Our "family" dog of 5 yrs suddenly went nuts and ripped apart our cat...?

Question

The cat was just standing near the sofa and apparently the dog just snapped and tore the cat apart. The dog broke the cats neck & spine, ripped out an eye and cause internal bleeding. We had to put the cat down as there was nothing we could do to save it. This dog has been loved and treated as family all it's life. What happened? My initial reaction is to put the dog down as we have 3 small children. I need help to understand this. Thank you. I am not sure what kind of dog she is - possibly part pitbull.

Thank you to all who answered. This is a dog that slept with our kids to "protect" them. She goes to the ranch to play with the horses. She gets birthday parties & a stocking at Christmas. We have another dog who is a pit and has never demonstrated any of this "killing" behavior. I would love to find her another home but I'm afraid my husband won't allow us to get rid of her. I just feel sick to my stomach right now that our little cat had to suffer. Thanks again to everyone who answered.

Answer 1

I agree with the last comment. Good God, you shouldn't keep her around the house after this incident, you never know what made her snap, and there is no guarantee it wouldn't happen again. I suggest you try to leave her to an animal shelter, perhaps donate money regularly to make sure she is well-kept. I don't know how animal shelters work, but if you explain the situation, animal lovers should understand your dilemma. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise, however, it's dangerous to keep her around. You have to do this for your children.
God Bless.

Answer 2

Did the dog demonstrated this aggressive behavior before? The last thing anyone wants to see in his/her beloved dog is aggressive dog behavior. If I were you I would be very careful after that incident, especially when you have kids. It is possible that the cat made the dog mad (moreover we all know that dogs don't love cats) but it is also possible that the dog do it again once it has been that aggressive with impunity.
I don't have enough information to give you a proper advice. There are many reasons for aggresssive behavior. Most dogs have a lot of pent-up energy and a bored dog is likely to become an aggressive dog. I doubt that this is the case but have you hit the dog? That is another mistake that may cause aggressive behavior.
There are just too many things that can make your dog aggresive so may be you should talk with some specialists about that. The only thing I can advise is that you should take steps immediately to deal with aggressive dog behavior.

Answer 3

Tell your husband it is either you or the dog . In other words if he does not get rid of the dog then you and the kids are going . You see this is what happens ,pitbulls snap and they kill that is just how they are . They are unpredictable ( a statement my vet made ) and if you have small children you have no business owning a pit bull . It could be your child next that he snaps on do you want that to happen? of course not . Get rid of it for your safety and that of your childs.good luck and god bless.

Answer 4

I AM DEEPLY sorry! If you have a pit or even just a mix I would be very careful. I could never just put down an animal but I did not just have my cat tore to shreads either... Try looking into no kill shelter who deal with pits. You need to tell them he does not like cats. I do not know how old your kids are but what it to say "Something" won't set him off again??
I have a friend whose 5 year old chow mix suddenly turned on their 3 year old who ridding a tricycle IN THE FRONT yard while the dog was in the back yard. He jumped the chain fence and attacked her ripping into her face and arms. over 150 stitches later and several surgeries to boot she is terrified of dogs and will not go near one. This happened over 10 years ago and her beautiful face still bears the scars..Think very hard on this..just how friendly is your dog?

Answer 5

" I am not sure what kind of dog she is- possibly part pitbull"
That covers a lot of territory, don`t you think ? The dog did`nt just snap and the "taste of blood " is BULLSHOT !!! For the most part, small children and dogs are a no-no as most "good" parents don`t watch their chidren even without a dog in the household. Over 90% of the dog bites I hear about, the parents were in a different room or inside when the child was outside - vice versa. The dog-cat thing is your call but I would`nt destroy the dog over it. Cat got into pen with one of my APBT`s , no more cat, still have dog.

Answer 6

You must surrender the dog to a a shelter, preferable a no kill shelter, regardless of whether the children saw the incident or not. The dog needed to have considered the cat as part of the pack/family by that time. Perhaps he did not. At our local SPCA, we never would consider such an incident in the same light as we would consider an attack on humans. Who knows the mind set of your dog at that time? That is why it is hoped he can find a home where he is the only dog/pet.

Answer 7

I had a dog that did that too - for no reason, the cat just walked in front of the dog. My other dog kept getting inbetween me and the fighting dog -- I swear it was his way of protecting me from getting bit - she just went crazy. Sorry, but I agree with the others above -- the dog would be GONE TODAY. To the pound if that was the only option.

