Tip #2 --  Transition

Congratulations on adopting a new member of your family!  We are delighted you have opened your home and your heart to this Westie in need. You will be richly rewarded with the unconditional love and joy only a Westie can provide.

 

We suggest you plan to rearrange your schedule so you can be home for several days with your Westie when he arrives.  This will give you the necessary time to bond with your Westie.

 

Your rescue coordinator will provide you with all of your adopted dog’s known medical history, sleeping and eating patterns and an assessment of his personality to assist you as you get to know your new Westie.

Getting to Know Your Westie

 

To help you ease your Westie through a successful transition, we recommend a few basic guidelines that will enable your dog to adapt to you and your home with fewer problems.

 

Realistic Expectations

First and foremost, keep your expectations realistic and understand there will be an adjustment period for your new dog. Approach this process with patience and fairness to get started on the right paw.

 

Any dog going into a new home from any circumstance will have some issues. A rescue dog may be nervous and insecure. In many cases, he may have been taken from the family he has always known and is suddenly in a different environment. No matter how wonderful your home is, this little one is going to be a bit confused. With your help, he will relax and feel secure in time.

 

Some dogs will adjust quickly in their new home but others will take quite some time to become "themselves". If your Westie is shy, don’t expect it to last a lifetime. He may just need to gain confidence and realize that he is finally in his forever home. Some dogs will behave in the opposite way displaying an overactive behavior. You will need to let this type of dog know he is loved and that there are rules and limits.

 

Bonding

The single most important thing to do for your new Westie is to bond with him. All dogs are pack animals that need to be with people. And adult dogs bond just as strongly as puppies. A rescue dog, in fact, often forms a very deep attachment with his caring new owner.

 

Provide a loving, kind, nurturing environment for your Westie. Talk to him in a calm, gentle low tone. Observe your Westie and provide for his needs.

 

When your Westie initially arrives to your house, put him on a leash and show him your yard. Let him sniff and explore his new surroundings with you. Hopefully, he will relieve himself while in the yard so you can praise him. Keep your Westie on leash and introduce him to your house, again, letting him sniff and explore with you.

 

Other ways to strengthen the bonding is to always pet and touch your Westie tenderly, brush his hair gently, exercise him in a playful manner, feed him with affection and praise him lavishly.

 

It is perfectly acceptable to change your Westie’s name if you wish to do so. Changing his name often helps an adopted dog make a new beginning. Give your Westie a friendly name and use it frequently. Your Westie will quickly learn his new name.

 

Limit Stress

Bring your new Westie home during a relatively calm time for you and your household (not during the Holidays, for example). Keep the drive home noise-free and calm as well. The first week is not the time to bring him to your family reunion or to invite in all your neighbors. Give him plenty of quiet time. Remember, he has no idea who you are. Give him time to adjust to you and your family and to settle into his new life.

 

Joy is an important aspect of every dog's life. Cultivate it where you can. Daily exercise and romps go a long way toward lessening stress, building attachment and having a happy, well-behaved dog.

 

Routine

Few things help an anxious dog like a routine. Dogs are creatures of habit and thrive on routine. Establish a daily routine with your Westie to include consistent times for meals, exercise, sleep and elimination. Perhaps include a walk first thing in the morning, a little romp after dinner and a treat before bed. 

 

Everyone in your household must respect the routine you establish for your Westie.  If you do not want your Westie to beg at the table during dinner, then everyone in your household must agree not to feed him from the table.  It is unfair and confusing to the dog to receive different messages from different family members.

 

Do everything you can to help make your Westie’s world make sense to him; he will thank you for it!

 

Dogs Benefit People

Understanding Your Adopted Dog

Dog / People Communication -- the Universal Language

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Establish Yourself as Pack Leader

 

All dogs are social pack animals. This is an important behavior trait to understand to help your Westie succeed. An adopted dog will do much better adjusting to a new home if he has a strong leader of his new pack – and the pack leader or Alpha should be YOU!

 

A strong leader is not forceful and harsh. Never yell at your Westie or hit your Westie.  Physical punishment or force may lead to fear biting and aggression.  Having your temper under control when training a Westie is imperative.

 

A strong leader is loving, patient, fair, consistent and clear using positive reinforcement and praise. Your Westie will respect your position and understand exactly where he fits into your family pack. If you are unable to establish yourself as leader or alpha, your Westie will feel lost and he will feel a need to assume this role.

 

Establishing the pack hierarchy and establishing yourself as the kind and benevolent Alpha of the pack is an important step prior to and during training.  The following guidelines will help you establish yourself as the pack leader.

