Dog tries to kill cats

Question



Hello, thank you for your time,

I am very concerned. I have just recently adopted a German Shepherd mix from the local SPCA. His name is Jack, he is fixed and is four years old. He is a perfect dog. He gets along great with our previous dog, a beagle named Scout.

He is already protective of our house, which is good. His bark is extra security and it's comforting having him around the house. Unfortunately, one of his instincts has become an enormous problem.

I heard my girlfriend screaming last night, ran out of my room to find that Jack had caught a neighbor's cat in our back yard and had it by the neck, jerking it back and forth as if to kill the cat. It was a rough instinctual side of Jack we hadn't seen before, and it was a bit scary. I was able to separate him from the cat with a loud yell of NO, and LIE DOWN. But I fear his cat killing days can cause great trouble in our neighborhood. The way our neighborhood is setup, our house shares fences with FIVE different properties. I see a ton of neighborhood cats and would hate to see Jack kill one of these cats. He is very quick and charges at them like a lion. I don't doubt that he can't catch more.

It worries me greatly that he will kill one in our yard, or worse, get out of the backyard and kill a cat.

What can I do? I really don't want to take Jack back to the pond, but wonder if this is inviting trouble. What would the pound do with him? The SPCA had the note that Jack was actually good with cats.

He has quickly become part of our family and I hope there is a way to train dogs away from this? Just tonight, a cat was in our backyard and I literally had to grab his collar to keep him from chasing it.

Please, I hope you can provide me with some guidance,

Jimmy


Answer
Hi Jimmy,
You certainly do have a problem here.  He may be good with a cat that is part of the household, but I think when cats come into your yard he is protecting his home, so to speak.   I don't know if you will be able to control this since it would be hard to be with him every minute.  I am at a loss here, I really don't know what to say.  You may want to ask a training expert.  They might have some helpful ways of discouraging this behaviour.

If he goes back to the pound, it depends on their policy, what will happen to him.  He may get adopted out again, but some shelters will put a dog or cat down if they have them for a certain length of time.  Some are "no kill" shelters that will never do that.   I really hope it doesn't come to that because it sounds like other than the cat problem, he is a very good dog.

God Bless,
Becky

God Bless,
Becky