PS - mine was not Pit of any kind, just went crazy, then acted like all was just fine.

Answer 8

This dog, altho it has been a beloved family pet for 5 years is a danger to your children and to anyone around it. Something happened to cause this dog to turn into a killer. More than likely it will happen again. The dog should be put down ASAP!!! Before it kills one of your kids!!!!! It may have a brain tumor or something that made it kill the attack, but the reason does not matter. The fact that your dog is a killer is all the matters.

Answer 9

Thats a really hard call. A really long winded story...

We adopted a 5 year old DAL from a shelter right after my husband and I were married. We were moving to CO to my husband's first duty station and I wasn't going to live in my house alone ( sometime my husband has to go out on training exercises for a week or more)! Toby was a great dog from the start, the most wonderful, affectionate dog you'd ever seen. When we adopted him they told us he didn't do well with children, but that wasn't a problem because we didn't have any and weren't planning on starting a family for a while. In CO he was fine. He made a couple of snaps at one of my friend's kids ( but I'd bite them too!), but it only seemed to be when they teased or tormented him, mostly he just hid from the kids. After a month, we discovered we were pregnent! WOW! Shortly after the baby was born, my husband was deployed to Iraq and I moved home with my 5 mo old daughter and the dog and cat. Once at home, I thought nothing of it. I should mention that RIGHT after we got him ( like, the next day) my little cousin Niki ran bombing through the house and scared Toby and he jumped and bit her, but that was the only incident. After we moved home, he snuck up behind my friend, Rachel, and bite her in the back of the leg! Then he turned and ran. I didn't know what to do! It happened several more times. Then it escalated, he bit my other cousin, and then Niki again! While she was sitting in her father's lap! I was mortified! I had him checked for deafness ( common in dalmations) and then spent almost $500 to send him to a dog trainer to at lease teach him to "down" until I could get him in ANY situation. Unfortuatly, as much as the trainer loved him, one day at her kennel, her 12 year old daughter came into the kennel, luckily Toby was in his, because otherwise he would have torn her apart! They practically had to drown him with the hose to get him to back down!!! After wards he played with her daughter, but that inital reaction would have been devastating! We decided that the most humane thing would be to put him to sleep. For his own good and the good of everyone else. HOWEVER; my trainer AND vet gave me several other options, that while they didn't fit my situation they may help you. Don't make your dicision based on breed sterio types; yes, pits have a rep for being more violent than otherbreeds, but that doesn't mean that JUST because it MIGHT have pit in its breeding, that its going to be vicious dog.

Since your dog hasn't bitten any PERSON, you may still be able to give him away. Perhaps he just isn't a FAMILY dog, maybe he doesn't get along with cats...he might have a fabulous chance with another family.

If your children are toddelers, not babies, you may be able to have your dogs teeth ground down. I know it sounds cruel and painful, but it really isn't. All they do is grind down the canine teeth so the dog is unable to BREAK SKIN. Yeah, it would still leave a nasty bruise and hurt, but he wouldn't be able to tear the skin. If my daughter has been older, I would have done this. Maybe. In my case, children were the problem, in yours it was a cat. If he hasn't shown any aggression towards humans, I would look into this one.

Take the dog to a good trainer who specializes in troubled dogs. At least have him evaluated. Trainers are trained at reading body language of dogs. He may be able to give you some option or find another home for your dog. Be candid with the trainer, he may be able to tell ou if he thinks that your dog is a threat to humans or if it was just the cat, or if he has a mental illness.

I think that any animal that "snaps" and mutilates another animal, humanely distroying them should be considered, depending on the human threat. Talk with your vet and a respected trainer. You may not like what they're going to tell you. Don't give up though. Try everything you can before putting him to sleep.

If you do decide to put your family dog to sleep, my condolences to you. I know what you're going through and what it takes to make that dicision.

Answer 10

Dogs will instinctively kill smaller animals, my small dog loves killing rats and wont eat them after the neck is broken.

I would rethink the animals attitude with things smaller than him such as your kids, you cant get them put down and so they will have to live with scarring for the rest of their lives in anything goes wrong.

Pit bulls have the kill switch mechanism in them, the switch has been flicked and now anything is possible.