Need Help...The Fighting has Reached an all Time High

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

The fighting has increased and I just don’t know what to do.  I am 2,000 miles away from home and my two doodles and I feel completely helpless and worried.  I am looking for any suggestions.  I apologize for the length of this post. 

 

Here is a little background:

We had Cubbie for about 3 years when we adopted Ollie in 2011.  From day one, we struggled with issues between the 2 dogs.  We trained Ollie separately (Cubbie already had his CGC) and we also took both dogs to a training class together.  Ollie now has his CGC, so both dogs have been through a decent amount of training.  We worked with our trainer and finally got to a point where we weren’t constantly worried about a fight breaking out.  We were able to go 1-2 months between incidents, which was actually a big improvement, when suddenly things started getting worse.

 

In August I got a new job that requires us to move 2,000 miles away.  My DH has to stay back in Indiana for the remainder of the year (he is a teacher) while I move to WA.  In the month before I moved, I was super stressed and very busy trying to get the house ready to sell and say all my good-byes.  That is when things started to get a little worse with the dogs.  They seemed to get more easily aggravated with each other but I just assumed that they were reacting to my high stress levels.

 

Once I left for WA, DH didn’t have any issues for the first 2.5 weeks.  Everything seemed like it was back to normal.  Then I came home for a 2 day stay before departing for the doodle cruise.  The first night I was home I was sitting on the couch holding Ollie and when Cubbie simply walked past, Ollie growled at him.  So I put Ollie in another room to prevent the situation from escalating.  Once I let Ollie back out, he went and laid down on the kitchen floor, but Cubbie just stood there staring at him and you could tell that the tension was rising again.  So they were back in separate rooms.  The whole time I was gone on the cruise, the dogs were mostly ok. 

 

I returned from the cruise on Saturday afternoon.  Saturday evening we had a HUGE fight.  My husband and I were sitting on the couch watching tv.  Ollie was chewing on a bone and then the next thing we know they were attacking each other.  We didn’t see what happened so we don’t know who/what started it.  They were rolling around, teeth flashing, growling, and snarling.  Cubbie had Ollie pinned and was tearing at his ear.  Ollie was screaming (or the doggie equivalent).  I used an air horn until it ran out and that didn’t stop them.  I threw a pillow at them and still nothing.  I finally grabbed Cubbie by the back legs and lifted up and tried to pull him off Ollie.   When I finally pulled them apart, I stood there holding Cubbie up at chest level to keep them away from each other.  Ollie jumped up to try to get Cubbie and got my arm instead.  That was over a week ago and I still have a rather large bruise on my arm.  We kept them apart the rest of the night and then most of Sunday too.  The only time they were together on Sunday was when we took them both on a long walk while we had a showing on the house.

 

Yesterday DH had to separate them again because they were getting tense with each other.  But tonight was the worst.  DH called me at work and said “if we don’t do something about these dogs they are going to kill each other.”  Needless to say, I wasn’t really able to focus on work for the rest of the day.  Apparently Ollie had been laying on the couch and Cubbie was standing near the couch.  Nothing had been going on.  No toys were involved.  All of a sudden, Cubbie jumped up and started to attack Ollie.  DH said that Ollie tried to get away twice but Cubbie just kept going after him.  I am not sure what all DH tried, but he said that eventually he was able to get Cubbie off Ollie by swatting him with a pillow to get them to stop long enough to step between them and then used the pillow to herd Cubbie into another room.  I told him to keep them separate for the rest of the night, to take them out to potty individually, and make them sleep in separate rooms instead of the bedroom with him.  He is going to let them out in the morning individually and then put them in separate rooms to feed them breakfast and then leave in separate rooms when he goes to work.  My parents are going to go over in the middle of the day to let each dog out separately.  I am so stressed out; I just don’t know what to do. 

 

At first I thought they just might be feeding off my stress, but I’m not there now.  We moved their beds into storage and put up most of their toys so our house doesn’t look as “doggie” when potential home buyers come in for a showing.  There are strange people leaving strange smells in our home.  I was gone, then I came home, then I was gone, then I came home, then I was gone.  Are they just stressed out and confused?  DH and my brother will be driving the dogs out to WA starting on 10/25 where I will be living with them in temporary housing (a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment) until our house is done in December?  Am I going to make it?  I will take any advice or suggestions that anyone can possibly offer.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

I am truly so so sorry you are going through this. 

Have you had Cubbie to the vet for a thorough check up, including thyroid tests? The DRC has had several doodles with aggression issues where the culprit was a low to zero thyroid level. 

I am sure that they both are stressed with their lives in an upheaval that they just don't understand. I wish I had a magic wand to help!!!

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

Thanks Adrianne.  They are due for a comprehensive exam in December so I will have them check it then.  Though if things continue to get worse, i might take him in to get it done sooner. 

[Adina P]

I'm so sorry Amy.  What a scary thing to worry about.  I have no words of wisdom.  Might as well get their thyroid checked, just in case, but it may just be a case of intense management and frequent separation.  I don't know.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

i feel bad separating them all the time because that means they are also separated from us, but that is better than having them attack each other.

[Adina P]

I just mean temporary intense management and separation...but if you can do what Jane says...even better!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I definitely think that all of the changes in their lives, and you being gone, is the cause of this.

After air, water, and food, what a dog needs more than anything else in order to survive and live comfortably in his own skin is to know what to expect and what is expected of him: consistency and routine. In this respect, Cubbie has had less experience than Ollie with major changes, so it makes sense that he may be the one who is having more trouble with it than Ollie.

You take the absence, and then the appearance, absence, reappearance and absence again of one of the two people upon whom they depend for everything, and add the physical changes in the household including the disappearance of their beds and toys, changes in their daily routine, strangers coming in and out at unpredictable times, and there isn't a dog I know who wouldn't be going through major confusion and insecurities, and acting out. They are just not sure of anything, and on guard for what might be changing next.  I don't say this to make you feel bad- I am sure you feel bad enough- but rather to reassure you that the behavior is not that surprising given the circumstances and will probably settle down after the move is complete and they have adjusted to their new home & routine, with both their people present.

I wish I had some suggestions for how to improve the situation, but you have to sell the house, you have to be away, and there isn't much you can do to make their lives calmer or less uncertain right now.

I'm sorry you are all going through so much stress. Hang in there, you will make it.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

thanks Karen.  Your comment didn't make me feel bad, it gave me a bit of hope that they will settle down once our lives settle down.  I have already started looking for canine behaviorists and have a few that i want to contact.  I am worried that things might get worse when the dogs and i are in temporary housing.  it will be a new environment for them and i now have a different work schedule and DH won't be around so they will still be 1 human short of normal.  I am going to hire a dog walker to come out to the house 2-3 days a week while i am work and on the other days i will take them to daycare. 

I have a hope that having the new house will be a sort of reset because it never "belonged" to either dog.  Our Indiana home "belonged" to Cubbie when Ollie came in.  This new home will be neutral territory. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I like that "hope"...it makes sense to me.

You wonder why, in the face of uncertainty, they don't cling to each other rather than attack each other. Insecurity seems to make them feel threatened by everyone, I guess.

I really do think it will get better once they are settled and they understand what their new routine is. Whether it's daycare or whatever, they will feel more relaxed once they know what to expect from each day.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I think that uncertainty would have brought them together more if they had been buddies to start off with, but we never really got to that point.  I think that Cubbie usually tolerates Ollie but that is about it. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yet at daycare, they stay together. Go figure.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I know...go figure. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

It's all contextual.  Daycare is truly a neutral territory for them.  Even Murphy does fine at Daycare.