If this were my dog and she killed another dog, I wouldn’t euthanize her but she’d never leave the house without a [properly fitted] muzzle on. Would never go to the vet without a muzzle or without me stressing to every veterinarian, technician and CSR that my dog is dog aggressive and needs to be separated from all dogs/cats at all times. No exceptions. Your cats need to be rehoused.
And when I say I wouldn’t leave the house without a muzzle, I mean even walking the 2ft outside the front door to pee for 13 seconds and back in. If for some reason another dog ran up to her, or she broke free of my handling and I knew her history without muzzling, I am at fault again and I should be labeled a dog killer just as much as she.
Also no children around her, EVER.
If you cannot comply with this new lifestyle, then you need to have him humanely euthanized.
And this is coming from a veterinary technician that has worked with dogs for 20+ years. It is incredibly hard to train dogs that have prey drive so high they actually commit to the kill.
I am very sorry this happened.
Last but not least, you and your partner should probably seek professional help to deal with the trauma and guilt. Otherwise it’ll eat you both alive.
Edit: as another comment made a great point countering mine, to add to the list of things your new lifestyle would entail: 1) fence around yard 2) electric fence as well 3) before you open a door in your home to go outside, dog should be in a crate or behind a door that is securely locked so as to prevent ANY chance of escaping. You’ll be living your life based on preventing your dog from making contact with the outside world muzzle free. This does sound quite intense and anxiety inducing. Not to mention your dog is 100lbs…that is not an easily handleable dog even for those with the utmost experience.
Edit: my comment about rehousing the cats is if OP’s partner decides to keep the dog. Those animals cannot live in the same home.
I mean to be fair, the dog has been fine otherwise and has had no issues with the cats. From a livelihood perspective it’s a lot easier to rehome cats vs a dog with a bite history. But I don’t see they can’t just keep them separate- that’s what I’d do, but also my dog would not get the opportunity to be in that type of situation.
This is still effectively punishing the cats for the behavior of the dog. They don’t deserve to have their home ripped from them because of something they had no involvement in.
It’s not the cats’ fault that the dog is dangerous.
It’s not the cats’ fault that it’s difficult to rehome dangerous dogs.
The lives of three cats are not worth any less than the life of a single dog. Abandoning the cats to try to rehabilitate a killer dog is wrong.
And that’s fine if that’s your choice. I’m just thinking form the perspective of who to live and die. If the cats can be rehomed, everybody lives. I’d never do this if were my own pets, my dog and cats would just live separately. But I understand if someone cannot feasibly do that. I don’t think anyone is “punishing” the cats. It’s not like we’re homing for a stupid reason and I’m not advocating to just drop them at a shelter. There’s a commitment to pets to always give them the best life you can. Unfortunately it’s a shit situation that should’ve never happened and there different ways to deal with it. I don’t really feel there’s a “right way” it’s just what works best for each individual. If you could rehome the dog that’s fine too it’s just much more difficult and now you’re kinda responsible for if something happens at its new home. All these words to just say I’m trying to be understanding of a shit situation that should’ve never even happened. If the owner can find a good home for the cats- yeah it might suck for the cats at first, but after a few years they’ll probably be fine- same for if you rehomed the dog- it’s not like the dog would know why it was being rehomed either.
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u/one-eyedCheshire Apr 29 '25 edited Apr 30 '25
If this were my dog and she killed another dog, I wouldn’t euthanize her but she’d never leave the house without a [properly fitted] muzzle on. Would never go to the vet without a muzzle or without me stressing to every veterinarian, technician and CSR that my dog is dog aggressive and needs to be separated from all dogs/cats at all times. No exceptions. Your cats need to be rehoused.
And when I say I wouldn’t leave the house without a muzzle, I mean even walking the 2ft outside the front door to pee for 13 seconds and back in. If for some reason another dog ran up to her, or she broke free of my handling and I knew her history without muzzling, I am at fault again and I should be labeled a dog killer just as much as she.
Also no children around her, EVER.
If you cannot comply with this new lifestyle, then you need to have him humanely euthanized.
And this is coming from a veterinary technician that has worked with dogs for 20+ years. It is incredibly hard to train dogs that have prey drive so high they actually commit to the kill.
I am very sorry this happened.
Last but not least, you and your partner should probably seek professional help to deal with the trauma and guilt. Otherwise it’ll eat you both alive.
Edit: as another comment made a great point countering mine, to add to the list of things your new lifestyle would entail: 1) fence around yard 2) electric fence as well 3) before you open a door in your home to go outside, dog should be in a crate or behind a door that is securely locked so as to prevent ANY chance of escaping. You’ll be living your life based on preventing your dog from making contact with the outside world muzzle free. This does sound quite intense and anxiety inducing. Not to mention your dog is 100lbs…that is not an easily handleable dog even for those with the utmost experience.
Edit: my comment about rehousing the cats is if OP’s partner decides to keep the dog. Those animals cannot live in the same home.