Feel terrible!

mammyof7

lisawood78 wrote: »

Hi op. I own three great danes, they are wonderful animals. I hope your injuries are recovering, as stated above watch for infection.
I don't have cats, they don't venture into my garden either so can't really advise there.
But I hope you find a resolution that suits you and your other pets and the neighbours.
I certainly don't think this makes your pup a monster dog , And calling the police/RSPCA/ anyone else seems OTT to me, especially as the cat is ok and the owner not upset. Good luck

Thank you so much . Love your pic by the way, they look fab!!

heartbreak_star

*hugs* to you. You sound like a responsible pet owner, a nice person, and I salute you for it.

HBS x

mammyof7

heartbreak_star wrote: »

I'd have an ask at the vets about behaviour specialists, and I like the look of those plastic fence topper things - quite cheap too. Glad the kitty is okay though!

I advocate cat-proofing the garden as someone who has owned both cats and dogs. I have a feeling (though of course I may be wrong) the OP's dog is "protecting" its own cat, which as a kitten is presumably smaller than the neighbour's full-grown cat?

And to those who think the OP is irresponsible - I think she has been VERY responsible in risking herself to save the cat. Irresponsible would have been to do nothing, and kudos to her neighbour who realises that animals are animals and as such can be unpredictable.

Incidentally, if the cat was unscathed, was it actually a full-on attack? If my mum's labrador went for a cat properly, even if it was just across the garden I wouldn't get there in time to stop injury.

Just a few thoughts. And please keep an eye on those scratches OP!

HBS x

Thand hs. Yes my cat is a LOT smaller than the neighbours whom are quite large British Shorthair cats. My boy is a 4 month old moggy .
From what I could see it was a full on attack, however the cat came off with very minor scapes. So I think that it was only the fact that I was there instantly that prevented the cat from being seriously injured .

heartbreak_star

Glad you were there!! I do think it could be a protection thing.

HBS x

Welshwoofs

LisaW123 wrote: »

Regardless of who the owner is, this dog needs to be controlled.

meritaten

I can only agree with others that while your Great Dane will prob be fine with the kitten (part of the pack), your dog may now be finding that cats straying into family territory now become 'the enemy'.
All you can do is offer to pay any vets bills and try to 'cat proof' the garden. That particular cat would have to be extremely brave (or stupid) to do the same thing again.
but, as you say, you feel really terrible about it (I would too) then you must take steps to ensure it doesnt happen again. if the fence doesnt have any plants against it - then plant some. nice thorny ones! (good burglar deterrent too). Train the dog not to go near plants. will give an unsuspecting cat time to make a quick getaway while dog hesitates over attacking an intruder and ignoring the (ingrained) lesson of 'do not go near the plants'!
its a horrible thing to have happened and I think I would be very upset too - but take a day or two and reflect on things and you will realise it could have been a lot worse - and my own belief is that the dog was actually defending the kitten .

Welshwoofs

The fact is that if your Dane had meant to kill that cat, the cat would be dead. I have a friend with a Lurcher who took apart a cat in his garden in 2 seconds flat.

Now I love cats as well as dogs, but the unfortunate issue is that you have one animal who doesn't recognise boundaries and one animal who normally defends theirs to the hilt. The two don't normally mix and I know that any cat that wandered into our garden would also be in trouble if my Mastiff caught them (he doesn't...he's too slow and he can't jump)

The cat's owner isn't going to be able to stop the cat roaming and any ideas of you muzzling your dog in its own garden are frankly too ridiculous to even give a nanosecond's thought to. What you can do is make it unattractive for cats to get in your garden (and unfortunately that may impact on your cat exiting your garden) with spiky fence toppers, prickly shrubs etc.

Other than that you can only offer to cover your next door neighbour's vet bills if there were any and give them a bottle of wine and a sickly smile.

BECKIN1507

OP how are your wounds and your dogs? Cat scratches can be nasty. Also I know you're trying your very best for it not to happen but just incase it does the best thing to do is throw cold water at the dog. I know at the time it feels like you won't have time but it is usually quicker as it shocks the dog which makes it stop. When dogs are in fight mode they feel no pain, and no shouting, screaming or hitting the dog will help.

jumpedtheshark

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

.

You need to make sure it doesnt happen again either by making sure that the dog wears a muzzel at all times and you being with it.Or totally cat prooof your fence, get a really high one with spikes all over the top.
If it happens again you will either have the police round or the neighbours may take action themselves like throwing a piece of poisioned meat over into your garden.(It has been known).
So its best to save yourself any future hassell, by doing all you can.

This is the kind of thing that makes me paranoid. If it were me, I'd go visit the neighbours, sit down with them and agree together on what would be best for both cats and dog to ensure that any risk of future harm was minimised and that they felt that you were good owners (so wouldn't ever dream of doing anything to 'protect' their cats even if weird friends/family suggested it).

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

mammyof7 wrote: »

Thank you Kyrlr. Yes our fencing is very secure. I have a 6 foot fence all around our garden with locks and bolts on both gates. As far as i'm concerned the dog is well contained.

mammyof7 wrote: »

I do control my dog. I am a very responsible experienced owner of giant breed dogs. My dog is well looked after and contained within a secure garden.

But a Great Dane can jump an eight foot fence easily enough if they want to. For example, if there was a strange cat in the area.



The ones round where I used to live didn't always bother jumping one, though. The smallest one just thundered his way through it and bit a child walking past on the way to school. Think splinters, Dane sized hole in fence, screaming child, hysterical mum, terrified 3 year olds everywhere.

I'm not saying they were bad owners at all. They had three Danes, all in great condition, well socialised in dog classes, they had children of their own, children visiting, everything that sounds perfect. But when the littlest dog took exception to something he heard or saw, a six or eight foot fence meant nothing to him.