killer staffy

My 11 year old male staffy soft as old boots decided to kill viciously one of three of my kittens and seriously damage another one, normally he is as placid as anything but while we were out shopping he totally destroyed a plastic cage to get to two of the kittens and then went upstairs to viciously kill the third one, has anyone got any idea why he should have done that, are staffys mentally unstable at 11 years old or could it have been jelousy, any help would be appreciated because now I feel I can't trust him with any other animal or person, I have two rotties who nursed the kittens like puppies,thanks for any input
kennygd

that want some terriers are like

Hi and welcome to th forum from Rocky and me.

Sorry never had a cat or kittens so no idea really. Could have seen them as a threat I dont know.

Hi, welcome to the forum.

I honestly don't know why he decided to kill the kittens. Have you had kittens in the house before?

I doubt that there was anything 'vicious' about it - that's not how dogs see killing small furries. It could be jealousy, or it could just be play gone wrong, with instinct taking over. I take it the kittens were in the vage, not your stafford?

I doubt very much if his attitude towards humans has changed one little bit.

why dint you rehome the kitten when he kill the first one?

Steve wrote:why dint you rehome the kitten when he kill the first one?

I think the damage was done all at the same time.

I would say instinct tbh, just like cats will chase a mouse and eat it, dogs or specifically terriers will chase small furry things and eat them.

It only happened late last night, too busy dealing with a traumatised daughter after the carnage, he has been alright up to now

Caryll wrote:Hi, welcome to the forum.

I honestly don't know why he decided to kill the kittens. Have you had kittens in the house before?

I doubt that there was anything 'vicious' about it - that's not how dogs see killing small furries. It could be jealousy, or it could just be play gone wrong, with instinct taking over. I take it the kittens were in the cage, not your stafford?

Any thoughts on the above questions?

kennygd wrote:It only happened late last night, too busy dealing with a traumatised daughter after the carnage, he has been alright up to now

Your poor daughter, that's a nasty thing to see.

Hello Caryll, yes kittens were locked in cage, he ripped the cage apart to get to them, never had kittens before with dogs but researched a fair bit first but obviously wrong informnation given, it was the wort thing to ever walk into, my daughter collapsed[b]
kennygd

I can only imagine how distressing it has been. Can't offer any advice ><

Some dogs just never can mix with cats or other small furries. My Dempsey would probably would have killed them as well. That's no comfort to your daughter, though.

The thing you have to remember is that it doesn't change his attitude towards people. To him, it's totally different. Instinct told him that he's a predator and they were prey. He'll be the same friendly dog towards you & your family as he was before.

I wish I could come up with something that would make it all better, or at least give an acceptable reason, but it's instinct with some dogs (not just staffords or terriers).

I agree with Caryll we forget sometimes that staffords are terriers and terriers can have the ratting instinct my staffies chase squirells etc and would probably kill them if they caught them, its so so sad for you and your daughter and my thoughts are with you all, as hard as it maybe please don,t turn against your staffie, this isn,t about him changing, he just went into instinct, the fact that the kittens were in the cage made him want too get in there and in that hyper state he has followed that hunting urge, it takes extremely careful introductions too bring any small animal into a household with any dog, and although you thought they was safe in the cage understandably, but i would never leave them alone until they were older and use too each other, it could have been jealousy or they made a certain noise theres no knowing what made your dog do this, but we do like too try too forget what alot of dogs natural instincts are, i really hope in time you and your daughter will move on from this awful experience my thoughts are with you all.

Just one of those things unfortunately. Mine has killed kittens too, all you can do is keep temptation away.

Hi and welcome from us and Suki. I'm very sorry to hear this and it must be very hard on your daughter. Some terriers just have a prey instinct that is too strong to ignore. I've had a dog and cat at the same time before but they were raised together since they were very young.

We keep Suki far away from anything that she might have an urge to go after.

So sorry to hear this but I can't add much more than has already been said. Ledger would probably do the same thing although he is wary of the more ferral cats round here he still shows the predatory instinct until they stand their ground.

I'm sorry to hear about what happened, it must have been so horrible to see, and such a shock

The thing is, it's instinct, like everyone said. Are these the first cats/kittens you've had in the house with him there? If so, then obviously he wasn't brought up around cats. If the dog's a puppy and you socialise them to cats extensively, you could end up with a dog who's fine with cats, but even then it doesn't always override the instinct. A dog who's been stuck in his instincts for 11 years isn't gonna change without maybe seeing a professional on the matter. My old dog, Zac, we got when he was 2 or 3, and he wasn't socialised at all when he was a puppy, so he was freaked out by dogs. Then a German Shepherd bit him and he was aggressive towards any dog bigger than him. No matter what we tried, we couldn't get him out of it because he'd spent his whole life not used to it.

Your dog will still be fine with you. In your mind everything has changed because he's done something you'd never expect, but in his mind everything is normal. You can still trust him, just not with animals who will appeal to that part of his mind.

