Dog acting strange

Question
My 8 month old Rat terrier is chasing her tail and biting at her hips and flank area, she went into her first heat last saturday, the chasing and biting started 2 weeks ago and has got progressively worse. At this point she is in her crate most of the time because I am afraid she will hurt herself. Could this behavior be related to being in heat?

Answer
I am not sure, The only thing I can think of is she has fleas so she is turning around quickly to bite where it itches.  Even if you don't see fleas, dogs can have just a few on them and it itches very much.  Sorry, that's all I can think of, if it continues you should ask your vet.