My dog just lost it

[smithsd]

I have had my dog, C for three years. She has always been slightly reactive with guarding her things from other dogs but we have managed it. She hangs out with other dogs all the time. Going to daycare, playing with her friends at the park, etc. and we have had no problems. We recently got a foster dog, N about 4 weeks ago. They have been best friends from the start. Constantly playing and C seemed a lot happier to have a friend. C would slightly guard her bed or couch but after correcting, it has mostly gone away, until yesterday.

C and N were playing like normal and then all of a sudden, it was like a switch flipped for C. She went after N like she wanted to kill her. She was so aggressive and I have never seen her like that. Both dogs are okay and separated now but we were going to adopt N. Now we are scared that it isn’t a good idea but we love her so much. Can they come back from this? Has anyone dealt with something like this? Any advice on what to do?

 

[greatisyourmercy24]

@smithsd Hard to say. I’d partially base it on whether this accident caused damage to their relationship. If it’s all back to normal the next day this would be a good sign. I’ve you notice that they are more cautious it’s not unlikely that further incidents will occur.

And I’d probably want to come up with some explanation on why they got into each other in the first place. You obviously can’t identify the actual trigger but maybe you can learn what situations the dogs can’t handle. Anything unusual? Like it was late in the evening and they could have been tired? Waiting for their food?

I sometimes sit dogs for friends and one of my dogs enjoys their company during the day outside. Inside it’s different, especially when he’s tired he can start to get resource guarding and it’s time to crate one of them.

 

[smithsd]

@greatisyourmercy24 Thanks for commenting! They were slightly cautious this morning but are back to playing today. We are at family for the holidays and I think it’s a stressful situation which I knew but should have been more aware of! I think C gets tired and needs some alone time so I will be sure to give her what she needs. Thank you for the advice! I think we are going to work on alone time in the crates and try to remove the stressors!

 

[edimkoff]

@smithsd Not an expert but hearing that you're traveling def indicates this is situational to me, being more cautious of triggers and as much comforts of home as you can manage can help.

 

[lindsey35atl]

@smithsd It would probably best to massively slow down the integration of the new dog in your home and their interaction together. Check out on Instagram how @whataboutbunny handled bringing their new puppy into their home (you’ll have to scroll back a bit).

 

[rishley]

@smithsd Unfortunately female on female aggression is fairly common in dogs, even when they aren't intact.

It sounds like you are doing things right and the stress of the holidays may have contributed, but I wouldn't be surprised if this behaviour escalates the longer you have N in the home. If she has only been there 4 weeks, she is just starting to settle in and her full personality will be starting to come through - hence why it may have been fine for the first month as N got used to the new environment. Look into the "3-3-3 Rule" for more on dogs settling into a new home.

For the time being I would monitor closely and never allow them to interact unsupervised. It sounds like you are managing the resource guarding best you can but I wouldn't be totally surprised if the behaviour escalates beyond her current guarding.

Most importantly, trust your gut. If you feel like the home is often on edge and like there is potential for another fight, consider finding a different placement for N as it is not fair for anyone in the household to be stressed out and worrying all the time.

 

[tiredmama]

@smithsd What are you doing when you say you're "correcting" C's guarding behavior? Punishment can often exacerbate tensions unexpectedly, even if the behavior seems to have "mostly gone away" at first; hopefully you're using a positive-reinforcement protocol to address this!

 

[smithsd]

@tiredmama I should have explained more!! We usually just try to avoid the resource that she’s guarding. So we don’t have bones unless C is alone and we are working on not letting her on the bed until we say it’s okay to prevent the guarding. If we can’t prevent it, we will just take away the resource or remove her from the situation. We try to praise/treat as much as we can when she doesn’t guard! She is not fool proof and we know that but I am going to be better about being as consistent as possible!

 

[panikos]

@smithsd I adopted 2 dogs, too. I adopted the second one in a motnh after the first one settled into my home. It took a while to get them both adjusted to one another. I remembered the first 1-2 months, they get into a fight some times (but not often)..maybe once a week. But now that I have had them a bit less than a year...they are best friends..and don't fight anymore. I think as long as they seem ok with each other most of the time, they may just need more time to get used to one another.

 

[smithsd]

@panikos Thank you! The situation was incredibly stressful but now that we have all calmed down, they are back to playing so I am hoping with time, they will be okay!

 

[jime]

@smithsd Do they celebrate New Years with fireworks where you are? Between the fireworks here and the storm that has followed our dogs have been anxious. We’ve been trying to wear them out by playing extra and blankets when they are tuckered out for comfort. This might help your dogs.