Can a creature with one natural attack and no weapons benefit from feats that require the use of two-handed weapons?

Question

So I have a bear-dog animal companion with only a bite natural attack, then she adds 1.5 times her Strength modifier to damage rolls with it. She has Power Attack both for extra damage and as a prerequisite for other combat feats (oh, right : she also has the very convenient Clever Critter feat to no longer be limited to a small list of basic feats).

Power Attack gives a bigger damage bonus to two-handed weapon attacks and primary natural weapons that give 1.5 times your Stength modifier to damage rolls. But some feats that require Power Attack sometimes mention a greater benefit for attacks performed with two hands but not primary natural weapons.

Examples :

Furious Focus (Combat)

Prerequisites: Str 13, Power Attack, base attack bonus +1.

Benefit: When you are wielding a two-handed weapon or a one-handed weapon with two hands, and using the Power Attack feat, you do not suffer Power Attack’s penalty on melee attack rolls on the first attack you make each turn. You still suffer the penalty on any additional attacks, including attacks of opportunity.

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Devastating Charge (Combat)

Prerequisite: Str 13, Power Attack, base attack bonus +1.

Benefit: When you are not mounted and you use the charge action, a successful attack deals an additional 2d4 points of damage. If you are using a 2-handed weapon, or a 1-handed weapon in 2 hands, you instead deal an additional, 3d4 points of damage.

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Pushing Assault (Combat)

Prerequisites: Str 15, Power Attack, base attack bonus +1.

Benefit: When you hit a creature your size or smaller with a two-handed weapon attack modified by the Power Attack feat, you can choose to push the target 5 feet directly away from you instead of dealing the extra damage from Power Attack. If you score a critical hit, you can instead push the target 10 feet directly away from you. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunities, and the target must end this move in a safe space it can stand in. You choose which effect to apply after the attack roll has been made, but before the damage is rolled.

Then would my bear-dog get the benefit of two-handed attacks with her bite with those feats, or only two-handed weapons benefit from them ?

Answer 1

A creature benefits more from those feats only when wielding either a one-handed melee weapon in two hands or a two-handed melee weapon; a typical creature's natural weapons are light weapons

The Pathfinder Design Team account—"the official Paizo account for making rulings for the Pathfinder RPG"—in a 2013 post made the following ruling: "Natural attacks are light weapons (though they are never expressly defined as such in the rules)." This lines up with the feat Weapon Finesse's Special entry that says, "Natural weapons are considered light weapons."

Thus, even were the bear-dog to somehow wield its mighty jaw in two hands (a task that is, so far as I'm aware, impossible), "[u]sing two hands to wield a light weapon gives no advantage on damage; the Strength bonus applies as though the weapon were held in the wielder's primary hand only," according to Equipment on Weapons on Light, One-Handed, and Two-Handed Melee Weapons, this despite a one-handed weapon wielded in two hands giving an advantage on damage.

The exception that increases the damage of a creature's lone natural attack ("If a creature has only one natural attack, it is always made using the creature’s full base attack bonus and adds 1-1/2 times the creature’s Strength bonus on damage rolls") does not change the creature's natural attack from a light weapon into a two-handed weapon.

Answer 2

In your examples, some yes, others no.

For the following feats, no benefit is gained.

Furious Focus (Combat)

Prerequisites: Str 13, Power Attack, base attack bonus +1.

Benefit: When you are wielding a two-handed weapon or a one-handed weapon with two hands, and using the Power Attack feat, you do not suffer Power Attack’s penalty on melee attack rolls on the first attack you make each turn. You still suffer the penalty on any additional attacks, including attacks of opportunity.

Pushing Assault (combat)

Prerequisites: Str 15, Power Attack, base attack bonus +1.

Benefit: When you hit a creature your size or smaller with a two-handed weapon attack modified by the Power Attack feat, you can choose to push the target 5 feet directly away from you instead of dealing the extra damage from Power Attack. If you score a critical hit, you can instead push the target 10 feet directly away from you. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunities, and the target must end this move in a safe space it can stand in. You choose which effect to apply after the attack roll has been made, but before the damage is rolled.

The above feats clearly states "When you are wielding a two-handed weapon or a one-handed weapon." and "When you hit a creature your size or smaller with a two-handed weapon attack modified by the Power Attack feat..." respectively. Natural attacks don't qualify as a weapon in the same sense as a sword or a polearm. Now if your beardog COULD wield a such a weapon that'd be a different story!

Also note that even if the beardog could grapple with an opponent or use a claw, claw, bite routine of attacks it still couldn't qualify because the bite and claw attack(s) are not man made weapons.

This Feat Makes Sense To Take

Devastating Charge (Combat)

Prerequisite: Str 13, Power Attack, base attack bonus +1.

Benefit: When you are not mounted and you use the charge action, a successful attack deals an additional 2d4 points of damage.

This feat doesn't specify that you MUST use a 2 handed weapon, but gives an additional bonus 1d4 damage above the 2d4 damage it would normally deal if you ARE using a 2 handed weapon.

TL; DR When looking at feats for your beardog, look at ones where the benefit isn't directly linked to the fact that the creature gaining said feat needs to wield a weapon. This can be streamlined by reading the bonus, and if it says something along the lines of when wielding a 2 handed or one handed weapon, figure the beardog won't gain any benefit from it. (As an aside, and I know this wasn't asked) I would also look at feats that utilize the natural attacks to their best usage by looking at monsters with natural attacks and seeing what the game's designers came up with!

Answer 3

No.

When you are wielding a two-handed weapon or a one-handed weapon with two hands,

The effects of your feats are pretty clear, they must use a two-handed weapon with two hands (or a one-handed weapon with two hands). Meaning that a multiple-armed creature could use power attack with more than one weapon, or that you can use power attack even if you can wield a greatsword with one hand but will not recieve the extra 50% damage, even if said feat says you can treat a two-handed weapon as one-handed weapon (you must wield it with two hands).