Everything that went wrong on a trip

Yesterday, Daniel and I got back from our weekend getaway with our pups. We chose a cottage in Poland, hoping to give Lucky a few days without her usual triggers (anything with wheels or motors). We knew there would be another cabin and some roaming animals around, but we didn't expect how close everything would be, or that our neighbors would walk past our cabin several times as our cabin was closest to the entrance.

Surprisingly, Lucky adjusted pretty well and quickly. She only barked at the neighbors and animals briefly at first, then minded her own business soon after. However, during Lucky's first dinner, a pony went straight for her bowl (like REALLY went for it) and of course, Lucky nipped her nose. The host, of course, wasn't pleased but confirmed it was just a scratch. For the rest of the trip, we had to keep both dogs leashed around the cottage, which made Lucky much more nervous and reactive.

Meanwhile, Daniel struggled even more with Lima. Beyond barking at neighbors and animals, she growled at every sound and no sound, day and night. Our first night was spent listening to Lima growl while Lucky stress-sucked her blanket. We ended up sleeping in separate rooms for the rest of the trip: Daniel and Lima in the smaller bedroom , Lucky and I took the couch bed in the larger room.

While Lucky is generally rarely reactive when we are alone, her behavior is much worse when both Lima and Daniel are present. She wouldn't calm down unless physically removed from the situation. Whenever animals or neighbors were just hanging out outside our cabin and not leaving, we had to lock Lucky in the bathroom until she calmed down and everyone disappeared. We had so many chaotic moments of dragging both our dogs into different rooms to decompress.

On Sunday night, after laughing off some of the day's stressful moments, Daniel decided to play cumbia while I made dinner. We finally started to relax and feel happy, enjoying the moment together. Daniel began dancing with Lima, and I started laughing and dancing along. Then Lima came and jumped on me. I didn't think twice and accepted the affection. That's when everything went wrong.

Lucky immediately came over to "correct" Lima's behavior. I told Lucky to go away, physically blocked her, and scolded her while trying to walk away from Lima with her. This only made her more stressed out. She turned around and redirected that stress toward Lima, starting a fight. Daniel reacted instantly, putting his arm between Lucky's mouth and Lima to protect her. I immediately dragged Lucky away to the bathroom. The entire incident lasted less than three seconds, but Daniel ended up with two deep punctures and quite a bit of bleeding. This was the third time Daniel had put his arm in Lucky's mouth to protect Lima, but he'd never bled this much before—it was scary. Fortunately, the bleeding stopped relatively quickly, so he didn't need stitches.

We eventually let the girls back together, and they were fine. We know that as long as neither gets injured, they'll be okay together. Neither of us knew what to say given how quickly everything had unfolded and we didn't communicate much for the rest of that night as we both needed to process what had happened.

I was emotional and resentful toward Lucky later on, and I hated feeling that way. I felt ashamed for scolding her when she was already disconnected from me, especially knowing that my anger just stresses her out even more, which she then redirects toward Lima. I did exactly what I'm against: punishing her without understanding her needs, failing to provide proper space and guidance, and losing my patience. Ultimately, this wasn't Lucky's fault—it was my decision to rent a small hut, to allow Lima to approach me, and to put Lucky in a situation that led to her acting out. It wasn't really about training but rather my decision-making.

I felt terrible for Daniel, who had to deal with a dog I often fail to control at home while putting his own dog at risk. It's heartbreaking to have a dog who is "dangerous." Our two dogs brought us together, but they also add a layer of complexity to our relationship that we're still learning to navigate. We both discussed our concerns about our reactive dogs when we started dating, knowing it would be challenging. We've made significant progress since then, but this trip made it feel like perhaps we haven't advanced as much as we thought. The biting incident has changed the relationship between Daniel and Lucky, definitely affecting his trust and perception of her.

The incident reminded us that we can never fully relax with these two dogs together. Management will always be required. Daniel is considering getting protective arm guards to wear when they're together, while I'm contemplating muzzling Lucky when she's home with Lima. Moving forward, we'll keep the dogs separated more often. I'll likely just take solo trips with Lucky, and we're still figuring out what to do with our lives and the dogs long-term.