My dog killed a cat this afternoon. What now?

[HarrietSchulenberg]

Out with dog this afternoon. Dog off lead in seemingly empty field. Cat jumped up from long grass in front of him and he pounced. Cat didn't really have a chance. It was still alive when I managed to get dog off so wrapped it up and took it to vet who lives locally. Vet just rang to say cat died. Owners on holiday till Tuesday but have been told.

First step is dog is staying on lead at all times. Next step is training classes, will ring when I get home tomorrow eve. What else?

Dog is insured so should be covered for vet costs for cat. Will have bill for him too as he was injured, but still waiting to know how much. Will offer to meet with cat owners, if they want to. Do I need to muzzle him if he's on a lead?

Really shocked at the mo and prob not thinking straight. I've always had cats until recently so I really feel for the owners.

Will be bwck in a while, need to get kids to bed.

Exactly crazyspaniel which is exactly why a lot of hardcore dog trainers get condemned because they literally break the spirit of the animal - they turn it into a voice controlled drone, not an animal with a mind and heart of it's own.

Matildasquared - have you ever owned a dog?
If you do get your house with a garden I do hope you explain to whoever you buy your collie from exactly what you plan to do with it. No responsible breeder or seller would let you walk away with one of their pups. That I can guarantee.

So, shall we all go out armed with infrared goggles to check for potential prey hiding in the undergrowth?

You can't train recall with distractions without going somewhere with distractions and practising it.

If you train recall in a garden you've trained your dog to recall in your garden, if you train your dog to recall in an empty field, you've trained your dog to recall in an empty field.

You don't go and practise recall near other people or dogs until you're pretty sure your dog will come back, but unless you then train it in that situation - it's not going to work when you need it to.

A cat appearing suddenly somewhere you weren't expecting it when you didn't know your dog would react like that isn't something most people think of doing, never mind actually have the opportunity.

Do your future dog a favour and get a toy dog. You can trot it around your back garden, on a lead of course because after all, a neighbours cat could stroll in and you'll need to be able to pull your dog off it. And it will be knackered after about 3 laps.

This might be more up your street Matilda

I wasnt being facetious by the way, you would honestly be better with a toy breed. Even a Jack Russell needs a good sprint and games of fetch.

I can't say any more about my non-existent collie (her name's Dido by the way). The OP sounds lovely and is trying to do her best to make things up to the cat's owners. The amount of people here who find it personally offensive that their dogs be kept under control makes me glad the laws are as they are.

Matilda, don't get a collie, it would be cruel. Frankly, it sounds like a collie would quickly outthink you.

Seriously, if you think you can control a dog with 'voice control' when they are surprised and prey drive kicks in, don't get one. All dogs have prey drive to a greater or lesser extent and as I said previously senses that are not required shut down so they CANNOT hear their owner, or anything else.

It's not an objection to the idea that dogs should be under control - it's acknowledging that dogs are creatures with their own motivations and instincts and that sometimes unexpected events mean that those motivations and instinct overcome training.

And understanding that dogs do not generalise training, each command needs to be trained in a variety if places and situations to be anywhere near reliable.

A cat appearing in front of a dog somewhere unexpected isn't really something you can train for.

Itsfab

Yes I have and that was kind of my point.

Good point tabulahrasa

Someone upthread suggested a soft cloth muzzle for the op's lurcher.
Don't, please buy one for walking your dog in. Dogs need to be able to fully open their mouth to pant and breathe properly, they don't sweat so must lose heat through their mouths. I absolutely hate to see poor dogs being tortured in those fabric things.

It must be a baskerville, basket-type muzzle for exercise. You'll find most ex-greyhounds are walked in these as they are quite likely to sight a small dog/cat/rabbit and take off after it. It's not a problem if the muzzle is on. If you get in touch with a Greyhound specific they will be able to help a muzzle that fits your lurcher perfectly.

Sorry that was my dumb advice.

That is a recommendation I got on here!

I wouldn't suggest a baskerville muzzle either as many don't allow the dog to pant fully - there are muzzles that allow the dog to pant fully, drink water - and some dogs can even pick up a ball on a rope with a bit of practise. They really need to hang down a lot further from the nose downwards than the baskerville ones do for a dog that might be running.