 

Alpha -- Understanding Your Role

 

1. KEEP YOUR DOG UNDER CLOSE SUPERVISION

Your new Westie should not be allowed initially to run loose unsupervised in your house. Supervise your new dog diligently through undivided individual attention.

 

An easy way to keep your Westie under control is to let him drag his leash around so you can gently guide him away from the trash or keep him off the furniture. Another way is to put baby gates in doorways or close the doors to certain rooms to restrict his access to your household.

2.  PROVIDE STRUCTURE

Being social animals, Westies fare best when there is order in their pack. You can demonstrate order to him through clear, calm leadership. Make sure you consistently follow through with all commands given to your Westie.  Set the rules and stick to them.

 

Simple things like walking through doorways before your Westie, having him "Sit" before you open the door, having him "Wait" when you let him out of his crate, practicing "Leave It" a few minutes each day will go a long way to making your new dog feel comfortable and secure.

 

A Westie should earn his privileges. Making him sit or lay down before you pet, feed or play with him will put you more in control. Do not allow your Westie to demand these things from you by nudging you with his nose or paws.  Encourage good behavior with praise and attention.

 

Avoid situations that promote inappropriate behavior. Do not play tug of war, wrestling or any other rough games with your Westie. These games only encourage him to use his strength against you. Do not play any games with your Westie that will encourage play biting or aggression.  It is far better to play games such as fetch and hide 'n seek with him.

 

Children especially should play all games with the Westie standing up. Getting on the floor at dog level is telling him that you, too, are a dog. Children are often the most disrespected members of your dog's pack. Your dog may view himself as much higher-ranking pack member than your children. This could result in a bite sometime down the road. It is up to YOU to prevent any possible problems from developing between your newly adopted Westie and your children.

3.  PROVIDE CONFINEMENT OR  A CRATE

Never leave your new dog alone in your house for at least the first thirty (30) days. When you can not watch your Westie, confine him for his own safety.

 

Confinement may be accomplished by placing your Westie in:

• A crate in the most used room of your house;
• One safe room in the house such as the kitchen and securing him through the use of baby gates in the doorways;
• An exercise pen, which is a portable metal folding pen similar to a playpen that can be placed in any room of your house. Exercise pens can be purchased in various heights and widths.

Most adopted dogs thrive on a confinement schedule. And all dogs need a place of their own. Many owners provide their Westie with a crate for this purpose, as it is the most versatile and convenient way to ensure their dog’s safety. Due to the dog’s natural denning instinct, your Westie will view his crate as an indoor doghouse in which he feels secure.  If you have properly crate trained your Westie, he will not view the crate as a cruel cage.

 

If you have adopted a younger Westie age two years and under, confining him in a safe place when you leave the house will be imperative to keep him safe from harm and to prevent the development of destructive behaviors such as barking, chewing or housetraining mistakes.

 

The advantages of a crate are many:

4. MAKE YOUR DOG A PART OF YOUR FAMILY

We do not recommend putting your Westie outside in your yard or in your garage when you can not watch him. Your Westie will interpret this as punishment because he was cast out of the pack's den. Pack animals need their pack.

 

Westies are social animals and they need your time and attention.  Spending time with your Westie will create and deepen the emotional bond and will enhance your enjoyment of your dog. It will make obedience training easier and it will result in fewer, less severe behavior problems.  If your dog does not receive enough attention and exercise, he is likely to develop destructive behaviors such as barking, chewing or digging due to boredom. Training can not cure this type of behavior problem.

 

Unacceptable behavior is never improved by isolating your dog to the backyard or garage. This action will not teach your dog appropriate behavior and may cause even more bad habits to develop such as fence jumping and howling.

 

Additionally, outside dogs are exposed to harm from other animals and people as well as theft.  Nothing positive will be accomplished by banishing your dog.

 

5.  HAVE TIME OUTS

Do not spend so much time with your new family member that when it comes time for you to go to work on Monday or run an errand, your Westie is overanxious that you are leaving him.

 

Sometimes an abandoned dog will experience a fear that he will be abandoned again. He will manifest this fear with excessive barking or destructive behavior when you leave him alone. You can help ease your dog's separation anxiety by leaving him for short periods of time several times a day. Begin with short separations of five to ten minutes in duration and gradually increase the time you are away. This will let your dog know that when you leave, you will return to him. Always reward your Westie with a treat and praise him when you return.

 

Use time outs just before you leave for work in the morning and use one as you arrive home each evening so your dog learns not to become emotional about you coming and going.

