shocked by my dog turning on my cat

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My ten yr old lab suddenly turned on and snapped at my cat tonight. She has never done this, cat wasn't doing anything untoward. Quite worried as I have toddlers too. We are usually pretty careful about leaving the children and dog together anyway but really spooked now as so out of character. Any ideas ?? She doesn't seem unsettled in any other way.
 
Did something startle her? Is she in pain? My lab is 10 and has arthritis, this can make her snappy. When you say snapped - Was it a warning snap or a full on teeth bared snap? x
 
How unpleasant for you. I would be thinking that she is in some form of discomfort to act so out of character. For peace of mind, a trip to the vet to have her checked out is probably the best option, especially as you say you have toddlers in the house.

She may just be getting twinges due to her age, and the vet would have suggestions as to how to treat them. Our elderly JRT had to go on to metacam for her arthritis, and it really brightened her up, she must have been feeling discomfort for quite a while before that.
 
She may be experiencing some pain in which case she would need to see the vet, was she asleep at the time? its impossible to second guess without seeing what actually happened, how is she in herself, is she sleeping more, a bit stiff after a lie down, is she itchy. Or maybe its the fireworks, we live out the village but can still hear them, my dogs seem to cope quite well but do like to stay in the same room as myself, Ive also noticed the 2 Dobes are a bit more tetchy with each other so maybe this is the case with your dog. Just be vigilant with your toddlers.
 
How long has she been with the cat? Is she stressed due to fireworks at all? Depends what made her snap guess, maybe the cat just hacked her off! Lol. My dog is very good with our cat now but sometimes she tries to play with him and he will slap her on the nose and she will get a bit mad with him. Are you sure your cat didn't swipe the dog? It may have been quick enough for you not to have seen it.

If she's been fine since then I wouldn't worry or read much in to it (animals can have little fall outs sometimes!) but, if any other behaviour is unusual then maybe a bit of a check over wouldn't go amiss.
 
Tbh the cat can be a PITA to the dog and I don't know why she is so tolerant but she usually is ! Dog was drinking and cat was near her and she just span on her snarling. Don't know if cat tried to drink too or just poked her. We have baby gates everywhere and the dogs bed in a playpen so kids can't get at her in bed and we can always keep them separate so easy enough to do as always been cautious dogs/ children combo. Don't think you can ever 100% trust any dog or any child !
 
No, I think a healthy respect for dogs needs to be instilled in children from the word go. However, I don't think people need to start worrying unduly as a result of recent events. You know your dog and you know your kids at the end of the day. To be honest, I actually would trust my dog with any child as she just wouldn't snap, it's not her thing. However, that doesn't mean I would ever put her in a situation where she was alone with a child - I am pretty much 100% sure the worst she would do is steal whatever food said child had though!! :)
 
Sometimes with animals who've been together for ages and ages, just a tiny, silly little thing can trigger something off and you may never know what it was.

It just might have been something around "possession" of the drinking bowl - in the wild this would be a place where the pecking/drinking order would have to be firmly established, so maybe it was something along those lines happening? Who knows.

Food is (obviously) another possible area of conflict, also the general "pack/herd" order in the house, i.e. you, as human, and other humans, will be "herd leaders" (or you SHOULD be!!! :)) - and then there's the placing of the dog and cat lower down. Perhaps on this occasion the dog felt threatened by the cat for some unknown reason, OR it was possible that the dog was being possessive i.e. "owning" any human around and was putting the cat in its place.

We've got two dogs and three cats, and its very noticeable how they will get jealous and possessive if one of them gets more attention than the others. So perhaps something subtle like that occurred on this occasion??? You'll probably never know.
 
There is a good chance she is in pain - get the vet to check her over, it could be her teeth or arthritis or a million other things. Be extra vigilent in the meantime as what is making her intolerant with the cat may affect her reactions to the children.
 
She has just had a vet check and a full dental ( £500 ! ). He reckoned she was in great shape but I agree she could be a bit achy and arthritic without showing overt signs as she hoons round like a 2 year old and it must take its toll on 10 yr old joints. It must be like a 75 yr old suddenly playing a vigourous game of five aside football ! Will get her a joint supplement today, she was on one then we stopped it as she seemed fine. interestingly in the year we have had the cat she has rejuvenated and loves her and playing with her but I guess it may sometimes be a bit much for an old girl. My children have always had a good respect for the animals but we have always been careful as the dog was a difficult puppy and adolescent - never aggressive but would challenge authority a good bit. Settled totally with consistent boundaries but I guess would always be there.
 
If the flashpoint was over the drinking bowl she could just be resource guarding....It sounds like she just gave a very loud and dramaitc go away from my nice thing message to the cat..whats she like about sharing food with the cat or are they always fed separately?(would advise doing this anyway but I am curious) What is she like when eating her food and sharing toys?Is she ever possessive over where she sits or over certain items?
 
Always fed separately, cat has a secure fenced off area for food water and a scratch post/nest away from dog and children. Dog isn't usually possessive of anything. Thinking about it her hearing isn't so good anymore so cat may have surprised her. Everything seems fine and they were in bed together this morning so prob just one to keep an eye on. It had been thundering yesterday so she may have been on edge quietly.
 
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