Expert: Sandra Case, MEd, CPDT - 4/25/2008

Question
Me and my bf have a Pembroke Welsh Corgi together named Roxanne. She is about six months and lived in a pet shop for quite a while (3 or 4 months) before we got her (she was obtained by them through a breeder, we checked). This was in February, she was about five months then. She took very well to house training and was easy to crate train. In early March, we had to move her across the street to my boyfriend's house, because of roommate issues in my apartment (Roxy does not bark, chew, or jump on people and was housetrained, it wasn't her fault). We made an appointment in April to have her spayed, around the 4th or 5thth, but she got her heat RIGHT before, on Easter, March 23rd. She had been acting a bit strange before that, and when she started bleeding, we knew. She bled for about three weeks. Before she went into heat, we'd started her on obedience training, she was pretty much the star pupil, besides pulling on her leash (that's a different story). We'd noticed she resisted her training a lot right before she went into heat and her behavior was different. Now, she has stopped bleeding for about three weeks now and her behavior still isnt quite right. We understand that she was confused and scared about her first heat before, we were as supportive and caring as we could be, we got her doggy diapers so she wouldn't have to be confined to her cage. In the past two days, she has peed three times in his house, and pooed in her cage, which she has NEVER done, and started chewing. We are very worried and unsure of what to do. She is normally a sweet affectionate girl and while that hasn't changed, her sudden turn for the worse in house training and chewing is making us wonder. We do try to exercise her as much as possible, and she is moving back to my apartment with my bf in June and we are worried about having to start the house training process over again. What can we do??

Answer
If she was 5 months in February, she must be a bit past 6 months now! Any time I see a sudden behavioral change in a dog, my first action is a trip to the vet for a thorough physical - in this case including a urinalysis. I'd want to be sure that there wasn't a physical issue before I assume it is a behavior problem - especially when it is housetraining. It's unusual for a dog to bleed the full three weeks of estrus. Usually it is only the first few days. But dogs, like the rest of us do sometimes get hormonal and change our behaviors around "that time." And sometimes dogs get infections around that time.
That said, this pup has been through a huge amount of change in her short life. Whatever happened before the pet shop, then your old home, the a move to the new one. Dogs don't always generalize "don't eliminate in this house" to a new location. I'd go back to treating her like a puppy, with careful supervision and frequent trips outside. Clean the places where she's had accidents with a good enzymatic product made for that purpose. And I'd be working on de-stressing her life. Try not to make a big deal out of the little glitches, continue to practice her obedience and give her great leadership and as much routine as possible.