Help!!  Hannah my Greek dog who I rescued has suddenly gone backwards and I have no idea why!  I collected her from Heathrow 3 weeks ago and in that time she has come on by leaps and bounds considering she had been a stray and then in quarantine for 7 months in Crete before coming to UK.  Apart from one accident the day after she arrived she has been as clean as a whistle.  She is quite a placid dog and loves lying in the sun.  At night she is quiet and sleeps alone in the kitchen.  Our three other doglets sleep upstairs with us.  I am home all day and she has access to the garden most of the time especially now with the weather being good.

However last night I noticed she had done a wee in the sitting room which is the first time she has ever done that.  Then this morning I have just discovered a big poo in her large bed in the kitchen - not even on the floor.  I thought dogs didn't like soiling their beds?  I can't see why as she has always done her poos in the garden.  I did notice this morning that she hadn't been - presumably because she had already done it in her bed!!  She has seemed to me that she is able to hold her poo and wee for ages so I am a bit worried.

Any idea why she should have reverted in this way?   She is quite a timid creature but we are gradually gaining her trust.  The worst aspect is that she is bad on the lead so every day we are taking her out on the training lead. She is however of a whippet-y build and althletic.  I know she is dying for a good run but she is not ready to be off lead yet.  I wonder if this is what it is all about, or if she is missing her old life on the beach in Crete!  I am now worried that she is unhappy although she eats well etc.

Any ideas what could have caused this and how I can nip it in the bud?

Thanks

Snowflake

Oh what a great story! (the rescueing, not the pooping!)
I'm no expert so i don't think I'll be much help. Just wondering how old she is and whether she might be coming into season? I knew somebody whose bitch did a massive step backwards just before her first season... Just a thought. How is she getting on with the other dogs? Have you noticed anything different in their behaviours with each other etc? Are you certain there hasn't been ANY change at all recently, even very small and insignificant to you? She porbably craves stability after such an eventful life!!

You've only had her for 3 weeks, so please don't expect miracles from her. I'm not criticising, just clearing that up ;-)

It can take up to a year, or even more in some cases, for the rescued dog/bitch to fully realise that they are in their forever home. Don't be surprised if this isn't the only time she does this. She has had to put up with an awful lot in the past year and is probably scared out of her wits. Don't punish her, just clean up the mess and keep her bedding area as clean as possible. She will soon build up the confidence with you and your environment, and things should get better. At the moment it isn't home to her. The fact that she is messing could be that she is starting to scent mark her 'home'.

Well done for rescuing her. :-D

Hi All

No I wouldn't have dreamed of punishing Hannah - to be honest I was amazed that she has been so clean up to now.  The other thing she does for some reason is has an absolute hooley once or twice a day.  She dashes from the kitchen to the sitting room, jumping on chairs and furniture (with me in hot pursuit) and then into the dining room and up the stairs!  After all that she usually comes and lies at my feet!  I don't suppose she had "played" much in her former life, poor girl.

One small step forward is that she will now jump into the car instead of me lifting her in - so I take that as a sign that she is beginning to enjoy her walks.  Well I knew rescuing a "Greeky" wouldn't be easy but so I am quite pleased with her progress. She is certainly looking a lot better and no doubt feeling fitter.

Snowflake

Hi,

My TT has a funny five minutes once a day and runs up the stairs and round the house like a looney, i put it down to still being young and just releasing excess energy. i don't see it as anything to worry about i'm sure this will calm down once she can go off the lead to burn off the energy she's got stored up.
As for the bed wetting etc my TT was in a kennel until she was 6 months plus and started wetting the bed on a regular basis. i've got two other dogs and i'm sure it was to do with scent marking the bed as hers because the other dogs used it. the problem did stop after a while as she settled down with the other two and worked out her place in the pack. i also changed the bed to alot of thick blankets so they were easy to wash but as soon as i did this she never wet it again.
i'm sure these things will sort themselves out when she feels more settled as she had so much change in her life.
Good luck with her.  

Don't think they'll grow out of having 'hooleys' - my 13 year old x colli has them twice a day LOL. She sometimes does more especially when having had a game or particularly exciting walk or long grooming session.  She's just showing she's happy I think.

Re the weeing - you have lots of good answers - I would think abut her coming into season and abut her marking territory too.  You're absolutely right to ignore her and just clean up after - maybe you could try teaching her a 'command' for weing or poohing - I use pee-pee and hurry up.  It doesn't always work but they know I want them to 'go' - I just used the appropriate word when they naturally go them rewarded them.  Also making sure you let her out very regularly [maybe every hour if you can] and even putting something smelling of her wee and pooh in a place in the garden could encourage her to go on that spot.  One of mine doesn't like going in the grden as she sees it as a part of her home so there may be a bit of confusion going on with your girl this way too.
Keep up the good work and what a great rescue.

PS I've found that biological washing powder is the best at getting rid of smells even for dogsLOL

> I collected her from Heathrow 3 weeks ago and in that time she has come on by leaps and bounds considering she had been a stray and then in quarantine for 7 months in Crete before coming to UK.  Apart from one accident the day after she arrived she has been as clean as a whistle.  She is quite a placid dog and loves lying in the sun.  At night she is quiet and sleeps alone in the kitchen.  Our three other doglets sleep upstairs with us.  I am home all day and she has access to the garden most of the time especially now with the weather being good.
>

as i understand it this isn't uncommon with rescue dogs, shes been nervy so has probably been on her best behaviour but as shes now starting to relax may have a troublesome stage. just train her our of it as you would a puppy. don;t worry, take it as a good sign- she may even be marking home :)

Was it raining?