Help, new dog attacked current dog
new dog: 12 years, girl, pitbull mix
current dog: 11 years, girl, pitbull mix
weekend dog: 2 years, girl, bernadoodle
over 6 months ago an older family friend died and we took in a 12 year old pitbull mix. She was very very sweet when we met her and still is sweet to people, but not to most dogs. we know that she was rescued at 3 years old from an abandoned warehouse and it’s obvious that she had been bred. from what we know and have seen she was abused in some way and possibly could’ve been made to fight other dogs.
we did not introduce the new dog and our current dog correctly and just brought her into the house. however they got along great from what everyone saw and we just took her. right around the time we got her there was one incident where our current dog snapped at new dog and got her ear, it happened while current dog was eating. we’ve kept eating separate ever since and didn’t have an issue.
there is a 3rd dog that comes on the weekends. we also did not introduce them correctly. she is people aggressive and doesn’t always socialize great with other dogs but she doesn’t usually attack them.
the weekend dog and new dog have had many issues and it usually starts with new dog going after weekend dog (no bites usually growling, snapping, jumping on her) weekend dog will growl if any dogs are near a bone or her food but she doesn’t attack. new dog will seemingly attack out of no where but we’re obviously assuming there are micro interactions we’re missing between them. they are both scared dogs. current dog and weekend dog usually ignore eachother and have had minor issues in the past but no fights. new dog seemed to love current dog and would follow her everywhere.
unfortunately today new dog fully attacked current dog. we have never been scared of having them together, since adjusting their feeding routine they seemed great together. i have done what i did today many times before with no issue. new dog has a lot more energy than current dog. i usually give current dog treats first bc she is calm. i then made new dog lay to get her treat and that was it. i closed the bag put it down, they were both done eating and i turned around.
next second, new dog was attacking current dog, bit her under the eye and on her mouth, very deep punctures. i pulled her off and put her outside. current dog was crying:( it has never been like this before. obviously we knew there were dog aggression issues and we were trying to work on that but they hadn’t had an issue since her first week here, it was always other dogs setting new dog off. new dog also hasn’t actually bit or drawn blood until today. current dog is very docile and just happy to lay around, she usually disengages when things get rowdy. i do not want to immediately give up on new dog but she got current dog pretty good. we’re worried. a muzzle has been ordered and she will be in her crate a lot more now :( we r in our 20’s living with family so any advice is helpful:) i know that putting her down and rehoming her are options but i love her and would like to try and work this out. i will try to answer any other questions if needed:)