Nov
22
Is it normal for a dog to love full grown animals but hate baby animals?
By
My Labrador loves full grown cats and dogs. She plays with them and is pretty gentle. However, she hates puppies and kittens. She actually killed a neighborhood kitten once that wandered in to our yard. The kitten was a stray and came on to our property so we weren’t asked to put her down. Its just so weird…why would a dog love full grown animals but despise baby animals? Is it just because she views them as pests when they’re so tiny?
7 Comments
November 22nd, 2009 at 4:51 am
It’s called the prey drive. Smaller animals may be considered prey in your dogs eyes.
November 22nd, 2009 at 5:40 am
They are full of energy, so maybe that makes him nervous.
November 22nd, 2009 at 6:23 am
That’s probably it ! i think you’re right. you could probably look this up too, find the answer on the internet, or in a book also. Good luck*
November 22nd, 2009 at 7:19 am
Sounds like a good guess…. I don’t know exactly. The good thing is that you are aware of what she doesn’t like so you can keep her aware from certain situations that could be bad. It’s funny… my dog is actually the opposite. She gets along better with the little ones, and she is 60 lbs. I think it is just each individual dog and their personalities.
November 22nd, 2009 at 8:14 am
I don’t know that it is prey drive, or what else it could be, but one of my dogs is also nervous around puppies. I think it is normal behavior.
November 22nd, 2009 at 8:52 am
Yes it is normal, in fact it is normal in a lot of dogs. Here is the reason. Firstly, because they kitten was a stray it may have done something to aggrivate your lab or because she was so small, just like she would go after a bird or squirrle it was naturally an instinct to go after it.
Secondly, many dogs spite puppies and kittens because they are new to the world and tend to get in their faces. Puppies and kittens like to chew and try their new claws and pounce and a bigger dog may not like things getting in its face like that. Also puppies can seem to give off an aggresive attitude. They may no be trying to attack the other dog but this is what it may look like to them since puppies pull and lunge on leashes.
Lastly, but rarely, your lab may have had a bad experience with another puppy or kitten you may not know about, perhaps a bigger puppy picked on her or she was the runt. It may seem silly but dogs have a very good sense of memory of the past and may still be holding memorable gruges to protect itself.
Best thing to do is try and on leahes slowly introduce them to a puppy or kitten. If that does not work visit your nearest trainer at a petsmart or petco.
Good luck!
November 22nd, 2009 at 8:58 am
It’s probably because she wasn’t socialized to kittens and puppies when she was a puppy herself, so she didn’t learn to tolerate their less well mannered behaviour.
I wouldn’t say it’s normal, because most dogs will tolerate things in puppies that they wouldn’t allow in fellow adult dogs.
Just keep her away from baby animals, and any cat or dog that you’re not 100% sure she won’t hurt. Put a muzzle on her in parks and consult a professional trainer. There’s always a chance that a kitten or puppy could run up to her on a walk.