Lost our cat on Friday

[cromwell]

That's horrible Suff. I am afraid that I would harbour very strong negative feelings towards the dog and it's owners if this had happened to our cat. There is a young woman down the road who walks a whippet, and she never has it on a leash. If our cat was attacked because she is too thick to realise her dog should be on a lead, there would be ructions.

[Suff]

Hi mm,

Yes I do understand your thinking. But I'm also aware that dogs change. Our Lakeland was a lovely dog, we had her for 11 years and she was a lovely family dog. However she started becoming more aggressive as she was older. The postman we can understand but when she bit the window cleaner that she had known for years and liked, plus we had a new baby coming into the house, she was put down. It was one of the hardest decisions we've ever had to make.

Animals change and once you lose trust in them there is little quality of life for either animal or owner. Could you pass on a dog which you did not trust to be stable and normal around people?

This dog was a Staffordshire bull terrier. They are loyal dogs, but their breed is for fighting. Most dogs, when presented with a cat invading their territory will chase it or bite it. Some dogs will attack to kill and destroy. That is always a concern when it happens, because dogs do not see the world as we do, or people as we do.

If it had been a case of charging the cat, snapping her neck, biting her and causing death by a protective move, I could understand it. However this dog had to be manhandled away, could not be called away and didn't stop savaging the cat until physically removed. That is an entirely different scenario to a dog which attacks to defend it's territory from another animal.

That is what a fighting dog does. Not even a hunting dog, they are bred to kill and hold, or retrieve.

The Malamute has to be muzzled when walking. Not because he's inherently dangerous but he's big and territorial with other dogs. Even when he's placid people are scared of him for no reason. Yet he does not respond to strange animals in the home space in that way. Chase, yes, bite, if he can, savage and destroy? No.

That really is the concern here.

[miasmum]

It had nothing to do with the cat on its territory, and everything to do with instinct. My neighbours had a Staffie, great with people, hell with other dogs and lethal with cats, rabbits, etc.

If a dog changes like your dog did, then that to me says something is wrong, a brain tumour, illness, dogs do not just 'change'

[Suff]

I hear what you are saying, but my experience with dogs is slightly different. As they age they change and not always for the better. Yes our Lakeland possibly had a tumour, it happens, but I would never trust a dog which acted in this way, instinct or not. And I would not feel that I could not pass on a dog I did not trust.

I love animals which is probably why they respond to me very well. But I have fixed ground rules about what I will accept in behaviour. Canines are bred from wolves. When they start acting like them I don't want them around me.

[Diflower]

It had nothing to do with the cat on its territory, and everything to do with instinct. My neighbours had a Staffie, great with people, hell with other dogs and lethal with cats, rabbits, etc.
'

Absolutely right mm, staffies are just like that. A lady I once knew had had them all her life, but she knew them inside out. She had a big garden and would jump if she saw a cat in it, because staffies lock their jaws once they've got hold of something and it's almost impossible to stop them.
Someone came to visit us here with theirs, 'oh she's a lovely dog, we'll bring her in...'. Thankfully I was very wary and asked them to keep her on the lead till we were sure it would be ok. They had a job hanging onto the lead once she saw poor Minnie - and that's in her own home, not the staffie's territory at all. I honestly dread to think what would have happened if she'd been loose.
There are quite a few breeds I'd just never have, and they're one of them.

I've been thinking about it and actually, if Minnie did catch a bird or cat, if I told her to stop/drop it, she would. We've had a mouse in the garden which she went to, but we just told her to leave it and she didn't even try to touch it.
And when one of the baby birds got stranded it was in and out of the bushes; again we just told her to leave it and she stayed away.
She's not a breed that would naturally attack or kill, she's a retriever, being a labrador/spaniel cross. But then I wouldn't get any kind of dog before learning about its breed's characteristics. Wouldn't have a Jack Russell for instance, a) they chase and kill rabbits, and b) they go down and get stuck in rabbit holes. And I wouldn't want a dog that couldn't be let off the lead.

[meriad]

Suff, I wasn't online over the weekend and only catching up now. What a horrid thing to happen and for your granddaughter to witness; my heart aches for your daughter and her family.

I love dogs; but am very weary of quite a few breeds. Staffies tend to be very loyal when it comes to their own families but when it involves strangers / other animals they are very unpredictable and it's a breed of dog I'd never have. And same for many others - regardless of upbringing and training, come certain circumstances their natural instinct will kick in - it's nature! One of my neighbours has a working spaniel and I do not trust the dog (or owner for that matter) to not chase and kill

Sweet dreams little cat - run free at the bridge

[Suff]

Thanks Ria and everyone for your thoughts and consolation.

I've passed it on to my daughter and I'll let the kids know weekend after next when I'll be up there.

[KateLMead]

Sorry .. I have only just read your post suff..

What a terrible shocking thing to happen suff, I can understand the fears of your daughter and indeed your family knowing that the dog is next door and that she is fearful for the children.
Oh dear such sad news for you all, deepest sympathy to the family who must be bereft and to yourselves xxx ((((((((((to you all))))))))).

[Suff]

Thanks Kate.

[Weka]

Suff this is just horrifying to read, sorry to the dog lovers, but I'm with you, the dog needs to go and the sooner the better. But then that is one breed, along with all the other fighting breeds, I think should be banned, for this and more reasons. How is your granddaughter doing? I can only imagine what a traumatic experience it was for her, surely one that could produce nightmares. Big hugs to you and your family. I hope they are able to not let this mar their move to their new home too much.

My cat bites, but only as a warning mouthy hold, barely enough to leave a mark. The minute he ever bit hard enough to draw blood, as much as I love him, he would be out the door. I'm not having an animal in the house that I can't trust around people, let alone small children. It's just not worth the risk. My friends cat I don't trust, he's put her in hospital before, but its still there. Whenever we go over, I watch it like a hawk, so too do the owners, and I lecture my kids to not go near it, don't even look at it. Needless to say we don't go often. Only about once a year. This one though is chilling out in its old age, and we discovered that it was mainly aggressive to females, around that time if the month. Go figure. If it was my cat, it would have been long gone.