My American Bulldog killed my kitten, I need help.

My dog killed my kitten today. She was lying at the top of the stairs, and the kitten jumped on her trying to play and in 4 seconds he was gone. She has lived with cats in the past and has never done this. I am so heartbroken. I need to get her fitted for a good muzzle.

She also tries to dominate me; she sits on me in bed and growls if I try to move. She is also aggressive to other dogs.

Please how do I handle this? It can not happen again. I kept them separate for weeks. and weeks after that, I kept them separate through playpen gates so they could get used to each other. One pounce to play and she killed him. I feel like I failed so badly. I never had a dog that killed. Please help me

Cindy's Answer

I'm very sorry about your kitten, that is truly heartbreaking.

If you can I would suggest you find a local qualified trainer to help you with some of these issues one on one in your home environment. A lot is going on here and I would be worried about this dog's behavior towards you as well as the animal aggression.

For a muzzle, we need accurate measurements of your dog before you can suggest a size and style that will fit her. Once you get the measurements we can help pick out the proper muzzle. Here is a link to a video that shows you how to measure.

Keep in mind that some dogs simply can't be trusted with cats, small animals or other dogs. That's not to say you can't train them and gain control but many dogs that are fine with a cat that they've known their whole life may attack a new one.

We have some training material that I am going to link below. I would not allow your dog to get on your bed, or have free run of the house. We have an inexpensive course on management and I would start there. Then Pack Structure and Dominant and Aggressive Dogs and Leash Reactivity.

Again, I'm sorry about your kitten.