What does it mean when a dog kills another animal? While it shocks humans, killing is normal behavior for dogs. When dogs do not kill, it’s due to human management. Without humans, dogs would have to kill to survive. Dogs are not vegetarians.
Domestic dogs sometimes eat animals they kill, and dead animals they find. They also kill out of instinct, without eating the kill. Dogs don’t have nearly as much higher brain function as humans, and as a result lack both the understanding and the ability to control all their instinctive impulses. Careful training and diligent management of a dog’s environment help keep dogs from acting like wild animals.
When people are unable, unwilling or unaware of how to manage their dogs, kills to other animals become all too common. Understanding how it happens will help you avoid the problem with your dog. If it has already happened, this information can help you decide what to do.
Target Animals
It’s not useful or helpful to attach blame when a dog kills another animal. Realistically, the dog’s owner is the only one in a position to control the dog so killing doesn’t happen. If the dog is yours, responsibility for the kill will be yours as well. Know the breed tendencies and observe your dog’s behavior for early warning signs of this risk.
Dogs killing cats
Many dogs will kill cats under the right stimulation, and those dogs should never be left alone with cats. With some breeds, the risk of leaving dog and cat alone together will always be too high. With others, careful introductions and management can lead to peaceful dog and cat co-existence. Be sure to find out the propensities of your breed toward cats before adopting. Always be prepared to keep dog and cat permanently separated if things don’t go well.
Dogs of the same sex will in some cases fight to the death in the same home, or even in the dog park. Killing fights happen even with opposite sex dogs over food or highly desirable toys.
Certain breeds are much more likely to fight with other dogs of the same sex than others. It’s another trait you need to research before adding any new dog to your home.
The risk of one of the dogs getting killed increases when there is a big difference in their sizes, but dogs of the same size also kill. Dogs kept intact for breeding are at higher risk for killing fights. Female dogs are somewhat more likely to fight to the death than males. The risk of fighting shifts with every change in the home. Risky changes include a dog leaving or returning, a dog having a seizure, or a dog getting old. Adding another dog to the home is a common trigger.
Whenever there has been a fight resulting in injury, the dogs need to be kept apart until you can get the help of a veterinary behavior specialist in person to help you assess the risk and your options. No matter which dog seems to be the aggressor, both of them are at increased risk of fighting with other same-sex dogs in the future.
Sometimes two dogs of the same sex will live together peacefully, but that is no guarantee that either of them could live peacefully with a different same-sex dog. The safest combination of dogs to live together is two dogs of opposite sex.
A dog killing wild animals bothers some owners and doesn’t bother others. Either way, this killing becomes a problem when it involves wildlife that is illegal for a dog to kill, when it leads to the killing of domestic animals, or when it makes the killing dog sick. The more times a dog chases or fights with other animals, the more likely it becomes that a kill will occur. The more times a dog kills, the more efficient the instinctive behaviors of killing tend to become in that dog. The best time to stop the behavior is before chasing even starts.
Dogs killing livestock
Dogs killing livestock is a common problem. Some dogs will do it alone, while many dogs will do it in packs with other dogs. Livestock owners in many locations have the legal right to shoot dogs who bother the stock. Moving to a rural area doesn’t make it a good idea to let your dog run loose.
Human Reactions to Dogs Killing Other Animals
Is it murder when a dog kills another animal? Murder is an intentional act, and a dog is not capable of understanding that intention. This is often hard for people to emotionally accept when an animal they love has been killed. If the owner’s bond with the dog has been irreparably damaged, placing the dog in another home may be best.
Another reason to re-home a dog after a kill has occurred is a situation where you and your family can not be sure of preventing the dog from killing again. Some dogs are too much responsibility for some homes.
Unless the dog has shown aggression toward humans, killing another animal does not mean the dog would hurt a person. You should, of course, tell any new owners what has happened, but most of these problems are manageable. The dog who has killed a cat shouldn’t go to a home with a cat. The dog who has killed another dog of the same sex shouldn’t go to a home with another dog of the same sex. The dog who has killed wild animals or livestock should go to a home where the people can prevent the dog from getting loose to kill these animals.