OP, this is exactly my big fear with my dog. He's a brilliant dog, a perfect gentleman. He's obsessed with balls so has a high prey instinct. He's caught two rabbits before sadly. He's well trained and will sit and wait for permission before chasing the ball when you throw it for him. BUT when he sees an unexpected cat, he loses all reason and takes off. If I spot the cat first and warn him to heel, he's fine - it's exactly the scenario you describe that I'm afraid of be cause I can't see what you could have done differently.

You sound like a lovely person who did everything right when the worst happened. I don't think there's anything needed for your dog. Sadly, it's just nature.

I have a terrier and live by a lovely big field with rabbits, badgers, foxes, squirrels and cats. I don't trust him one iota and whilst I know undestracted he'd be straight back to me I also know one whiff of wild animal he'd be off.
For his own safety as much as any other animal I use a 100 foot lead. Yes, it's a pain in the arse but I know that he's fully under control and still getting to bomb around the field.

Some of the best training in the world tends to go out of the window when something fun like a rabbit is hopping by. Personally I'd rather not take the chance.

SistersofPercy, this isn't a criticism of you at all, and I also use long lines on occasion for mine, but in the situation the op describes a long line wouldn't have made one iota of difference, the cat jumped out right under the dogs nose, if your dog was 30/40/100 foot away from you, being attached to a line wouldn't have stopped the dog from having it.

Responsible owners (especially those of sighthounds) generally do everything in their power to prevent them from catching things, especially other domestic pets, but in an instance like the op experienced there was pretty much nothing that could be done. Except of course by keeping the dog permanently on a very short lead, which is no life for a dog.

Oh OP, I'm so sorry this has happened. My grey would do similar if he had half the chance. We've had a few close shaves with cats in our garden and it has been horrible. In those cases, the cats were OK but it was so fast. Offering to pay the vet and cremation is the absolute right thing to do.

We can't pick and choose what's 'wild' about our pets. We can do our best, within reason, to prevent them from harming the things they want to chase and kill but that's about it really. Surely, if cat owners are happy to encourage their pet's welfare by allowing them to roam and hunt freely, they have to understand that they will, by definition, be at risk too? An old neighbour of mine was terrified at the prospect of her cat being killed so she never let it out of the house. Not really the life I'd want for any pet of mine.

Don't get me wrong, I've been shocked and upset after mine have chased a cat in our garden and I take as many precautions as I can to ensure my sighthound doesn't hurt any other animal. What happened here was an awful accident - but one that, given the innate wildness of both animals, was not really avoidable imo.

Off to walk my greyhound now. He's been zooming round the garden already and is looking at me expectantly. On his lead in public spaces, as always.

Hello again. Not here to stir this particular hornets' nest up again, but thought I'd give an update to round off.

Vet contacted the owners before they got back and broke the news. Owners very shocked but visited vet on Wednesday and she explained to them exactly what had happened. They rang me on Thursday and we spoke for quite a while, they're actually really lovely and said that the cat was known for bullying their neighbours' dog and that although they were gutted, they understood it was "one of those things". They've buried the cat in their garden and I offered to buy them a rose bush or similar to go over it, but they said no as they hate gardening.

My vet told me that he thought the cat had attacked a dog that he'd treated a few weeks ago: same location, same description, same facial and head wounds as my dog has. When I was growing up I had a cat that chased dogs so I know it's not that unusual, but as far as I know mine never actually injured anything, just growled and chased them off his footpath.

Both vets were of the opinion that "that's just what some dogs do", and neither were concerned that he might attack a human. I am confident that he knows the difference between small, furry things that run fast and the 2-legged, non-hairy things that feed him, stroke him and play with him, so I have no worries about him attacking a child. He'll be on a lead all the time now anyway. I do have a couple of places I can go where I can still let him off lead but it means we have to drive there, so it'll have to be once a week or so. But with 2 short and 1 long walk every day he'll be fine, and he's gloriously thick so half an hour of sniffing in bushes gives him lots to think about.

Thanks to the MNers who contacted me to offer support and point me to legal help. Sorry to anyone who was upset, but if I could have changed anything I would. I guess I'll just go with the cat's vet's words that "it was just one of those things" and just make sure it doesn't happen again.

So glad for understanding vets. Well done for doing the right thing and it ending in a good way. Thank you for the update.

Thanks for the update. The flowers was a lovely idea.

Hi OP. I stayed off your thread before as it got a bit hysterical. I'm really glad the owners were reasonable about it. One of my neighbours has a cat that really enjoys taunting my terrier so I'm not surprised. I think you're very brave to come back and update!