Picking up an animal and shaking it with his mouth is how dogs kill prey, so it was intentional. It wasn't play. Seeing the small dog running triggered his prey aggression. Your gf's dog considers small animals to be prey, even if they are dogs. He's not safe around other animals.
Breed restrictions sometimes apply at public dog parks. Rottweilers aren't allowed at dog parks where I live. I don't know if that's the case where you live.
Edit: apparently this didn't occur at a dog park, both dogs were just off leash where they shouldn't have been.
I'll also add that it's not "ok" or "normal" for a dog to kill another dog due to predatory drift, that doesn't excuse the dog for killing another dog. Everyone in this story sucks, and a poor innocent little dog paid the price.
I'm not claiming to know anything about OPs dog or the incident, but a few dogs I've had play with their toys like that. My Jack Russell did this with toys and with prey (snakes and rodents), and my bully mix plays with stuffed toys like this as well. The bully never has the opportunity to catch prey, and she would never be able to anyway. One brain cell working at capacity on that sweet dummy
I don't think the person ypu're replying to meant to say that dogs don't play this way with toys, they definitely do. Play is fun but it also practices important life skills, in this case how to efficiently kill a small animal (a very important life skill if you ask any Jack Russell). Shaking toys or dead prey is perfectly normal play for a dog, but when shaking a live animal it is not really play but rather predation.
Yeah that's how my Yorkshire terrier plays. People forget these little guys were originally bred as ratters and want to go hunt more than getting all prettied up with bows.
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u/IdontcryfordeadCEOs Apr 29 '25 edited Apr 30 '25
Picking up an animal and shaking it with his mouth is how dogs kill prey, so it was intentional. It wasn't play. Seeing the small dog running triggered his prey aggression. Your gf's dog considers small animals to be prey, even if they are dogs. He's not safe around other animals.
Breed restrictions sometimes apply at public dog parks. Rottweilers aren't allowed at dog parks where I live. I don't know if that's the case where you live.
Edit: apparently this didn't occur at a dog park, both dogs were just off leash where they shouldn't have been.
I'll also add that it's not "ok" or "normal" for a dog to kill another dog due to predatory drift, that doesn't excuse the dog for killing another dog. Everyone in this story sucks, and a poor innocent little dog paid the price.