The saying is walk quietly and carry a big stick, but I’ve found with the fearsome twosome it’s best to walk quietly and carry a pop can with 7 pennies in it. Thus far, rattling the can seems to snap them out of the “must eat this frozen piece of poop then go kiss mom,” behaviour.
Here’s hoping it’ll continue to work in the coming weeks and I can train them out of this less than desirable canine trait.