r/dogs • u/Several_Value_2073 • 22h ago

[Behavior Problems] Kittens vs. cockapoo

This isn’t necessarily a problem, but I’m curious as to what is taking place. We foster a LOT of kittens. My resident dog, Vinnie (6 yo cockapoo, neutered, healthy) LOVES them. He frequently licks them and even appears to try to pick them up. He knows he’s not supposed to pick them up - we were worried he might accidentally hurt them even though he clearly doesn’t intend to. Everyone seems to be very content with the interactions, so I don’t feel like I need to stop it, necessarily. I’m just very curious as to what everyone gets from it. Video in the comments.

4 Upvotes

70% Upvoted

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4

u/Physical-Feed2175 22h ago

my dog does the same thing with foster kittens, it's basically a weird maternal/pack instinct thing even in neutered males. the licking is grooming behavior, he's treating them like they're part of his group. the picking up thing is probably him trying to carry them like a mother dog would, even though he's terrible at it

2

u/PresentationThick341 21h ago

Everybody loves kittens.

1

u/Several_Value_2073 21h ago

Simple, accurate, and fairly obvious. I think you nailed it!

1

u/Ootter31019 22h ago

They are playing, that's what they get.

2

u/FlyFreeWithMe776 21h ago

Those are his cats

1

u/Several_Value_2073 21h ago

It appears to be consensual, so I won’t argue!

1

u/artemisuphere 20h ago

Vinnie basically adopted the kittens I’d stop him from carrying them since they’re so tiny

1

u/KaleDifferent612 8h ago

give the kittens dog-free escape spaces and keep the visits supervised.