Need help with cat aggressive dog

[Aducknotallama]

Hi
Posting for a friend who rescued a male staffy about 18 months ago. He is neutered. He was neglected and abused by his previous owners. He has adapted well to his new life and lives happily with another dog. He has recently shown signs of aggression towards other dogs when on the lead and has today attacked and killed a cat in an unprovoked attack. The cats owner reported it to the police and my friend will have to be interviewed. Understandably he is distraught that his dog has done this and very worried about how to train him out of it. He really wants to find a way to train the dog if possible, any advice welcome.

Some dogs see small furies as prey and their prey drive will kick in. I doubt much will come from the interview.

How did the dog manage to get to the cat?

Where was the dog when it killed the cat ? Fwiw I'm sure plenty of people will say it's possible to train them out of being cat aggressive , it may well be but I wouldn't ever trust the dog around anything small / furry - my dog is cat aggressive and 6 yrs on he is absolutely no better , when it comes to cats a red mist descends and he is just obsessed .

My dog is like Florals. She reacts to cats like nothing else.

I understand that it largely depends on breed; mine is a greyhound cross.

I don't believe it would be possible to train my dog out of her cat aggression. Your friend's dog may be the same. It just means that you have to be diligent about keeping them away ftom cats.

my lurcher has a history of cat aggression - Less so now that he is older
unless they are used to living in a cat household it is almost impossible to train them to leave the 'small furries' alone
your friend will have to be very vigilant - now she knows the dog has a problem with cats - particularly keep him on the lead at all times in urban areas where there are likely to be cats and do a cat check ALL the time
It can be a problem when the dog is in their own garden and cats infiltrate from other gardens - this is a difficult one to combat

I doubt he will be able to teach the prey drive out of the dog to ever let it off in public. He'll have to keep it on the lead except when in his own secure garden.

I agree with other posts: almost impossible to "train out". Even if a dog happily lives with cats, s/he will often chase cats which aren't members of their own household.

Our staffie also killed a cat (the cat had come into our garden). Prior to this incident he had been totally safe with cars in and out of the garden - this one jumped off the fence and landed on him while he was dozing (I witnessed the whole horrible incident through the kitchen window but wasn't quick enough to save the cat - it was awful). He reacted instinctively and the cat was dead in seconds. After that, he chased after every cat he could and I had to be very careful with him - I can only assume that the excitement of killing one had awakened an instinct we didn't know he had.

I would exercise the dog on lead only unless your friend can be sure that there are no other dogs or cats about. The big danger is that someone will be hurt trying to intervene in an incident. I don't for a moment think that the dog is dangerous, but of (say) your friend tried to pull him off a cat, he might accidentally get bitten.

I will say that staffies are the best dogs ever, and you can't go past them for a house dog - very loving and trustworthy.

I doubt that your friend will have anything more than a recommendation to keep the dog under control. The police accept the dogs and cats often don't get on, and as cats are considered almost "feral", there are unlikely to be repercussions. Very upsetting for the cat's owner of course, and for your friend - it's an awful thing to happen.

er - safe with cats, not cars . . .

Thanks all. The dog slipped the lead outside the house and attacked the cat that was on the wall.

Well the most important thing for your friend to do is to get the dog a secure harness and ensure that it doesn't get away again .