# Behaviour is WORSE after spaying??



## echo1981 (Oct 6, 2009)

I have a female cross breed between a Jack Russell Terrier and Shih Tzu. I will tell a little history just in case it might be important. I adopted her from a newspaper ad in May of 2009. The breeder told me she was born March 20, but after my mother (who used to breed dogs) and other breeders had a look at her, they don't think she was born when the lady said she was. So, possibly for whatever reason, the breeder may have wanted to get rid of her early (she did have A LOT of puppies at the time). I refer to her as the "breeder" but obviously if the accusations are true, she isn't much of one!

Anyway, she has the behaviour of a typical Jack Russell...excessive energy, stubborn, dominant personality, and I am completely up for the challenge. She was doing very well on her training considering. Responds very well to positive reinforcement. We all get very excited when she does her business outside, etc. We were able to let her loose in the house alone for up to about 3 hours without accidents (she was crate trained) and then she got spayed! 

She went in for surgery last Thursday (October 2) and up until even last night, she was doing perfectly fine. We went to my parents for an early Thanksgiving dinner and she didn't dirty once (and we can almost expect an "accident" when we take her out of her regular routines). She is VERY routine oriented. She goes to the bathroom everyday at the same time. I know exactly when she has to poop, when she is only peeing, and I can tell when all she wants to do is fool around. Last night my fiance and I went out to bowling for 3 hours (which is not unusual to her) and she was fine. We came home and let her out at 10 pm (which is her regular last time for the night out time) and she went poop and pee. I noticed her poop was a little soft which I was told by the vet might happen for up to a week, so I wasn't concerned because it wasn't completely runny or anything. Then apparently it didn't all "come off" and she butt scooted along my beige carpet, which I know wasn't her fault, so we cleaned it up and didn't yell at her or anything. I never actually yell at her...like I said she responds much quicker to positive reinforcements...

So then, last night I got up at around 2 am (which isn't out of the ordinary either) and immediately she jumped off the bed, and peed on my carpet. She NEVER does this. She has made it through the night for months now. Needless to say, I wasn't impressed, kind of looked at her cock-eyed and brushed it off. Then this afternoon about an hour after she'd been out to pee, she right under my feet and just started peeing. She didn't tell me she had to pee. Usually she jumps up and down in front of me when she has to go, so I know it's time... she had just woken from a quick nap, walked over to me, and peed. I was completely shocked. 

So I guess my question ultimately lays in, is this normal behaviour for this far after surgery? Is it something that will pass, or is it something I should be worried about? 

Also, when she does have an accident, it's almost always a poopy accident. She very RARELY pees in the house. Occassionally when she does it's like 10 minutes after she just went pee outside, and we honestly have no idea why she does that either...oh, and we do have a second dog. She is full-grown, fully trained, cross between a lab and a shephard who has become pretty much subordinate to Tiki and doesn't act out whatsoever!

I apologize for the length...I just know how necessary ALL information is, because perhaps someone will see something I'm missing 

Thank you!


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## MissMutt (Aug 8, 2008)

Many dogs have housebreaking setbacks. My own had an extended one. 

My suggestion would be to start completely over - act like she's not housebroken and do NOT let her out of your sight. Tether her to your waist if you have to. When she can't be watched, she goes in the crate.


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

It could be spay-related, or perhaps she's got a UTI. Or not. I'd go back to Housetraining 101, keep an eye on her, and take her to the vet if needed.


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

I agree with the others.
She's only a pup and many pups are not FULLY housetrained until almost a year old, she's also had a rough week...as much as a spay is a routine and pretty safe procedure it is STILL a major surgery. The fact that dogs heal up and deal as well as they do is an amazing thing...us humans after a full ovariohysterectomy take much longer to heal. Housetraining setbacks happen when changes in the household or physical state of the pup changes..so be patient, go back to the housebreaking 101 like suggested and see how it goes. Do NOT punish the pup, it is very possible (and you won't know right away) that the surgery itself is affecting her bladder control.


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