought it could never happen to us," and God forbid they hurt him. Our dogs are our family. I just feel stuck. Has anyone had a similar situation? What did you do? Any insightful thoughts or suggestions?

akl0506 · February 2011

ugh, I am so sorry about that. I would talk to my vet to see what s/he suggests.

Good luck.

alltwistedup · February 2011

I am probably going to get flamed to hell and back for this.. but I would rehome her. If our dog ever snapped at our child or caused harm unprovoked to anything or one they would be gone. That's just my opinion though.

megperk72 · February 2011

I'm sorry to hear that. I've heard that a lot of times the animals can sense when another animal is ill, and they 'prey on the weak' so to speak. So maybe the cat was sick and the dogs sensed it? I know that doesn't help a whole lot, and I'm sure you feel horrible. As far as your LO goes, I think it's always a good idea to never leave a child alone with an animal. No matter how trusting you are of that animal. So I would say just keep an eye on things and never walk out of the room while they are around your LO. And like pp said, a call to the vet wouldn't hurt either.

Hip2Bsquare · February 2011

Dog aggression or aggression to other animals is different then aggression towards humans. I also have a female boxer and she would probably kill a cat if I let her at one. I think THAT is something instinctual and just animal nature to go and kill a smaller animal, hunt an animal, eat an animal...but most pets don't look at humans that way.

g8trkim · February 2011

Alltwistedup:
I am probably going to get flamed to hell and back for this.. but I would rehome her. If our dog ever snapped at our child or caused harm unprovoked to anything or one they would be gone. That's just my opinion though.

No flames here. I wouldn't ask for opinions if I wasn't ready to handle the answers.

alltwistedup · February 2011

g8trkim:

Alltwistedup:
I am probably going to get flamed to hell and back for this.. but I would rehome her. If our dog ever snapped at our child or caused harm unprovoked to anything or one they would be gone. That's just my opinion though.

No flames here. I wouldn't ask for opinions if I wasn't ready to handle the answers.

I feel like I need to add that I have an extreme mentality about it since I saw my cousins nose get bitten off by a dog who was unprovoked and his beautiful face is still scarred to this day. I was the one that held him on the way to the hospital and it was pretty bad.

g8trkim · February 2011

megperk72:
I'm sorry to hear that. I've heard that a lot of times the animals can sense when another animal is ill, and they 'prey on the weak' so to speak. So maybe the cat was sick and the dogs sensed it? I know that doesn't help a whole lot, and I'm sure you feel horrible. As far as your LO goes, I think it's always a good idea to never leave a child alone with an animal. No matter how trusting you are of that animal. So I would say just keep an eye on things and never walk out of the room while they are around your LO. And like pp said, a call to the vet wouldn't hurt either.

I'm not sure if the cat was ill. I know it was old, but that's about all I know. We always had a policy not to leave LO alone with the dogs, though we've gotten a little lax so that will definitely change. And now we're going to put up a gate we have to keep them in different rooms.

amykins1283 · February 2011

I agree with the PP who stated that animal to animal aggression is different than animal to human aggression. I have a dog that is half staffordshire terrier and the terrier instinct is to chase down little animals. He's killed two birds, a chipmunk, and attempted to kill a possum but he's NEVER so much as given Liam the side eye.

I would take the steps you have mentioned (replacing the fence gate, putting up a gate inside to separate baby and dogs, never leaving LO alone with them) and just be vigilant. More than likely your dogs have no designs towards hurting your LO but it never hurts to be cautious.

Meli0604 · February 2011

Hip2Bsquare:
Dog aggression or aggression to other animals is different then aggression towards humans. I also have a female boxer and she would probably kill a cat if I let her at one. I think THAT is something instinctual and just animal nature to go and kill a smaller animal, hunt an animal, eat an animal...but most pets don't look at humans that way.

I agree with this. Some dogs have a high prey drive, this does not mean they are human aggressive. I would talk to your vet and a dog behaviorist/trainer. We wouldn't rehome our dogs in that situation. GL!

