Today Loki killed another groundhog, last week he got a squirrel. Since he is our biggest pet should we praise him if he kills a wild animal or reprimand him for he won't think it is ok if he went after one of our smaller pets?

I'm not exactly sure, but I guess it's a personal preference. I would say try not to encourage him especially if he can't tell the difference between a domesticated or a wild animal. If he gets rewarded for killing a rodent, then your smaller pets might be next on his target list and he would think that it will be perfectly fine if he hunts them down as well.

On the flip side at least that groundhog can't eat your garden if you have one now.

What kind of smaller pets do you have? Do you mean small dogs and cats or rodents and birds?

My wife and I have a miniature schnauzer, 2 cats and a bird.

I definitely would not praise for killing wildlife if you are concerned about your smaller animals. I have a feeling though that it would be tough to praise or discourage it, since I imagine you don't catch him in the act often.

Yeah, to be honest, I would ignore it, and be indifferent about it, just make sure you watch his behavior around the other animals for any changes. I'm sure you'll notice stalking, predatory behavior if he starts showing signs to the other pets.

Thank you for the information he hasn't shown any signs of aggression to our smaller pets.

I wouldn't praise or correct the behavior. It's totally natural for him to do and they're pests anyway.

dahowlers wrote:

I wouldn't praise or correct the behavior. It's totally natural for him to do and they're pests anyway.

Which I agree just wasn't sure how to go about acknowledging this particular trait.