Should we have our dogs put to sleep?

Question

I got home tonight and found that our two dogs had killed our kittens. I have heard that when dogs kill that they become dangerous to your children. Am I wrong about this?

Answer 1

Unfortunately the dogs did what dogs do. One of mine (who has already passed over the Rainbow Bridge) killed a litter of kittens (random bred) almost 20 years ago, I was devastated. No, she did not have "the taste for blood" (that is a myth), did not become a wild killing machine, and was always wonderful with my child as well as others. I honestly do not even know if her intent was to kill them, as much as simple curiosity as to what are those squeaky things. It's our mistake for not making the kittens unaccessable to the dogs. Sadly, all that can be done is to bury the kittens and forgive the dogs. If you plan on future litters of kittens, complete separation will be a must. Sorry to hear about your loss, best of wishes to you.

P>S> At that time I had three adult cats who this dog NEVER showed any aggression towards. In the last few years of this dog's life I became a TICA registered Ragdoll cat breeder and added more cats to my home who she never aggressed towards either. Future litters were kept secluded until about six weeks of age, when they were slowly socialized with the other animals (dogs and cats), before leaving to their new homes at twelve weeks of age. This girl was a husky mix and NEVER harmed another cat in her 9 remaining years of life. It sounds as if curiosity killed the cat.

Answer 2

Please don't kill your dogs until you have thought this over! First you need to look at the circumstances. Are the kittens
just dead or is there damage? Have your dogs ever been alone with them before? Do you allow your dogs to chase squirrels and other small animals? You need to remember that dogs are natural predators in the wild and it is their nature to chase and sometimes kill small animals. If they have never been aggressive toward your children, why would you expect them to be in the future? A good example is my aussie mix. She kills and eats chipmunks, baby bunnies and mice. The first time I saw this I was hysterical, but my vet told me this is natural behavior for a dog. She is now 10 years old, has never even shown teeth to a person, let alone bit anyone and is the sweetest most loving dog I have ever known. And she loves children. For more information, I would talk to your vet or a dog training facility. Right now you are working off an urban legend.

Answer 3

Sorry to say this but ..... It's your fault the kitten was killed!
You should never have left the dogs alone with the kitten unsupervised!

It is not their fault. They are dogs and are acting like normal dogs. That in no way means you should put them down.

Just because you "think" they get along and you "think" they won't hurt the cat..... your wrong!

Dogs do not become dangerous to humans/children just because they attacked and killed a cat.
It's totally different that attacking or killing a human/child.

Dogs have a prey drive and they saw your cat as prey. They might of also just played rough with the cat and accidentally killed it. We will never know since we weren't there.

YOUR DOGS WERE JUST BEING DOGS!!!!

So my answer is "NO!!! DON'T HAVE THEM PUT TO SLEEP!!!"

Answer 4

While I wouldn't put the dogs down, I would consider you NOT having any pets - dogs or cats. Clearly you don't know much about raising either.

Kittens are defenseless - they should only be with their mother and her owner. To leave them in a spot where dogs can get to them is reckless and irresponsible. To then put these dogs down because of your own stupidity is like fighting Iraq because of the actions of terrorists that may have nothing to do with Iraq.

If you kill these dogs, you send a very dangerous message to your kids. That if you are irresponsible, it's O.K. to just push the blame onto someone else and "kill" the problem. Instead, explain to your children the horrible mistake you made. Teach them how a dog, even if he's loving, could accidentally hurt a rabbit or cat in play. Teach them that only a puppy needs to be slowly introduced to cats so that all can get along. Then teach your kids, yourself and your dogs about proper obedience training and proper boundaries.

Answer 5

Your dogs should never have been left unsupervised with kittens anyway. They should have been kept in seperate rooms while you went out. But you ca'n't change the past, so....

Dogs are predators and they were doing their natural thing. My parents' dog kills mice and birds sometimes, it doesn't mean she's dangerous, it just means she has a prey drive.

Having a prey drive is not the same thing as having human aggression. If the dogs attacked your children, that's human aggression and the dogs should be either put into training for it or surrendered to a shelter.

No dog should ever be put down unless it's very, very sick. Or maybe if it actually kills a person, but even then, you have to be certain the attack wasn't provoked--often, they are.

Answer 6

No. My friends dogs were agressive towards her cats too, and they did end up killing the cats....But thats just the way dogs are. Well, most atleast. After the dogs killed the cats, the dogs didnt act any differently towards anyone in the family or to friends. I would just watch there behavior, if its normal, then fine. But if not, take them to the vet first! Get an opinion. Sorry about you kittens! that always sad....

Answer 7

I would not even CONSIDER putting a dog to sleep for this reason. If your dogs are healthy, you can give them up for adoption.... HOWEVER, this is the nature of their game. It is really sad to come home to such a tragedy.... but if you love your dogs, how could this even be an option? Dogs are not dangerous to children because they killed a kitten. My dog has killed birds, but that doesnt make him dangerous or a threat. You have to be careful that your dogs are not able to get to innocent kittens that have no way to defend/protect themselves. If you no longer want your dogs, give them to a local shelter. But, I dont see how you could do that. I would be upset, but not even think about putting the dogs to sleep. Thats just outrageous.

Answer 8

Umm first of all leaving 2dogs let alone one dog alone with a kitten - no matterhow old itis or how well theyget along when u are home - is a BIG no no
The dogs went into a pack hunting mode & sadly kitty was the victim -

NEVER trust the dogs - either ofthem around CATS again - once a cat killer always a cat killer

As for children- I'd take your dog to a behavorlist or talk to your vet - but I'd bet thyey would be ok with children so long as they are supervised with young children. My friends dog anOld English Sheep dog was a serial cat killer - ubt he was the best sweetset & trustworthy thing around children young & old ..................................................

If you decide to get rid of your pets - DON't put them down & don't send them to the pound -you can find a animal rescue or breed rescue in your area that would take them or adults with out cats & kids.

Answer 9

Wow - you have a tough decision to make

I have owned about 20 dogs in my life. One of my past doggies was a mutt I found on the road. When I found him, he hadn't even been weaned yet. That dog killed every squirrel, rabbit, and cat it met in it's entire life! I was living on my parents farm at the time and I witnessed the dog kill around 10 cats during his lifetime. I couldn't break him of that habbit.

At any rate, at the same time, I had 2 young nephews who were in diapers. They would pull that dogs tongue, poke him in the eyes, yank his tail, etc. - and he never flinched. Never groweled. Nothing. However, I never ever left the dog and the nephews alone together either. Not for a second.

Hope that helps your decision. If you decide the dogs aren't safe, please at least take them to a shelter or list them on www.petfinder.com so someone else can care for them. Best of luck. Jim

Answer 10

Yes you are wrong to this. My dog Dalmatian had killed some of our chickens but only once I teacher her not to kill them and now the are walking in your backyard free and she never bite the chickens dead again. And you had kittens maybe something happened and your dogs was protecting themselves against the kittens. Please don't put your dogs to sleep about this. Think twice and teach your dogs to be around cats and to help your dogs to understand that they must not kill them.