Something terrible happened right in front of my eyes last February and I’m looking for some answers about what went wrong, as I can't sleep and the images keep coming back to me. I had a Czechoslovakian Wolfdog, a one-year-old female who was due to be spayed four days after it happened... and she’d been in season the month before. I’m currently pregnant (maybe that was a factor?). My dog Latika was very sweet with no behaviour issues; I could even take her food bowl away while she was eating, and she followed me everywhere. Anyway, on Friday 10th February, I picked her up from the kennels. I hadn't been home on the Thursday night and had left Horus, my five-year-old neutered Jack Russell, at home. Once we got home on the Friday, Latika was happy to see Horus and everything seemed fine. Then, suddenly, as I was about to take them out, she grabbed him by the neck and killed him right in front of me! I tried everything to separate them but I couldn't do a thing!!! Afterwards, she dragged him into the garden and came back to the door 15 minutes later as if nothing had happened!!!! We had her put to sleep. Being pregnant and having seen that, I just couldn't trust her anymore. Especially since she wouldn't let go, even after I threw a chair at her. How do you explain this behaviour?
Was she trying to take the alpha position? Latika was 35kg (about 5 and a half stone) and Horus was 5kg (around 11 lbs). We are absolutely devastated because our dogs meant so much to us.
Translated from French
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Hi everyone, my dog gave birth to a litter of nine puppies three weeks ago. Everything was going really well until the day before yesterday when her behaviour changed and she became aggressive. She snapped at one of the pups first—nothing serious—but then she did it again the next morning to another one and actually bit it. We managed to pull her away in time and the bite was only superficial. Then, in the afternoon, I’d just got back from a walk and had barely closed the door when she turned on the puppy again in a nasty way. She was completely hysterical, it was a bloodbath. (Just so you know, if I even tried to adjust the blanket to make sure the pups were comfortable, she’d try to go for me). After that, it was impossible to get her away from the puppies and she tried to attack me as well. Once we finally managed to get her off, I saw the state the puppy was in and rushed to the emergency vet. They couldn't do anything; he was in too much pain and wouldn't have survived even if they'd tried to do something. The puppy died and I’m absolutely heartbroken. The vet confirmed that all the puppies were in very good health, so it had nothing to do with that. He advised me not to let her have any contact at all with the rest of them because she’ll kill them one by one, and even suggested she might need to stay in a different home. I don't know what to do anymore, whether I should keep her or not after this, because it's broken something between us and I'm actually scared now that she might attack us too. She’s a rescue dog and I really love her, I’ve always made sure she has everything she needs, but this was just too much. She’s two and a half and it was an accidental pregnancy; she’d already had three seasons. Do you have any advice or an explanation for her behaviour? (PS: the puppies are nearly 4 weeks old now).
My 4-year-old male Beauceron attacked my 7-year-old Boxer. It wasn't the first time, but we’d always managed to stop them before. Both the vet and the behaviourist advised us to have them both neutered. After the Boxer needed several stitches, we stopped feeding them together and things seemed to calm down, even though the Beauceron would still test the Boxer from time to time. They still played together and slept side by side, so we’d been feeling quite at ease for a good while, until last week when they had a scrap in their kennel for no apparent reason. My partner separated them and everything went back to normal.
We carried on as usual until this Wednesday evening, when the Beauceron went to get the Boxer from the kennel where he was resting quietly. He dragged him out and it was the worst moment of my life. Even using water didn't work; he just wouldn't let go. I managed to pull him off once, but he broke away from me and lunged back at the Boxer. I just stood there helpless, watching him tear him apart until he stopped moving. My partner arrived and rushed him to the vet. It resulted in major, heavy surgery with lasting after-effects.
Now I’m left with this dog that I loved so much, who is looking at me and wanting cuddles, but I look at him and think it’s either euthanasia or a life with someone who has no other pets. He is a solitary, dominant dog who loves his owner more than anything—to the point of being willing to kill for them. Please help me.
My 4-year-old male Beauceron attacked my 7-year-old Boxer. It wasn't the first time, but we’d always managed to stop them before. Both the vet and the behaviourist advised us to have them both neutered. After the Boxer needed several stitches, we stopped feeding them together and things seemed to calm down, even though the Beauceron would still test the Boxer from time to time. They still played together and slept side by side, so we’d been feeling quite at ease for a good while, until last week when they had a scrap in their kennel for no apparent reason. My partner separated them and everything went back to normal.
