My dog killed my sons new kitty, how do I punish the dog?

Question

I bought a kitty for my 6 year old son. We had it for 3 weeks now and tonight our dog killed it. My son doesn't know the the kitty is dead, and I dont know how and if I should tell him. Also how do I punish the dog? (the dog has never been agressive to my son or poeple in general)

Just adding a few things, Thank you to everyone for your prompt responces.
I have been keeping the kitty and dog apart and they were only in the same room if I was holding the kitten. I have been sick with the flu, a friend came over to help tonight and left the gargage door open.
I knew having a kitten would be a lot of work until he was older and could defend himself. I have a 5 year od cat that is the boss of the house, the dog never messes with him, and the older cat was very sweet with the kitten too. But I will not get anymore kittens becasue I don't ever want that to happen again.

Answer 1

The dog is just doing what he thinks is natural. No punnishment will make the dog "realize he was wrong and won't do it again" and that is the reason for punnishment. Don't get another kitty. Tell your son the kitten is dead. Gentle truth is always best. Children have to learn to deal with death...not on the same scale as adults of course...but they need to learn it is a part of having a living thing...as is the responsibility of caring for a pet. I am so sorry this happened. Consult a trainer to observe your dog to make sure there is no underlying aggression where he could harm possibly your child. You don't want to wait until it is too late.

Answer 2

In the world of dogs there is a very fine line between play drive and prey drive. If a dog gets to playing with a live animal sometimes they can be too rough and it clicks into their head that this other smaller animal is its prey. This is a natural part of dog behavior and it is not something that the dog can be punished for.

This is also not necessarily a breed specific thing as someone else suggested. Just because your dog killed a cat does not mean that all dogs of that breed will kill cats.

I have a boxer and an australian shepherd. I also have 12 cats. I breed and show my cats and I show my dogs as well just have not bred any. Over the summer I had the experience of my boxer killing a 5 week old kitten accidentally. Fortunately for me this kitten was from a domestic litter who's mom I rescued while she was pregnant and was not an expensive show cat.

This taught me that no matter how good she is with the older cats she is still a dog and dogs still can kill cats. In this case it was accidental she was playing with the kitten and broke his neck but I will never take that chance again, she is now not allowed to roam with the kittens until they are a bit older.

As far as telling your son yes you should be honest with him and tell him that the cat has passed. I am not sure what happened or if you witnessed it but if so I would not go into the gory details with him just tell him that fido was playing too rough with kitty and kitty did not survive. Explain to him that sometimes dogs just can not be around cats and maybe it is best to not get another cat.

Answer 3

You don't punish the dog. If you try to you will only make it afraid of you. He doesn't know what he did. Some dogs have small animal aggression and often it's what they were bred to do. All dogs were bred for a purpose, we simply have made them pets and forgotten this. As an animal lover I'm sorry to hear about the kitten (especially so young) but this is how life can be. If you decide to bring another cat into your home you are going to have to teach your dog to protect and love it. It will take time and patience as well as never leaving the two alone for a while but you can have peace in the end. As for how to break the news to your son, you can explain to him that these are the reality's of life and that you will be able to meet with all animal friends at a later time. (I would not tell him that the dog killed the kitten, make something up like he choked on a piece of food. If you don't your son will not only blame your dog but possibly all dogs.)

Answer 4

Dont' punish the dog. Just learn from what happened. I'm really sorry to tell you that most dogs will kill cats unless the cat comes first and a new puppy grows up with it. Bringing a kitten into a house with a grown dog is not the right thing to do unless you have time to give the animals your undivided attention. It's been happening for eons -- dogs kill cats. I really feel bad for you and esp. your son. Just don't mix 'em up again, and you won't have to go through this horrible trauma again. I've always had pets and kids, and it's usually better to be honest than to try to hide facts from your kids. Yours might be a little young, but you should at least tell him that the kitty is no longer with you.

Answer 5

It could have been deliberate - the dog saw the cat as prey since it was strange and moved quickly.

It could have been accidental - the dog grabbed trying to play and killed it.

Its awful to have happen BUT

YOU CAN NOT PUNISH THE DOG. HE WON'T UNDERSTAND.

YOU CAN"T EXACTLY GIVE HIM A TIME OUT AND TELL HIM TO THINK ABOUT IT!

I have introduced kittens into the houe with the dogs BUT you never ever ever leave them alone, you hold the kitten so they can meet.

You never ever let them loose together until the kitten has established that he will wacj the dog if the dog gets to rough and the dog has shown he will immdeiately back off and, even beter, never be rough.

What hapened has NOTHING to do with the dog being or not being aggressive towards people.

The fundametal error was yours by leaving them together and the kitten/cat loose. That shouldn't have ever happened until the cat as at least 6 months old and the criteria above has been met.

Answer 6

You need to tell your son firstly because he deserves to know and secondly so that he understands the pecking-order that animals assume for themselves. I have a Siberian Husky and a Rhodesian Ridgeback and a kitten and an adult cat and I would never never leave them together in a room unattended.
There's no point punishing the dog now, no matter how much you might want to, it won't understand. You need to explain to your son that the dog will not be able to comprehend the enormity of it's actions so he needs to try and not lash out at it either. If anything good can come of this, it's that you are now aware that your particular breed of dog is not good with other animals or that if you decide to buy another kitten, that supervision is absolutely essential next time.

Answer 7

This just also happened to a friends dog & kitten.I can say no matter what kind of dog that one may have,,never feed a dog near a cat or a child.That may be what happened.Let the dog know that it was very wrong by telling him NO,,bad dog & make him stay in his spot for the night like he is being punished.Dont hit the dog because it will break his trust in you,,unfortunately,,its in a dogs nature.Id tell your son being that he is only 6 that the mommy cat missed the baby kitty.I wouldnt get another kitten.

Answer 8

its not a matter of punishing the dog ,itseen the cat as competition for food or affection. To me the question should be What if it had been a new baby?The dog if you still keep it should have an evaluation or/ training by a proffesional With you and your son as well.Also tell your son the truth .Itis better to tell the truth now than try to explain a lie later for he may wonder which is the truth or did you lie about other things to.After all you want to raise your son to be truthful so start now later he will thank you a.If you get rid of the dog suggest then that he comes and helps get another pet. this may help him adjust because he may concentrate on what he now has rather than what he lost

Answer 9

You should not punish the dog, it will not understand what its being punished for. However, you should know that ANY SMALL ANIMAL YOU BRING INTO YOUR HOUSE WITH AN ADULT DOG MAY AND WILL MOST LIKELY BE KILLED. It has NOTHING to do with dogs hating cats, dogs will kill any small prey-like animal if they have a significant prey drive and have not been raised around it; a large dog might even try to kill a smaller dog if they are unfamiliar. Do not get a guinea pig, another small cat, a bird, a lizard, or anything else like that-- the dog will just kill it unless it is secured.

Answer 10

You cannot punish the dog now .. the dog would have no idea what was going on.
The death of the kitten may have been an accident. I had a dog that loved cats and kittens and never knowingly hurt them. He was brought up with cats.
One day he was playing with the kitten and accidentally nudged the kitten a bit too hard and killed her. We didn't punish the dog because it was an accident. He knew he had done wrong.