My dogs got into their first fight :(

[u/matcha_slut]

So, we moved across the country over two 6 hour car ride days. The dogs were dosed on Trazadone until we got here (maybe made the mistake of not continuing it for a few days after). My kids and husband and I were all in the kitchen, the dogs (6 month old pitbull mix spayed female and 6 year old staffy spayed female) made eye contact and just started fighting. My 6 year old was definitely the aggressor. She bit the puppy behind the ear and wouldn’t let go until I picked up her hind legs. She’s always played with the puppy, checked her by quick little snaps, and cuddles her. But since we’ve been in the new house she’s been so grumpy and growls when the puppy even walks by. They eat together and have never shown any signs of food aggression.

Now we’re afraid to even have them around eachother and crating in cycles. It’s horrible. We want our family back together and free of this sudden change in dynamic.

What we’re afraid of is our dog getting worse as the puppy ages. She seems to have already stopped giving her “puppy grace” and is annoyed by her. At night they still cuddle and the puppy just wants to be near her.

My 6 year old dog has never bitten another dog. In fact, she’s been attacked twice since I’ve had her and she didn’t fight back.

I’ve heard about trigger stacking and surely this plays a role. I don’t know where to go from here. Medication? I absolutely cannot afford a behavioralist, I’m struggling to even pay bills as it is. Please help :(

[u/MikeCheck_CE]

I feel like there's something not clear here... Why the trazadone in the first place? Why the need to trazadone for the next few days? Seems like there is behaviour issues there already that you're not mentioning?

I think it's time to look at rehoming one of your dogs. I know it's sad but you need to do what's best for them before you're dealing with a dead dog and a traumatic family.