When pet dogs become killers are they still safe?

A trigger for a placid dog killing a cat is often the cat yawning. The showing of teeth is in the dogs mind an act of aggression that is why you should never let a child run towards a dog.
 
A trigger for a placid dog killing a cat is often the cat yawning. The showing of teeth is in the dogs mind an act of aggression that is why you should never let a child run towards a dog.
yes i don't like children running towards strange dogs , as for cats and dogs ,when a pup gets a stripe across its nose from the house cat the cat knows it has to get the edge on the pup whilst it can ,then the pup respects the cat , ,and they learn to live along side each other,
 
I am sorry but if I had a dog that turned into a crazed animal every time a cat yawned or a child happened to be running in its direction it would never see the light of day!!

I appreciate some dogs are working dogs, perhaps in an environment where they don't see lots of kids, cats, chickens etc etc
Some dogs are left to their own devices.

On the flip side some owners tolerate totally unacceptable behaviour IMO
Any dog that bites a human or other animal unless on your terms is no longer under control and you as an owner have failed.
Harsh maybe, but that is how I see it.

I used to play with some of the local hounds as a kids, especially when the puppy judging was going on.
None of those dogs had any aggression towards humans. They would have been shot if they had.
They also had no aggression towards other dogs, equally unacceptable when they are working around farmland where dogs are present
 
I've had a go at her before for having too many animals in her small 3 bed house

That's the problem right there.

Too many people seem to think they can fill up their lives with animals so they can feel better about themselves, while having absolutely zero nous when it comes to identifying potential issues, or even learning about what makes them tick. God only knows how stressed the dogs are, & when you mix stress & unrest with a large & latently aggressive dog such as a GSD it's a powder keg waiting to explode. FFS, when are these people going to get it through their heads that dogs don't manage themselves, they need to be handled properly.

I've said this before, & I'll likely be repeating it until I draw my last breath, but the people who experience issues with dogs are people that put zero effort into managing them properly
 
That's the problem right there.

Too many people seem to think they can fill up their lives with animals so they can feel better about themselves, while having absolutely zero nous when it comes to identifying potential issues, or even learning about what makes them tick. God only knows how stressed the dogs are, & when you mix stress & unrest with a large & latently aggressive dog such as a GSD it's a powder keg waiting to explode. FFS, when are these people going to get it through their heads that dogs don't manage themselves, they need to be handled properly.

I've said this before, & I'll likely be repeating it until I draw my last breath, but the people who experience issues with dogs are people that put zero effort into managing them properly

Yeah you've described her to a T, seems to think its ok to just leave the 3 dogs couped up in the conservatory all day and that they will be happy with a 20min walk once a day. I don't get why they got the 2 GSD's as they don't even take them out anywhere but the field behind their house as she's got a 2 seater little car and he's changed his big estate car to a little sports hatch so none of the dogs can fit in the cars.
I feel sorry for the pedigree maine coon cat they have as its not aloud outside unless it goes in the small run they built for it in the garden which must be about 10ft by 3ft by 4ft.
She probably thinks she is being good giving all these animals a home.
 
As has been said u should never be trusting dogs alone with kids anyway.

I have seen some of the hardest terriers when worked being the sofest house dogs its just that switch, think i would be corncerned when ogs that have lived in alleged 'harmony' or atleast tolerated the cats to switch so suddenly
There has been some change in the group/pack dynamics. Wot age are the 2 dogs? Is 1 of the dogs getting older and younger 1 trying to displace it as pack leader and 1 of the was trying to prove itself to the other to mantain/ascend dominance? Possibly get the dogs checked at vet?

So many possible things or a combination of lots of tiny things
As woodsmoke says above a lack of training or 'dominance' from the human ' pack leaders' may also be to do with it.
But quite oftenif 1 dog gets involved it is quite natural for the 2nd dog to get involved, just a primal pack instict takes over

Best advice would be to get a decent trainer/behaviourist (dog whisper type bloke) out to look at things and see wot is going on and see if there is any dominance ssues etc or any other obvious problems

Unless u understand wot has happened and why u'll never really solve it or any triggers etc. Not an easy 1 to answer over the net when u dinae ken the dogs or wot happened
 
This is a strange one to ask but here goes.

My sister in law has 3 dogs (2 German Shepherds and a labrador), 6 cats, some ducks and chickens.

The 2 German shepherds have grown up with the cats since they were puppies and all have lived happily together for a couple of years with the only problem being the bitch dog has killed a couple of chickens until last night when the wife got a call from her distraught sister to say her other half had just let the dogs out in the garden for a pee and both of the German shepherds had attacked and unfortunately killed one of the cats, obviously the cat didn't do a runner when the dogs came out as they normally get on and play together.

