Dog Killed Smaller Dog. What To Do?

OMG Newf, I am so so sorry. I am sick over this. Hugs to you my friend. This is tragic and heartbreaking. May your beloved dog rest in pain free peace. I am so sorry.

I would -without question- euthanize the American Bulldog asap. That dog is too much of a risk, especially with children, other dogs, and young puppies in the house.

I'm sorry sorry for the difficult decision you are facing.

I think the main question is - can you protect your cats from her? For sure? If not, then she needs to go, and as you say no one else is likely to take her.

We don't know what caused it. Maybe the older dog startled her awake. Maybe it was a scuffle over a toy or other prized posession/location. If the AB doesn't have good bite inhibition, she may not even have intended to harm the other dog, simply didn't understand how easily killed she was. But why doesn't matter, really, as much as can it be prevented from happening again.

As an aside, we had an issue with our lab mix. He was possessive of his food bowl, and my mom thought it was "funny" when he would pick up a cat that went near his bowl and toss them aside. She didn't think it was so funny when he did the same thing with a tiny kitten and killed it, and she blamed the dog for doing what he'd been taught was "ok". The dog simply didn't understand the difference between a big cat and a 6 week old kitten.

And also, I once had 3 of my dogs kill another dog that was staying with us (while I was at work). She'd stayed with us before, they all seemed to get along, but one day they simply beat her up so badly she had to be euthanized. And knowing these dogs, you'd never dream they'd do such a thing, all were friendly and well-socialized. That's when I brought in the "no pack" rule for when I'm not home - I don't leave them alone together in groups of more than 2 or 3 carefully selected individuals, and visitors are kept separate while I'm gone. Because in the end, dogs are animals and unpredictable, especially when in a pack.

After a dog kills another dog, it's not safe anywhere with anybody. You have clearly done everything you could when no body else wanted to and that is all you could do.

While I KNOW it is not easy the best thing to do, to ensure the safety of everyone in your house hold, you should have her humanly euthanize her. Having already attacked and killed another dog, she is very likely to do it again.

I had a dog that had a lot of aggression issues, and she did the same thing. Only she did it while my mom was sitting there. There was no signs before it happened, and the other dog was clear across the room asleep. She just got up walked over and attacked. My mom was alone and by the time she could get her off the older dog was already in bad shape. We had to put her peacefully to sleep.

We debated long and hard about what to do with Emmi (the aggressor) and over two weeks my mom noticed a big change. Emmi had always been sweet and loving to her people, specially my mom, but after that happened every now and again, she get this look in her eye and would growl at my mom. By the third week my mom had taken her to the vet to be put to sleep. It was heartbreaking for everyone, but we just could not trust her after that.

I am very sorry for what has happened and I sympathize. I wish you luck and courage in your up coming decisions.

I'm so sorry to hear about this. I cannot imagine the heartache you're dealing with now.

I'm going to try to present some things to help you decide what to do- the same things I think about when making a decision regarding euthanizing:

1) Is this a response to an abnormal situation? Years ago I had a b*tch kill another b*tches newborn pup-- did I blame the b*tch? No, I blamed the idiot humans (myself included) who allowed it to happen.

2) Can I be absolutely certain that I can take precautions and train to make sure nothing like this ever happens again? If the answer is "no" and there is a lifethreatening danger to anyone, I opt to euthanize.

3) Am I being blind to the reality of the situation, am I letting my heart lead my head? If the answer is "yes" then I know I need to speak with others to get their take on the situation.

Personally.. I believe euthanization may be the best answer, but I understand if that is not the choice you make.

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This weekend we had a "leave it" party with the 19 year old arthritic kitty and the 4 month old pups who just want to "play" with it. I cannot imagine how I'd feel if one of my dogs hurt that old cat.... I feel so bad for you and your family!

Please know you are in my thoughts.

Oh, Newf -- I'm so terribly sorry to hear about this.

Given the situation -- dogs who had coexisted peacefully for a long while, the AmBulldog's other instabilities, etc. -- I wouldn't be able to keep this dog in my home. Nobody kills an old dog -- especially an old, peaceful dog. Nobody.

