I don't know wat to do!

[WolvesRawk]

My ancient wolf (15 years old) has returned to his old ways. I'm almost positive that he may have killed my little kitty, Marble. He's ALWAYS hated her, since she was the one that I could always be seen holding or petting. Even though he gets TONS of attention, he would get jelous and always tried to bite at her feet and tail. When ever my other dogs are playing with the cats, Woo wants to join and we have to yell at him because he does not know the difference between "Play" and "Hunt". The coyotes and foxes smell the wolves and normally stay away, so I doubt that Marble was killed by one. I've always had to keep an eye on Woo when he was near Marble. Even if Marble was just sitting on my desk while I was working, Woo would reach up and try to bite her. I also have to be very careful when there are babies around because he wants to bite their feet and stuff. When I was leading one of my mares with a foal, Woo tried to bite the foal. I don't know what to do! He's so old, so I wouldn't want to give him away. He's lived with us since he was a puppy and was bottle fed. I hate having to keep him chained, but that's what I'm doing. Normally he's fine when he's around me, but there have been many times I've had to yell at him for going after an animal. But when I'm not around, he escapes from the kennel and wanders around the property. Who nows what he gets into! I've kept him chained pretty well, but sometimes he can escape that too. I just don't know what to do with him. I don't want any more of my cats to die.

[ashleycat]

I'm sorry I don't know what to do either.

Dogs do change when they get older. You might want to have him checked out medically see if anything is bothering him. But if he's starting to go after small things like that, you should do something soon before he goes after you.

I'm not saying he will go after you, I don't know much about dogs. But I do know that dogs do change when they get older.

I wish I had more info for you.

[WolvesRawk]

Well, when he was younger he would kill TONS of cats. I could go outside and there could be a dead cat or pieces of cats lying around. It was very sad so I fourced him to stop. He was good for about 13 years, but I think he may be going back to his behavior when he was young.

[ashleycat]

It's just the wolf in him

[bckrazy]

You do need to keep him contained whenever you are not there watching him. Whether that means "chaining" him, keeping him in a very secure pen or crating him. Ideally, he should be tethered to you when outside also. Containing him is much better than re-homing him this late in his life, especially since he's a hybrid. He really should NOT be allowed to roam, ever. A roaming dog is in extreme danger. A roaming wolf with very high prey drive who kills cats, and snaps at livestock and children is beyond a liability!

Have you tried keeping the cats inside, in a room to their own when you are not home? You need to keep their safety as a priority, the cats shouldn't be loose while the dog is loose with no supervision. Ideally, a wolf hybrid just shouldn't be around cats at all with that much prey drive.

I've only known 2 hybrids, so other people with more experience probably have much better advice.