So the question is why would the dogs do this and are they likely to do it again?

The sister in law wants the dogs gone as she also looks after her 2yr old grandson quite often and is worried that they could turn on the child or the other cats.

Any advice appreciated

by any chance has the cat had a go at the dogs? I had a boxer that loved cats until a feral made a mess of his face. Then it was kill on sight any cat. He had quite a few till he died.
 
If she hasn't the room or ability to take proper responsibility of their husbandry ... She's keeping them for her sake not the animals ... Couped up in a conservatory all day !?! How hot do they get ??!?! FFS !!!!
She needs told & non too politely either!!

Paul
 
We had two German shepherds a dog and a bitch my wife's dogs they like all shepherds were vocal and esp the dog intimerdating with thier size just what we want on the farm but soft as muck ...well I got a lab pup for usual keepering duties and all seemed well .the gsds got on well and we were pleased but the dog gsd did on one occasion over chastise the pup but I was on hand and quickly sorted the commotion out the pup being 12 weeks old .shortly after the dogs were all out in the field with me labs spanial and gsd when with no provocation 1 ' in front of me the dog gsd launched a killer attack on the pup when the pup was totally submissive I witnessed it all and saved the pup from a certain death she had a broken leg and a lot of puncture wounds and was in total shock I was flabbergasted !
I got the pup to the vets who sorted her out With sedation I returned home and the gsd looked at me as if to say what have I done ! He was proper glum looking ,I rang the mrs and explained everything .she has no children and that dog was her baby but we have kids on the farm /shoot and with the news of dogs savaging and killing children I spoke of my fears ...but he's soft as tripe well he snapped and with no sign of aggression till he snapped so with a sad and sorry heart I put the boy down he is buried at the end of one of my pheasant pens and it broke my heart but we did the right thing I couldn't have lived with him maiming or killing a child .
a dog can never be 110% trusted
passing a problem on is not responsible dog ownership .
norma
 
Our terrier gets on with mother in laws cats most of the time, but if one starts to run she is straight after it. Not got hold of one yet, luckily!
 
Yeah you've described her to a T, seems to think its ok to just leave the 3 dogs couped up in the conservatory all day and that they will be happy with a 20min walk once a day. I don't get why they got the 2 GSD's as they don't even take them out anywhere but the field behind their house as she's got a 2 seater little car and he's changed his big estate car to a little sports hatch so none of the dogs can fit in the cars.
I feel sorry for the pedigree maine coon cat they have as its not aloud outside unless it goes in the small run they built for it in the garden which must be about 10ft by 3ft by 4ft.
She probably thinks she is being good giving all these animals a home.

This is the problem, not the dogs. Dogs need exercise, stimulation and work. If she doesn't give them this it would be a safe bet that she didn't train them either. All dogs want to hunt to a certain degree and it is up to the owners to set the boundaries of acceptability, but a bored, unstimulated dog will eventually create its own entertainment.

Some dogs are easier to train than others, and some dogs pose a bigger risk than others due to their breeding, lineage etc. All this means is that as an owner you have to put in the work and effort proportional to the dog you have.

There are no bad dogs, just bad owners.
 
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This is a strange one to ask but here goes.

My sister in law has 3 dogs (2 German Shepherds and a labrador), 6 cats, some ducks and chickens.

The 2 German shepherds have grown up with the cats since they were puppies and all have lived happily together for a couple of years with the only problem being the bitch dog has killed a couple of chickens until last night when the wife got a call from her distraught sister to say her other half had just let the dogs out in the garden for a pee and both of the German shepherds had attacked and unfortunately killed one of the cats, obviously the cat didn't do a runner when the dogs came out as they normally get on and play together.

So the question is why would the dogs do this and are they likely to do it again?

The sister in law wants the dogs gone as she also looks after her 2yr old grandson quite often and is worried that they could turn on the child or the other cats.

Any advice appreciated
Much the same as those that say "my poochikins doesn't worry sheep" when its caught red handed and covered in blood.2 choices.make 100% sure the dogs are under 100% control 100% of the time, or get rid.
 
My terriers always got on with my mothers cat and would sleep next to it if they met it in the field they would destroy it dogs are like humans they put up with all sorts in there world but outside it is dog eat dog as they say
 
Having read a few more of the details about the household the animals are in, there is fairly good evidence of tension +/- anxiety in the place, plus a "mini pack" of the two GSDs. I have a very low threshold for poor behaviour if there are young children around. A 2-year old child is particularly unpredictable.
I can't advise as I don't know the full situation. They need proper advice.
 
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