Sorry to hear about this. I would only introduce kittens at the same time as my dog being a puppy personally so that they can 'grow up' together. The dog would be more used to cats that way, but even then animals will be animals.

I would never try to introduce cats or other small furry animals at a later date. That's just my personal opinion. Hope your daughter gets over this.

Im so sorry, I dont know what to say. I know when i got my cat as a kitten, our old girl was around 12. It took alot of work to get them friends. I was advised to keep the kitten to one room to begin, i would bring the cat out while Blitz (our old staffy) was on a lead. If she was gentle and good i would reward her, if she tryed to chase, i would take the kitten back to the room. This went on for a long time. I also mixed their sents. This was to get my staffy used to our new arrival and hopefully accept her. Blitz tryed to chase for along time, to the point where i really felt i would have to give the kitten back. I didnt want to do that, but felt at the time, Blitz would of done the same as your dog.
Things worked out great in the end. I got out of bed 1 morning to fing some1 had left the spare room door open, i was afraid to look. But what i found was the 2 of them sleeping together. What i think happened was, maybe you were ill advised, Your dog, seeing them in the same room, in a cage, and your out. I also put our kitten in a cage, but was advised to supervise, so any aggressive behaviour to the kitten could be dealt with. Socialising a cat and a dog is really difficult. I really feel for you. Im not sure if you would be able to do this with the remaining kittens. My advise is speak to a behaviourist.

I have Kenny now, so had to do the same thing again, but this time, kenny was brought in and out, while the cat got used to him. They get on ok, Kenny will chase and i always stop him. I do keep them apart when im out, only because Kenny is very excitable, with a high chase instinct. As for Coolio the cat, she will attack Kenny when she's in the mood. Im sorry you and your daughter had to witness such a thing. As for your dog, it should'nt change how he is towards people. Good luck

I dont think kennygd is being provocative, i think she's looking for advice. When your dog does something like this, we tend to look for reasons why.

What an awful thing to happen and especially your daughter being traumatised by it all. Please dont judge your staffie for giving in to a natural prey drive. I sincerely doubt that it was meant in jealousy or agression and there is no reason to assume that he has in any way changed.

kenny d wrote:I dont think kennygd is being provocative, i think she's looking for advice. When your dog does something like this, we tend to look for reasons why.

Like I said, apologies if I'm wrong and I have given a reason. I'm just suspicious of trolls and some of the wording made me think it might not be genuine.

Galadriel wrote:

kenny d wrote:I dont think kennygd is being provocative, i think she's looking for advice. When your dog does something like this, we tend to look for reasons why.

Like I said, apologies if I'm wrong and I have given a reason. I'm just suspicious of trolls and some of the wording made me think it might not be genuine.

Galadriel - I see your post has been removed , I was actually about to do this . Please do not assume that when people post such things there are ulterior motives , there is nothing in this post to suggest so and just undertones of concern as this person has come seeking advice because they need it

My OH'S mum has a staff, and when it see's or hears birds/rabbits/cats she launches herself at them, luckily she has only caught a pidgeon in all her crazy moments, which we doctored back to health! She is the nicest friendliest dog in the world toward humans and dogs, as everyone said it is just their natural instinct.

Like everyone has said, it's a horrible thing to have happen but it doesn't mean your dog is vicious, some dogs just have an instinct to chase small furries. With my two it's the lab x collie that does it. She was brought up with cats and isn't too bad with the cats at home, after a few scratches she learned to stop before she gets too close to them but outside she tries to get at any cat she sees. She is still the most loving dog towards people.

Sorry to hear what happened. Hope your daughter is recovering now. Its just an instinct. Pixee has caught two pigeons so far. Chased after rabbits and squirrels, and we do feed squirrels in our garden, so quiet funny watching her try to catch one, they too quick for her. She has however caught a baby rabbit and badly damaged it. I had to get my son and his mate to finish it off for me. She was not told off cos its an instinct with them. What I do try to do is say leave once she has them in her mouth, she has done that with the rabbit but it was too late. Kittens are small furry things to them.

how sad my heart goes out to you and your family and my keyser would have done the same thing i have cats but they are older and they no not to go near him but he would kill them if he could some staffies dont like cats

I'm so sorry hear what happened.

As ever one else has said he was just following his instinct.

It could have been anything that set him off. Maybe the kittens were crying and he went to investigate. He may have thought he was rescuing them cos they were crying and what happened was just a horrible horrible accident. I can honestly say that my old boy Zac would have done exactly the same thing. He couldn't have any small cuddly toys around him as he saw it as prey and he'd just destroy them in seconds and if he saw a cat well we just had to hope that it got out the garden before he got to the cat. Luckily they were quicker than him and just sat taunting him from the top of the fence till they got a squirt of water to shift them off.

Try not to churn it over and over in your head cos anything could have set the whole series of events off you'll never know the answer i'm afraid.

Please, come back on and tell us how things are now? How is your daughter coping...you didn't say how old she is?