 

6.  TREAT YOUR DOG AS NOT HOUSETRAINED

Even a housetrained Westie will need some retraining when placed in a new environment. He will at least need to learn where you expect him to eliminate. Your Westie’s housetraining success will depend on YOUR knowledge, patience and consistency.

 

The key to successful housetraining is to establish a routine to increase the chances that your Westie will eliminate in the right place in your presence so you can praise him lavishly.

 

Take your Westie outside as soon as you get up in the morning, before you leave for work, immediately upon returning home, after dinner, throughout the evening as needed and just before bedtime. Give him lots of praise and perhaps a treat when he eliminates in the correct place.

 

Many Westies are food motivated and this can be used as a powerful and effective training tool. Reward appropriate behavior with small easy-to-eat treats such as freeze-dried chicken or liver treats or small pieces of cheese.

 

If your dog does make a mistake in the house, DO NOT yell at him, swat him or rub his nose in it.  All he will learn is to be afraid of you.  Physical punishment or force may lead to fear biting and aggression.

 

Please refer to Tip #3 for more detailed information about housetraining.

 

7.  FEED YOUR FAMILY FIRST, THEN YOUR DOG

Your Westie should have two meals daily. Give him no more than 30 minutes to eat each meal. At the end of that time, remove his bowl. Do not leave food available in his bowl all day, as it is unsanitary and it will prevent establishing a clear routine for housetraining.

 

Always provide fresh, clean water for your Westie changing the water several times throughout the day.

 

Some rescue dogs may be reluctant to eat during the first day or two in their new adoptive homes. This will resolve when the dog becomes comfortable with his new surroundings and new family. To ease your dog's adjustment, it is often helpful to add warm water or warm broth to the dry kibble or mix a spoonful of canned dog food or chicken baby food with the kibble.  

 

More information about food and nutrition can be found in Tip #4.

 

8.  GIVE YOUR DOG HIS OWN BED ON THE FLOOR

As much as you may be tempted, if you allow your Westie to sleep in your bed, you are telling him that he is just as high ranking as you are in the pack.

 

Give him a dog bed on the floor in your bedroom. Do not make your Westie sleep in the kitchen or in any other room. He will need to sleep with his pack in your bedroom.

 

If your Westie roams through the house at night, confine him to your bedroom by either closing the bedroom door or by using a baby gate in the doorway.

 

If your Westie is not housetrained, place him in either a crate or an exercise pen in your bedroom at night.

 

9.  OTHER PETS IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD

If other pets live in your house, introduce your rescue Westie to the other animals in a neutral location with care and caution. With the addition of the new dog, the pack order in your household may be upset and dominance issues can occur. Same-sex aggression is well documented with Westies. It is generally recommended that two dogs of the same sex should not be permitted to stay together unsupervised.

 

Introducing a New Dog to Your Existing Dog

 

You should help reinforce the pack order by deciding which dog will be the alpha dog. Feed the alpha dog first, pet him first, let him jump on the sofa first and so on. It is recommended that you feed two dogs in separate bowls and in separate locations.

 

Some rescues may show a lack of interaction with the other dogs living in your house. All of the dogs have to get to know each other and sometimes this takes time. It is especially hard if the new dog has never learned to play with other dogs. The rescue may need to watch your other dogs to figure out how to play appropriately. Usually your other resident dogs will be invaluable in teaching your new dog the routine of your household and acceptable behavior.

 

10.  ENROLL IN A TRAINING CLASS

Training is a great way to build trust, form a relationship and create communication. Enroll in classes using positive reinforcement training methods.

 

What you teach your Westie to do is less important than HOW you teach him to do it. Your Westie wants to please you; it is your job to show him how. When he does not succeed, it is because he does not understand, not that he is being difficult.

 

When your Westie follows your instruction, praise him in an upbeat voice. When inappropriate behavior occurs correct him verbally but ONLY if you catch him in the act of misbehaving.  Correcting your dog several hours or even several minutes after inappropriate behavior is meaningless and confusing.

 

A correction is clear, concise, consistent and immediate. Be fair and forgive quickly. Never yell at or hit your Westie!  Physical punishment or force may lead to fear biting and aggression. Correct bad behavior by providing positive alternatives, such as replace a toy for a shoe.

 

Always remember that a Westie does not have the ability to be spiteful. Having an owner who understands this concept is an enormous gift to give any dog, but it is particularly kind to give to a rescue dog that has already had much disappointment and confusion in his life.

 

Many adopted dogs have some type of behavior problem, such as jumping on people; fear of strangers or dogs; or pulling on a leash. A good quality training class can help you with your dog's problems and help you understand why he is doing some of these things.

 

Please refer to Tip #10 for more Training information.