Many people are capable of managing a dog who has exhibited these normal killing behaviors. If you are re-homing a dog who came from a breeder, rescue or shelter who takes back any dogs of theirs who ever need another home, that is where the dog needs to go. In the event you have someone else who wants the dog and would provide a good home, give the breeder or rescue the opportunity to approve that new owner and also to establish a relationship for the dog’s continued support. When a dog has this lifeline available, you need to preserve it.
Sometimes people quickly take a dog to a veterinarian to be put to sleep after the dog has killed another dog or cat in the family. When a dog kills a human, this usually has to happen. But when a dog kills another animal, placing the dog in a home where appropriate management will prevent another kill is usually the better choice. The dog was only acting on instinct. When we live with animals, this is part of the reality we have to accept.
Consequences of a dog killing another animal
After a dog has killed another animal, people often find out things about the law, about human emotion, and about dog instincts that they wish they had known before. You’ll likely be consulting with other people to settle the matter; those people may include veterinarians, lawyers, animal control authorities, insurance claim adjusters, and other animal owners.
Gather as much information as possible about what actually happened. Be prepared for the possibility that you will never know for sure. If no one saw it happen, you are left to make a best guess – an educated guess, if you consult a veterinary behavior specialist – as to what might have triggered the kill. Even if someone did witness it, dog body language can be so hard to read that many humans will get it wrong.
Dogs will do things in pack action with other dogs that none of them would do as individuals. In such cases, which dog did the killing may be impossible to discern. It may not really matter, since it may have just been whichever dog got the best opening in the melee to strike. One fairly common scenario is for the pack to kill off an elderly or sick dog in the pack. This is one reason it’s not a good idea to keep many dogs together.
Other members of the family may have strong feelings that determine whether or not you keep the dog who has killed another animal. If you have the ability to safely manage the dog, you might consider asking the whole family if keeping the dog a couple of months before making a decision is an acceptable option. Time can make a huge difference in people’s feelings.
You may be legally or ethically liable financially when your dog kills another animal. There can be fines to pay for the killing of wildlife, or fines for killing domestic animals, and you have a responsibility to pay the owner of another animal who has been killed by your dog.
If you involve your insurance company, your homeowner’s insurance rates may go up and your dog is likely to be excluded from future coverage. You may lose all coverage, in fact. This alone is powerful motivation to prevent your dog from having the chance to kill other people’s animals.
When a case goes to court, the trend is toward judgments that exceed monetary value of the killed animal and any veterinary bills, adding to that for suffering of the killed animal and/or suffering of the person whose animal was killed. Your wisest course of action is probably to pay promptly so the other person won’t feel the need to take you to court. You may want to consult an attorney (very quickly) as to the best way to do this.
See your veterinarian, of course, if your dog was injured in the event. Some of the most dangerous injuries can appear minor on the surface, so take the dog for examination if there is any sign whatsoever. Even if you see no injury on your dog, ask your veterinarian what is required in the event of your dog having killed an animal who could be a rabies carrier.
Must Nature Take Its Course?
Being closer to nature is one of the good reasons people have dogs. Having a dog makes us responsible for the dog’s actions, beginning with responsibility to select a dog we can control. One person’s freedom ends at the point it would begin to interfere with the freedom of another person. Letting our dogs be in situations where there is substantial risk of them killing other people’s animals is just not responsible behavior on our part.
When you realize that it is normal dog behavior to kill, you can also see that it’s a dog owner’s responsibility to govern that behavior. It’s not the dog’s fault when such a thing happens. How could it be? The dog is just being a dog, and does not understand that killing is “wrong” in a human perspective. If the dog appears “guilty,” that is submission to you, not understanding of the morality or even the meaning of killing or death.
Dogs in the wild would kill. Many of our dogs will kill if we don’t manage them properly. If such a thing happens, we need to recognize it for what it is. It does not mean the dog is evil. It does mean we have fallen down on the job of dog care, and need to do better.
If you have any doubts at all about your dog’s safety with humans or about your ability to prevent the dog from killing other animals, be sure to consult your veterinarian. Depending on the specific problem, it may then be advisable for you to get your veterinarian’s help to consult in person with a veterinary behavior specialist.
This specialist can evaluate your dog, take a complete history and advise you of the risks and your options. Then you will have taken away a lot of the guesswork and be in a better position to deal with the emotion. An expert evaluation will also help family members reach an agreement about what to do that works best for everyone – including the dog.
