westie suddenly constantly whining/grumbling?

echosound

just wondering if anyone could shed some light on this - we have a 4-5 yr old westie, she has always been a very "talkative" dog IYKWIM, always grumbling/mumbling, giving little questioning yips and whines to interact with us, "talking" back to the TV if there's dogs on it, loud yawns, low woofs at people passing the window etc, but she's taken it to a whole new level in the past 2 days.

Bear with me, a bit of background, this could be long - since the day we got her as a pup, she's had the company of our other older bitch. Slept with her in the same bed at night in the utility room, snuggled up to her in front of the fire in the sittingroom, going for walks together on the leads etc. However about 3 weeks ago, our old girl sadly had to be put down as she was suffering due to illness and at death's door (the westie wouldn't have caught anything from her BTW, as it was a combination of epilepsy and old age, her organs and body started failing her).

The westie was a bit upset for about 2-3 days, looking round the house for the other dog etc, but seemed to settle back down and get on with things (she also has the company of our cat who plays with her and grooms her etc., and I'm at home most of the day as well).

During this recent cold snap (say, the past 5 nights), we decided that we'd let her sleep in the sittingroom where the heat is as the utilityroom is freezing cold and she no longer had the other dog to snuggle up to for warmth.

I'm wondering if all this constant "talking" is down to: a) she's only now realising after 3 weeks that our other dog is definitely not coming back and is upset, b) is it the change in her routine of not sleeping in the utility room or c) something else. She doesn't appear to be sick or in pain, yet she's just constantly grumbling/whining/keening.

We tried putting her back out to her bed in the utility for the night with lots of extra blankets to see if that would settle her, but she just tore strips off the door trying to scrabble her way out and spent the night whining and keening, which she's never done before. To top it all off she's started having the occasional accident where she pees where she knows she's not supposed to, mainly due to excitement at a visitor calling or us returning home.

If you've gotten this far, thanks I'm just worried there's something I'm missing even though I'm pretty sure she's not sick, and just hoping someone could shed some light on the issue. I am leaning towards her having anxiety at being "abandoned", as she's gotten very clingy too, but just wanted to tap into the collective wisdom of pet owners here to make sure it's not a symptom of something else.

Thanks for taking the time to read and I'd appreciate it if anyone had any suggestions

star-pants

Is she eating/drinking/going to the toilet ok? Does she appear ill at all?

You could be right in the anxiety sense - losing a longterm pal - it can be hard for some dogs to adjust, and she's following you guys around incase ye disappear too. As for the over talking, could be that she's sad or stressed. I know my older dog talks and if we give out to the little one she gives out to us lol.
I'm not too sure on the exacts of how to deal with it, I guess keeping routine and keeping her busy/occupied would be big things. Making sure she's toys or things to play with, walks to keep her tired, play time with you, to fill the gap of missing your other dog (which btw, I'm so sorry about).

Hopefully others will have actual experience of one dog losing another and be able to give better insight

echosound

thanks star-pants (and thanks for the sympathies on our other doggie, she's still missed terribly, we had her for years).
Our westie doesn't seem to be sick/off her food or water or anything, just incredibly clingy and non-stop talking and whining. She is the same as your dog too - she gives out if we give out, and she tries to give out to the cat if he does anything "bold" like take up too much space in front of the fire or sticks his head in a glass of water

I think I'm going to get a large teddy or something for her to lie on at night (she was always sprawling over the other poor dog who just gave up trying to shake her off in the end ) as now she's not happy unless she's able to clamber up and sprawl on us in the evening when we're sitting down, and the poor cat gets too squished when she tries to lie across him!

Have been trying to keep her routine going but it's been a bit off what with Christmas etc. I'm just dreading the new year as we have a possible housemove coming up, so I'm sure that will only serve to knock her further out of kilter

Might try to get her out for more walks though - perhaps break up the one long one into two shorter ones at different times, might help keep her occupied a bit.

Just wanted to check with the petowners/westie owners here in case it might have been an obvious symptom of something else that I might have missed, doesn't seem like it though, just anxiety at missing her pal.

Thanks again for the suggestions, much appreciated

star-pants

Well hopefully other people might have a small insight into what it might be.

But just if she's healthy and the main issue is being very clingy then I would assume it could be the loss and fear of losing you guys too.
Good idea with the teddy! She might like something to cuddle with.

And changing her walks might be better too, whilst some routine is needed, a little change may break it up a bit and she won't be 'oh this is where I go for my walks with X... oh they're not here'. Keeping her as occupied as possible is good, tire her out. I know over Christmas things get up in the air but hopefully she'll begin to settle down when she realises you're not going anywhere.
Try not to let her follow you toooo much though, maybe even if you go out for 5 mins and come back (so she's on her own but you return) type thing, I wonder would that help her at all. Just so she's not panicking every time ye go out or have to pop to the shop/have a shower etc.

I hope she improves soon, and she sounds like a great little character, I love dogs that talk (as I said my older one does and it's gas). And don't worry about moving until you know for definite and even then take it as it goes, she'll feel any worry you do

boodlesdoodles

Hi, so sorry to hear about your other doggie. I have a westie too and when he's feeling any bit out of sorts he becomes incredibly clingy to me. He's not one for being cuddled normally but at times of distress he'll lie with his head on my lap and i have to put my arm around him. I remember when one of our dogs died when I was growing up, the JRT we had pined for days and days. The teddy bear is a great idea for her and like previous poster said changing the route of the walks will be a break in routine. And lots of cuddles and love. Hope she gets back to herself soon

echosound

thanks again star-pants and boodlesdoodles!

I think she's actually coming round a bit again, not as whingy but still a bit clingy. Fingers crossed she settles properly soon! Hate seeing her upset.
Thanks all