We carried on as usual until this Wednesday evening, when the Beauceron went to get the Boxer from the kennel where he was resting quietly. He dragged him out and it was the worst moment of my life. Even using water didn't work; he just wouldn't let go. I managed to pull him off once, but he broke away from me and lunged back at the Boxer. I just stood there helpless, watching him tear him apart until he stopped moving. My partner arrived and rushed him to the vet. It resulted in major, heavy surgery with lasting after-effects.
Now I’m left with this dog that I loved so much, who is looking at me and wanting cuddles, but I look at him and think it’s either euthanasia or a life with someone who has no other pets. He is a solitary, dominant dog who loves his owner more than anything—to the point of being willing to kill for them. Please help me.
My 4-year-old male Beauceron attacked my 7-year-old Boxer. It wasn't the first time, but we’d always managed to stop them before. Both the vet and the behaviourist advised us to have them both neutered after the Boxer previously needed several stitches. We stopped feeding them together and things had calmed down, even though the Beauceron would still pester the Boxer from time to time. They still played together and slept side-by-side. We’d been feeling relaxed for a good while, until last week when they had a scrap in their kennel for no apparent reason. My partner separated them and everything went back to normal. We carried on as usual until this Wednesday evening, when the Beauceron went to get the Boxer while he was minding his own business in the kennel. He dragged him out and it was the worst moment of my life. Even using water, he just wouldn't let go. I managed to pull him off once, but he got away from me and lunged straight back at the Boxer. I just stood there helpless, watching him tear him apart until he stopped moving. My partner arrived and rushed him to the vet; the result is major, heavy surgery and he’s going to have permanent injuries. Now I’m left with this dog I loved so much, who is looking at me and wanting cuddles, while I’m looking at him thinking: euthanasia or a life with someone who has no other pets? He’s a dominant, solitary dog who loves his owner more than anything—enough to kill for them. Please help me.
I have 7 dogs (13, 18, 35, 48, 62, and 70 lbs) ranging from a 12-inch Shih Tzu to a 27-inch Great Anglo-French Hound.
And despite the odd bit of tension now and then, I’ve never had this kind of problem. We keep a close eye on our 18 lb male Shih Tzu and our second male, a 48 lb Cursinu (who is very, very scrappy), because they both want to be the boss, but otherwise we've never had any issues.
Wishing you the best of luck...
And just keep in mind that wolfdogs are very particular... they need to live with their own kind and their hierarchy is very strict. Perhaps your girl’s breed-specific needs weren’t being fully met, which combined with your pregnancy...
But since I’m far from being an expert, I’m only offering some suggestions.
She had her own reasons, in her own doggy way; sometimes we just can't tell what’s triggered an attack. How old was she when she was separated from her mum?
Your story is truly touching. It’s so hard to understand the behaviour of a dog that was usually so gentle, as you said. It was for the best to have him put down, because if he’d done that to a baby it would have been even more serious—and it’s already bad enough as it is. I hope you can put such a traumatic experience behind you. All the best ;)
Hi there, my dog has those hyper moments too. She’s more than lovely at home; she’s very submissive, including with other dogs. Yet, whenever a rabbit gets a bit too close while we're out on a walk, she catches it, shakes it, and there’s absolutely no stopping her. It's the same with cats. It’s sad, but that’s just how it goes. Life is sad sometimes, but you’ve just got to get over it and keep smiling no matter what. 😐
Cats really do take their lives into their own hands when they cross through a dog’s garden.
So many of us owners have been faced with this situation. Once a dog has done 100,000 laps of its garden, it’ll find it incredibly exciting and a great source of entertainment to chase after any little creature that wanders in.
I agree with what @energiesolaire said.
A dog’s excitement can sometimes make them lose their head.
My Bouvier doesn't bother the cats in the house at all. However, she can't help chasing them when they're out in the garden.
Aside from that, she’s lovely. The chickens roam free in the garden and she doesn't bother them. That’s not the case for the neighbour’s very sweet female Labrador, who has killed several of ours.
I once lost a bird that ended up in the mouth of a stray Husky I’d brought home. I’ll feel guilty about it for the rest of my life as I hold myself responsible for that tragedy, which I found very difficult to deal with. My pet bird wasn’t afraid of the dog and I just didn't think.
This Husky was young and had never shown any signs of aggression. In fact, he let go of my bird straight away when I told him to.
And my Golden Retriever, my absolute world, once killed a rabbit while we were out on a walk. You couldn't have found a gentler dog.
What I’m trying to say with these stories is that there are many incidents between dogs and small animals. It’s because dogs are easily triggered by small things that move. There's nothing anyone can do about it as it's in their genes. And some breeds or individual dogs have this trait much more deeply ingrained than others. I’d also add each dog’s specific level of excitability into the mix.
It’s up to us to adapt to each individual dog, and that’s often where the problem lies.
