There is more than one reason for a dog exhibiting aggression towards other animals like cats, livestock, birds, and small animals. The most common reasons include:
• Prey aggression: This is where the dog is exhibiting aggression towards another animal that it views as a potential animal to kill and possibly eat. This is generally not considered true aggression as it is very natural for the dog.
• Territorial aggression: There are times when a dog is nice to other animals if they live in his family, but he may not be friendly with animals that are similar that are on the property and unknown to the dog. For example, a dog can be great with cats he lives with but very aggressive towards a stray cat in the yard.
• Resource guarding: A dog can become aggressive towards another animal in the same house when he wants to keep something and he perceives the other animal as threatening. The most common way this might occur is if the dog is eating his dinner or chewing on a favorite chew item and the other animal walks close by. The dog might respond with growling, barking, lunging, or biting.
• Unfamiliar with other animals: If the dog hasn’t been socialized to other animals while growing up, he might likely be afraid of the animal or aggressive towards it because he isn’t familiar with it. For example, many dogs haven’t seen large animals like horses unless they live in the country. When encountered by a horse, some dogs will be worried and afraid and others will begin barking furiously.
The problem
One of the trickier parts of training a dog with aggression towards other animals is the issue is harder to correct. When a dog is aggressive towards people, you can tell people how or how not to interact with your dog during the behavior modification process, but with other animals, they are totally unpredictable. You can’t guarantee how that other animal will behave which greatly influences your dog.
When the aggression is related to prey drive, it is very hard to correct the problem fully. There are many breeds of dogs that have a high level of prey drive. For example, most terrier breeds are highly unreliable around small animals like rabbits, gerbils, hamsters, and potentially even cats. That’s because the vast majority of terriers were bred at some point to kill some type of small animal, and that drive remains in today’s terriers. Terriers aren’t the only style of dog that this occurs in, but terriers are sometimes faster to respond to it.
Many owners are surprised when their dog shows interest in other animals like chickens, but birds are particularly fascinating for dogs. They fly, move erratically, and make a good deal of noise. These are all high trigger points for dogs. Some dogs will simply show interest in the bird or chase it, but there is a high chance the dog will catch a bird. Once he catches it and kills it once, he will do it again, and again, and again.
Rather than trying to correct a problem, it is most advisable to properly pair dogs with their environment and living partners. If you have a home full of small pocket pets, a terrier probably would not be a good selection for your home. Additionally, in every breed there are variances in prey drive. A qualified, good breeder of dogs can tell you which puppy shows a lot of drive, medium drive, and low drive. In homes with cats or other small animals, a low to medium prey drive puppy/dog is the best match.
What Can You Do?
If you’ve already found yourself in a situation where your dog is showing too much interest in another animal, you’ll first have to evaluate how severe the issue is. Simply chasing or bothering another smaller animal may be very manageable. This is often the case with cats.
Blending cats and dogs together can be successfully done if certain precautions are taken:
• Give the cat several high vantage points such as cat towers over 6 feet tall.
• If possible, give the cat numerous options within a main room for being high so that the cat can circumnavigate the room at a high level. This might be one or two towers, tops of cabinets or shelves, wall ledge shelves, etc. This allows the cat to not feel trapped (like he would if he had to hide under furniture) and allows both he and the dog to see each other at a safe distance.
• Let the cat have his own area with an easy access. The room can have his litterbox, food, water, toys, and special sleeping space so he can get away.
• Make sure your dog is well exercised everyday. He will have less desire to chase the cat.
• Make interactions positive between the animals. Also, if your dog begins to obsess, practice interrupting that behavior and provide the dog with something else to do.
Now, the situation is very different if the dog is growling at the cat, obsessively chasing, is hard to interrupt or redirect, or has actually bitten a cat before. The same is true of other animals. Once a dog has made the choice to aggress towards a possibly perceived prey animal, the odds of the animals living together peacefully go down.
As with all other kinds of aggression, consulting with a professional will help you evaluate whether the aggression between your dog and other animals can be managed or made better or if the prognosis is poor.
Dog aggression and behavior expert with 30 years of experience.