There is a possibility (and only you know the mix's health well enough to guess) that the mix went into a seizure, and the larger dog reacted to that. I have seen dogs attack others during a seizure. I don't know if it's the utterly alien behavior of the seizing dog, or what -- but it's happened. You might consider that, if it makes a difference.

I don't envy the choice you have to make. But if I'd witnessed something like this, from a dog with issues to begin with, that dog would be gone.

Oh NEWF, I'm so sorry.

Without hesitation I would see that the dog is euthanized. Behavioral problems and rescue issues set aside, when a dog goes outside of the norm and kills another dog its time to euthanize.

Its in your best interests and hers (especially if she can't be rehomed) to have the dog euthanized. Hoping for the best only puts your family at risk.

There is no way this dog can be safely rehomed with ANYONE if it has shown a clear (and it doesn't get much clearer) display of animal aggression. Inform the people that you're fostering her from of the ordeal and let them know what happened and that you feel its best to have her euthanized.

As for the your sleeping through it, thats VERY easy. Its likely that the Am Bulldog went RIGHT for the other dogs throat, which would have crushed the windpipe, thus cutting off all sounds. The most noise that would have been made could have been from the vibrating of her vocal chords.

I am so sorry about your poor old crossbreed. This is a horrible thing to have happened. If you are only fostering this ***** then it may be best to simply return her to the rescue society to be rehomed where there are no other animals. Even if you can keep her apart from your cats and your other dogs you will probably never feel the same about her again. Dogs are very sensitive to your feelings and will be very aware that you are wary of her or dislike her or are simply on edge when there are other pets around, all of which will hardly help to resolve the other behaviour issues (You have not said what these are though). Assuming that there is no signs of aggression , it may be that these problems would be more easily sorted out bt someone who does not have a history with the dog.

Unless your house is enormous, it would be hard not to hear something of a fight even if the fight was entirely one-sided. Is it possible that the old dog was fitting or having a stroke or something like that when the bulldog got involved.?

Please accept my sympathy for the loss of your old dog in this way.

jeeze what a shock that must have been for you...really sorry to hear that :S and your right, i hate to be so gruesome but the bull dog probably went straight for the trout without warning and the poor old girl probably didn't put up a fight so im sure it was all over pretty soon for her..bull dog attacks are fatal and really go on for long, your bull dog clearly has a neurological probably, im sure it was nothing to do with her and her personality rather than the people that fu***d her up... i wouldn't know what to do, go and see your vets and ask them for advice and get her tested, all i can say is i hope you make the right discussion.

:(

First off this wasn't your fault. You didn't do a "lack of research". If anyone is to blame it's the pound or rescue or humane society that told you that the dog is alright with other dogs, that probably didn't do the appropriate temperament testing. You need to tell them this, so they can beef up their training system.

If you aren't up for euthanizing, there's always tough doggie training. You will need to be dedicated and of course the people who are to adopt the dog will need to be told of this. You could keep the dog in one other part of the house from the others. I'm sure the Newfs aren't to be worried about, 'cept the little ones, but the cats must be kept out of reach of the Bully. Check what your city laws say about this. If they say euthanazia well, that's that. If not, you could always do training. And the dog should be watched very carefully. She already has one strike against her.

You simply cannot feel unsafe with this dog around! That's not fair to yourself. It's not fair to your other dogs either. If fostering her makes you worry, then you shouldn't hesitate to surrender her to the shelter again, perhaps offer to foster another dog instead? They will understand and probably feel VERY grateful for you still offering to foster another dog.

Haha maybe Victoria Stilwell will come to your house haha.

Geeeessh. Not being judgemental, but how did you sleep through a killing? I would have thought the dog would have been screaming it's head off. But, that said, you say she's a foster. I would return her to the rescue or whereever you're fostering her for. Explain your situation, and, assuming that she has shown absolutely NO aggression towards people, perhaps they will try to find her a single dog family. Or they may very well decide that euthanasia is the best choice for her. Rereading your post and seeing the part about other behavior issues, it's unfortunate, but in all likelihood euthanasia would be the best choice.