Temp536318000007725 · February 2011

I'll echo the other responses. I would definitely be vigilant about keeping an eye on the dogs with LO, but I think dogs know the difference between a cat and a person (even a little one). I'm sorry that you have to deal with this and am glad that your neighbor is being understanding.

hikerbeth · February 2011

I also have extremely friendly dogs. They are never alone with DS. We have baby gates to separate them so they can each have safe spaces away from eachother.

lite-bright · February 2011

It's not exactly the same, but one of our dogs killed a prairie dog that crawled under our fence and got into our back yard. I'm pretty sure it was Shiloh -- they're both rescues, but we suspect he has had at least rudimentary hunting training.

There's a squirrel who likes to run along our fence and I'm pretty sure if he ever falls where our dogs can get to him, he's a goner. And if they could catch any of the rabbits in our neighborhood, I'm pretty sure they'd hurt or kill them.

None of those things make me scared to have my kids around our dogs. They're hound mixes -- they hunt instinctively. But they are also extremely gentle, very patient, and are very good with our girls.

Shortcake2675 · February 2011

Prey drive in dogs does not equal human aggression.

Please don't assume your dogs will hurt your LO because they killed a cat.

At the same time, be smart about your child and your dogs being together. Supervise interactions and don't let your child hug your dogs or maul them in general. It can make dogs feel threatened.

None of my dogs are good with cats, but they are great with kids.

And to avoid an incident like this in future, don't leave your dogs unattended in your yard. This is an EXACT example why you should keep your dogs inside.

Hip2Bsquare · February 2011

Shortcake2675:
Prey drive in dogs does not equal human aggression.
Please don't assume your dogs will hurt your LO because they killed a cat.
At the same time, be smart about your child and your dogs being together. Supervise interactions and don't let your child hug your dogs or maul them in general. It can make dogs feel threatened.
None of my dogs are good with cats, but they are great with kids.
And to avoid an incident like this in future, don't leave your dogs unattended in your yard. This is an EXACT example why you should keep your dogs inside.

I would agree with everything here except the part about keeping your dog inside. A boxer is easily 60-70 lbs if it is pure breed. If it is mixed with another breed it could weigh more. boxers are also very hyper! they have the energy and temperament of a puppy for their ENTIRE life. If your boxer isn't hyper then it's ill. Seriously. However I do know that there are always exceptions to the rule...some of you may know a calm boxer or a mean one. Anyways, It's unrealistic to keep your hyper dog around your baby inside the house all day. What is realistic? fixing the gate, walking your dog often to get the energy out and owning a very sturdy collar and leash. Do as the PP's said and use your baby gate in the house, monitor the dog when it's near the baby etc. GL

g8trkim · February 2011

Shortcake2675:

Prey drive in dogs does not equal human aggression.

Please don't assume your dogs will hurt your LO because they killed a cat.

At the same time, be smart about your child and your dogs being together. Supervise interactions and don't let your child hug your dogs or maul them in general. It can make dogs feel threatened.

None of my dogs are good with cats, but they are great with kids.

And to avoid an incident like this in future, don't leave your dogs unattended in your yard. This is an EXACT example why you should keep your dogs inside.

Thanks for the advice, but just so you know our dogs are kept inside. We have a large fenced yard which they play in when we are home. DH let them out to play and they were only outside for about 10 minutes. They ran back in the yard and he let them in, having no clue that they even got the cat until a neighbor called a half hour later to to tell us what happened.

Shortcake2675 · February 2011

g8trkim:

Thanks for the advice, but just so you know our dogs are kept inside. We have a large fenced yard which they play in when we are home. DH let them out to play and they were only outside for about 10 minutes. They ran back in the yard and he let them in, having no clue that they even got the cat until a neighbor called a half hour later to to tell us what happened.

Ok. That makes me feel better. I have a Pyr that escapes on occasion. Sorry for jumping to conclusions. It wouldn't hurt to watch them when they're outside. It's a Pets board mantra, but I will turn my out in the yard sometimes and not watch them too.

It's amazing how much trouble they can get into in a short period of time. I'm glad to hear your pets are your family too. Maybe the varmints in your yard will get the hint and go live at your neighbors'. :-)

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