Japanese Akita eats cats

Little_Chicken

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

What a lot of tosh - I am sorry but many dogs are bred and kept specifically to kill 'small animals' - for example, small terriers and lurchers were bred to catch and kill vermin, and rabbits for the pot, and are efficient hunters, however, it does not mean they are likely to go for a small child at all - in fact lurchers are notoriously gentle in the home!! However, to a dog with these hunter instincts a cat is likely to be seen as prey.

Any dog can potentially become confused about the role of a baby or small child within the family, and as such children and dogs should always be supervised as both have limited knowledge of the other, and both are unpredictable.

However, a ratter or rabbit catcher poses no more risk to children than any other dog, although you would probably want to watch it with your cat!

no need to be rude....but then you seem to agree later in your post - so seems you are the toshy one.:p

shoppaholic_returns

Oh absolutely,Akitas are A grade sheep worriers, and when out walking should ALWAYS be kept on a lead!

my girl has her own outside compound with a grassed area, some slabs to lie on,kitas like to be cold!!She also has a run,with inside and outside space,I would never let her in an unsecured area,not for safety reasons because she is good with other animals,but mainly because I worry aout her being stolen,dogs are very valueable these days arent they!

UKTigerlily

I think FC may be saying that just because a dog has attacked a cat does not mean it will attack a child. We all know to supervise dogs with children just in case, from smothering to biting & anything in between BUT you were saying, LC, that because it's gone for a cat it probably will go for a kid. ALL dogs could go for anything from another pet to a kid to an adult, BUT just because it goes for a cat doesn't mean it will a child, it's seperate entirely, a child isn't a dogs prey, it hasn't an instinct & hasn't been bred to go for a child.

foreign_correspondent

Little_Chicken wrote: »

no need to be rude....but then you seem to agree later in your post - so seems you are the toshy one.:p

I took out the tosh bit, as it did come accross as rude - but my point is that a dog bred to kill small animals is no more or less of a threat to children then a dog which was bred to herd, or to guard.

Actually the dogs I have really had to watch around kids have been the herders, not the hunters - kids (and postmen) do not like it when a collie decides to herd them, complete with a few nips to the back of the ankles to motivate them along!!:eek:

1sue23

I was attacked by a collie when a small child ,it had killed a cat but was always very friendly with people ,one day late home from school was running past it's house when it gave chase it badly bit my leg and I needed stitches ,mind you it did not put me off dogs I still love them.

Amber_Sunshine

Soubrette wrote: »

OMG my sister's cat regularly kills birds, small mammals and even dragged a fish from a pond once - should I be worried about visiting her with my children

I've never heard of a cat killing a child though.

Frankly, as a cat lover, it horrifies me to think of them suffering like this. OP, you may think you know your dog, but I would be afraid of it turning on a child next. I'll admit I'm not a dog expert, and no doubt someone will contradict me, but that would be my concern. Perhaps one option would be to lock the gate and put a box outside for post, but you could also consult a vet, dog trainer or the Akita society for advice (I'm sure there is one!).

As the owner, there may be legal implications here as well if your dog attacks another animal/child, you may want to look into that. I hope you find a solution, your dog is obviously much loved and you are trying to do the right thing, but I don't want another cat to be hurt or killed.

Little_Chicken

Lordy, I wrote a long old rant, but clearly took too long as it's disappeared.....

Anyhoo, I didn't say a dog that attacked a cat would attack a kid, just that it has to be a consideration.

At the end of the day it is our responsibility to monitor our animals behaviour. Any dog can be muzzled with patience. Or supervised when in the garden to ensure that it cannot get into trouble.

Simply shrugging our shoulders and saying certain things are in an animal's nature is not good enough. We have to be responsible and minimise these behaviours.

Many people in the UK just can't be bothered. Hence the number of staffies up for re-homing. They can be highly strung, and need time and effort put into training them, but people just can't be bothered. And it's the animals that suffer.

Makes me mad, but I probably didn't need to tell you that!

UKTigerlily

Little_Chicken wrote: »

Lordy, I wrote a long old rant, but clearly took too long as it's disappeared.....

Anyhoo, I didn't say a dog that attacked a cat would attack a kid, just that it has to be a consideration.

At the end of the day it is our responsibility to monitor our animals behaviour. Any dog can be muzzled with patience. Or supervised when in the garden to ensure that it cannot get into trouble.

Simply shrugging our shoulders and saying certain things are in an animal's nature is not good enough. We have to be responsible and minimise these behaviours.

Many people in the UK just can't be bothered. Hence the number of staffies up for re-homing. They can be highly strung, and need time and effort put into training them, but people just can't be bothered. And it's the animals that suffer.

Makes me mad, but I probably didn't need to tell you that!

Agreed, which is exactly why the OP is here right now asking for advice! And I definitely agree that that's why so many Staffs are up for rehoming.

Hay_2

Ummm the Op has an Akita...so apologies for hi-jacking their thread with my staff problems.
I'm not disputing the reasons "why" there are unfortunately so very many staffies up for rehoming I'm merely wishing to make clear that my staff WILL NOT be joining them.We are KC reg,fully insured,obedience trained,double daily walked,dog gated,citronella collared,bloomin as vigilant as we can be but the simple fact is that our staff does not like cats

Ian_W

Little_Chicken wrote: »

At the end of the day it is our responsibility to monitor our animals behaviour.

Simply shrugging our shoulders and saying certain things are in an animal's nature is not good enough. We have to be responsible and minimise these behaviours.

Rather than using the word "animals" shouldn't that be dogs?

Whilst I agree that this dogs behaviour OUTSIDE the confines of it's home and garden is totally unacceptable and needs to be addressed, what about cat owners who allow their cats to wander willy nilly into everyone else's gardens? "Ah" ... I hear you say ... "it's in the cats nature" ... :rolleyes:

Our 2 dogs [fox-terriers] recently chased but fortunately didn't catch a cat in our garden. I didn't see it before I let them out [otherwise I obviously wouldn't have] but it was adjacent to the area where our bird feeders are located. No doubt a case of hunter turned hunted!!

I will take note of the helpful suggestions about cat-proofing the garden made earlier, but isn't that rather a case of me having to try and modify someone elses animals behaviour? I certainly won't be muzzling them both in their garden though!