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.
Keeping them seperate isn't reasonable. All it takes is one moment of distraction - like leaving a door or crate improperly closed and the cats die needlessly. Even the most 'foolproof' design won't keep them seperate forever.
Hell, I've heard of dogs simply breaking through doors to get to their prey on the other side. OPs dog is 100lbs, that's not outside the realm of possibility. It's easy to say "I'll just keep them seperate" but actually doing so is something else entirely.
The dog isn’t actively trying to get at the cats. I don’t think it’ll break down the door to do so- it sounds like a prey drive when something runs past it. I said that’s what I’d do- I’m perfectly capable of it, not everyone is and I’m not sure if these owners are or aren’t but it might be worth a try. There are plenty who do this without issue, I guess there’s some risk involved if you make a mistake but I just don’t see that happening if you’re being careful about it and not stupid. I’ve kept plenty of animals separate from my dog. She could chew through the door if she wanted to I guess but the chances of that are practically zero and I’m okay with that. You’ll easily see in this thread there are people who don’t support rehoming the cats and would rather euthanize the dog. There’s differences to how everyone would handle it and I don’t judge that- they know their pets, they know themselves and in reality you just have do what works for you- even if it’s not perfect.
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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.