Two Bonded Senior Westies

[EMI TRINGALI]

We adopted two bonded senior westies in December of 2020, after our 14 year old westie passed in 2018💗. 
 

Their history is minimal:

- Female, 7/8yrs, spayed 

- male, 8/9 yrs, neutered 

- owner passed possibly in October 2020 then lived with their owner’s mom for about a week

- owner’s mom surrender them to a shelter

- shelter called a westie rescue to pick them up after passing a good temperament test at shelter 

- I had been in contact with the westie rescue since late 2018 as an option for foster

- westie rescue connected with us about three days after receiving them, saying they were very energetic and a bit much for the other dogs at the rescue’s location

- we fostered for about 1 month, then adopted them💗💗. We loved them since day 1!!

Also since day 1:

- they are reactive to many outside sounds while inside the house

- they bark and lunge at other dogs when walking on-leash

- they react to other dogs by, what looks like they are sort of drifting/circling around other dogs almost everywhere - except the groomer (this is so interesting to me??)? 
- they whine/yelp when the other leaves, almost like they are jealous that they do not get to participate 

What are your thoughts on how to work with two dogs that could benefit from individual attention but are also anxious when apart?

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there!

Welcome to the forums. It's so great to hear that you have opened your heart and home to these two Westies! 

So it looks like they have been rehearsing some behaviors from 2020 and you would like to tackle them. However, it's possible that these behaviors may have been rehearsed for much longer, -like ever since being in the previous home. With established rehearsal histories, it won't likely be a walk in the park, but there are several things that can be done to ameliorate the situation. So let's get started!

1) Reactivity to outdoor noises

As you already know, this breed has a tendency to bark. Westies are basically  quick to announce anything different in their environment. This can be just about anything, from people walking by to squirrels climbing up a tree to even a bee buzzing around. I assume that they may have started making out of barking, their new favorite hobby, especially if they don't have a "job." 

However, in several cases, dogs who bark are often stressed, and too much stimulation in their surroundings (noises, sights, sounds) can cause them to overreact, and the more they overreact, the more it gets habit-forming, making it more and more challenging to eradicate.

In these cases, it helps to:

-Identify what triggers their barking. 

If you can find some patterns as to what triggers the barking, more power to you! You can start implementing what I call the "hear that method." This helps activate your dogs seeking system with its associated dopamine production which helps provide a distraction and may ultimately change your dog's emotional response towards the trigger-from dreading it, to looking forward to it. You will have to train this separately until each dog is responsive, before introducing the distraction of each other. Barking can be very contagious!

  This method is discussed here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-noises/

If you cannot identify triggering sounds, here is a list of possibilities and several solutions. If you live in the country, critters may be a main culprit.

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/behavior-training/barking/nothing/

-Train Alternate Behaviors

Once your dogs are better under control in presence of sounds, you can consider training alternate behaviors your dogs can engage in so to replace the barking. For example, the moment a noise happens, rather than just tossing a treat, immediately start asking your dogs to perform a trick or two or sit and down and then give a treat to each. Train these behaviors at a fluent level previously away from distractions before cueing them around the sounds.

- Buffer the sounds

When you cannot work on the hear that method/train or the sounds are too intense, you can try to find ways to make the sounds less salient. This could mean moving to an area of the home where noises are less intense or creating some white noises (blowing fan, white noise machine, white noise YouTube channels). 

-Place Window Film 

Place window film on your windows if your dogs will bark at triggers out of the windows, or you can make it difficult to look out by moving couches away from the windows if they use the couch to gain access.

-Provide Exercise and Mental Stimulation

Consider that many dogs who bark at every noise outside may be bored dogs. These are dogs who are simply looking for something to do. It sounds like your westies are on the energetic side. These dogs can be helped by providing more enrichment. Provide chew toys and food puzzles, clicker train them, do brain games, if you have a yard, create a digging pit, terriers love to dig! Alternatively, they may like this: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-ball-pit-game/

-Do Decompression Walks

Aim for calm decompression walks in areas where your dog can engage in lots of sniffing and don't get to rehearse barking/reactive behaviors. This could mean driving somewhere.  If the walks cause more stress/reactivity, that stress will accumulate and make dogs more likely to bark indoors. 

-Consider calming aids

If barking is due to stress/fear, consider calming aids. There are several supplements, plug-in diffusers etc nowadays. Discuss these options with your vet, after excluding medical issues.

-See the vet

Some medical conditions may cause behavioral changes in dogs, making them more likely to react. For instance, older dogs may develop changes in their hearing or vision and this can trigger them to bark/react with more frequency. 

I will cover the other issues in the next posts.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

-they bark and lunge at other dogs when walking on-leash

- they react to other dogs by, what looks like they are sort of drifting/circling around other dogs almost everywhere - except the groomer (this is so interesting to me??)?

 - they whine/yelp when the other leaves, almost like they are jealous that they do not get to participate 

In these cases, it's important recognizing whether they are barking out of not liking other dogs and asking for space, or if it's more a matter of barrier frustration (liking other dogs, but being frustrated from not being able to meet and greet due to the leash).  It could also be that one dog is a frustrated greeter, while the other isn't fond of dogs or is protective. 

These differentials are important because to tackle them, they require a different approach. 

Dogs who dislike other dogs, require methods which aim to gradually desensitize and countercondition them to the presence of other dogs.

These methods are discussed here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/attacking-dogs-walks/

Dogs with barrier frustration instead benefit from learning alternate behaviors to engage in. I like to use attention heeling exercises. This topic is covered more in depth here. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/barrier-frustration/

It goes without saying that in order to tackle this, each dog should be trained and walked individually. This means taking them on separate walks, and then once trained better, having one walker per dog (one family member can walk one, while you walk the other). This because when dogs live together, they feed off each others' emotions. If one of your dogs reacts, your other will react too. Not to mention, each dog will need individual attention in order to be trained. 

So this brings to the next question. 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

 

What are your thoughts on how to work with two dogs that could benefit from individual attention but are also anxious when apart?

If you are training, there are several options. You can:

-Crate (if they're crate trained) a dog with a stuffed Kong to keep occupied until it's his/her turn and then swap. You can keep the crate nearby and then gradually move it farther and farther. 

-Have the other dog spend fun time in the yard with a family member while the other is trained.

-Have another family member train your other dog while you train one and then swap (you will need to make sure you both use the exact same cues and hand gestures). You will have to keep them on leash so that they are distant from each other and not interfering with each others' sessions.  As your dogs get better, you can gradually increase the distance until you are training in separate areas out of sight. Mix in closer distances every now and then so they don't predict a pattern of the distance increasing over time. 

The great news is that once both dogs are getting more and more fluent in performing the desired behaviors, you can get them to perform the behaviors they were taught together, which works great as part of the proofing process (dogs responding nicely despite the distraction of each others' presence).

See what seems to work best without creating stress. 

Happy training!

Let me know if you have any further questions and keep us posted on how things go. 

Adrienne 

[EMI TRINGALI]

I am just now reading this and am so thankful for your thoughtful and detailed response. Processing now!

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Sure thing! Keep us posted on how things do, and feel free to ask any other questions. 

Happy training!