Help! My labradoodle is not good with cats. What to do......

[JodiNoga]

Cooper is a beautiful bouncy black labradoodle who is awesome around all people, kids and adults alike. He is also great with other dogs. He has never shown any aggression towards anything other than his chew toys, which he loves to chew up. This weekend, he spotted a neighbor's cat and at first tried to engage the cat in playing with that "puppy stance...down on front legs pose." When the cat hissed and pawed him (he was declawed so it did not hurt my dog) Cooper just grabbed the cat with his mouth. Long story short...the cat was injured pretty bad, and so was I because when I tried to interevene, the cat bit me, which sent me off the the ER immediately. Now that we have had a few days to process this, our gut feeling is that we need to find a new home for Cooper so this does not happen again. My neighbor, the cat owner, has been very gracious and kind about it, but still..... it was a horrible thing and I am just sick that my sweet loveable goofy labradoodle did this. I am at a loss of what to do and how to find a good home for our precious dog. Any ideas?

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Jodi,
If your intent is to find your dog another home please see the Doodle Rescue Collective. They help to find good places for good dogs. :)

www.doodlerescuecollective.ning.com

There are many articles and help on these pages to that will enable you to make the right decisions for your family.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Your dog exhibited the natural instincts of a Game Dog-- doodles are a game dog. Poodles, Labs, and Goldens originated as hunting dogs. There is nothing unnatural in your dogs behavior. If you feel he is a danger, please see the site I linked to you below so that they can help you find a more suited home.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

That is exactly what I was trying to say. See my story about my childhood golden retriever below.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I am no expert, but I do not think you should give your doodle up because of this! Some dogs just instinctively do this with cats. You say he has never been aggressive with anyone/thing else (aside from chew toys). Wouldn't your kids be crushed if you gave him away???

I have a very very sad story that was not told to me until I had grown up and left the house. Our beloved golden retriever actually ended up accidentally killing the neighbor's cat when I was 4 years old. Of course my parents were completely horrified and felt just awful, but Ivan was the greatest dog ever. Our neighbors understood it was a complete fluke accident and forgave my parents and our dog (and lived beside them for another 20 years). Ivan stayed with us until he died at age 15. He was the best dog I ever had growing up. And I am not downplaying the cat's death at all (I grew up with my kitty Miss Libby Lou, who died at age 20 last year - I do like cats as well as dogs.).

I understand you are worried, but I would really, really reconsider NOT rehoming Cooper based on these recent actions. This is not completely out-of-the-norm for a dog. He probably didn't even mean to hurt the cat.

[JodiNoga]

Thank you for sharing your story. I am just very torn right now as to what the best thing is. We are surrounded by cats, and I am so afraid he will do this again. Our neighbor is going to put her cat to sleep because of the injuries from my dog, and I am absolutely horrified and sick. She (the neighbor) is still being so compassionate and understanding, but I feel so awful that my dog is alive and well right across the street while her beloved cat died. We love our dog dearly, and I only want what is best for him. We don't have a huge yard, and our backyard is mainly pool and playset, not a lot of running room. I am diligent about taking him for two long walks/hikes a day, but maybe it is not enough? He is so calm and docile in the house, never wakes us at night to go out and is very quiet and loyal. But, when he sees a cat, squirrel or rabbit...he is no longer that dog. He is on a mission to "hunt." My husband and I are not hunters, and I have often said maybe he was born to be a hunting dog. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. I will continue to consider pros and cons while looking into options. Of course my girls and I would be crushed to give him up, but it would be easier to do if we knew he had a home with more room to roam, play and run without running into a neighbor cat.
Thank you!!

Jodi

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Going after a cat and getting enough exercise are totally different things. My Springer brought me a kitten last year. Of course the kitten was dead. It was part of a stray litter that insisted on running through our yard. Hunting is instinctive for many of our dogs - some have a bigger prey drive than others. As badly as you feel, I can't actually imagine that you would be getting rid of your dog, unless you are looking for an excuse to do so. You need to make amends with your neighbor. Ask her what you can do besides paying all vet costs and if she wants another cat paying for it and the neutering and de-clawing costs. Make a dinner a week for her for a year, give her flowers, mow her lawn...... You can't replace her pet no matter what you do and getting rid of your dog will not change that. Sorry if I am too direct, but you cannot undo the damage, only do what you can to help ease your neighbor's pain. PS - put a fence up. Most zoning laws allow front yard fences in some fashion. If Cooper really is too much dog, use rescue to re-home him and get a smaller, more docile dog who does not come from a hunting background.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

What I really wanted to say was WTD?

I think Nancy summed up what I was cautiously trying to say.

First your neighbor should not have a declawed cat outside. Second, ................ oh never mind! I

[F, Calla & Luca]

I do understand how you feel. My two doodles killed a squirrel this fall and I was very upset that they would do such a thing. They are sweet and gentle dogs but they do have those instincts others have spoken about. The incident changed my view of them only for the time it took me to process the whole thing but I couldn't imagine giving them up because of that.

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

My dogs kill on average one squirrel per week... on top of that, they kill mice, rats, rabbits, moles, birds... I know, it's awful.

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

How terrible. I hope you are ok. I would definitely keep the dog and try to desensitize him to cats instead. He deserves a second chance, and he is not a vicious or mean animal. My dogs both hunt and their hunting instinct is extremely strong. The neighbor cats have learned to stay OUT of our yard, or they will get chased up a tree or a fence. So far, no cats have gotten caught thank goodness, but if one does get injured or killed on my property, I am not going to punish my dogs or send them away (yes, I love cats too, but the dogs rule in the yard, and unless they attack a human, I am on their side). Your neighbor sounds like a really nice person who understands both dogs and cats. I agree with Nancy about making amends with her.

[Ginny Nightingale]

I agree with all--when I was a child, I had a dog that my parents got a few months before i was born. He was a great pet and lived until I was 16. But, he was a DOG and killed my 8 week old kitten a day after i got him. He also caught and killed my beloved parakeet. Like I said, he was a DOG and dogs do those things.My mother said he was jealous of my pets, but I think he just thought of them as prey. I was very upset, but I loved him anyway.
My smaller LD has killed two squirrels and a rabbit. I have an outside cat who knows better than to come inside the invisible fence area. I know Mattie would kill her if she did. I'd love it if Mattie was a buddy to my cat, but it just isn't in her. I would just be aware now that your dg can not play with or be around cats. If the dog is never allowed to wander the neighborhood, this should never happen again.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Doodles are part retriever, and retrievers hunt & kill small animals. Would you think of rehoming your dog if he killed a squirrel? Many many DK doodles have killed squirrels, rabbits, moles, etc. in their yards. That is their nature. I am terribly sorry for the poor cat who was killed, and for her owners, but domestic pets do not belong outdoors unconfined, and that applies to cats. I am very sorry if this offends anyone who has an "outside" cat, but in my neighborhood, it is against the law to have a dog or a cat left loose outside, and I'll bet it is in yours, too. Cats have less reason to be outdoors than dogs do, since they do not need to be out there to potty. All domestic pet cats should be indoor cats, period.
Now, Cooper... was Cooper outdoors unleashed and unconfined? That can't happen either.
It really bothers me that you are immediately thinking of rehoming your doodle because of something that is not his fault. One supposedly beloved pet is dead because of her owner's carelessness, and now a doodle is in danger of being rehomed because he followed his natural instincts. Most people would be asking us what they can do to prevent Cooper from ever doing this again. Most of us here would exhaust every possibility before giving up our doodles, even if they bit a child.
On a very sad night for us here on DK, this is a very disturbing post.