# Kennel Concern



## Gettinbirdy (Jun 15, 2006)

I recently kenneled my 8 month old at kennel in the area. It was about a 3 day stay and we provided enough food for all his meals plus 2 more cups. He gets a certain amount (about 2 1/2 cups twice per day). When we went to pick him up only half of his food was gone. This means he more than likely wasn't fed 2-3 meals over his 3 day stay.

He also looked slightly thin when we first saw him. When we brought him home he drank about a gallon of water immediately and had diahrea for more than a day. This all leads me to believe he wasn't fed according to our instructions and probably wasn't provided with enough fresh water.

Have any of you run into this problem? This is a supposed reliable kennel in our area. Have any of you run into this situation before and any thoughts or stories out there?


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## stevepike (Sep 14, 2002)

Was it his first stay at the kennel? He may not have been eating due to the environment or getting less exercise than at home. The water part does make me wonder, not so much about the food tho.


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## Gettinbirdy (Jun 15, 2006)

I think in any situation he would eat anything you give him. He's a typical young dog in which he'll eat his daily ration in a minute or two. If we gave him 6 cups at a time he'd eat it all quickly. To answer your question, yes it was his first "extended" stay in a kennel, however I find it very hard to believe he wouldn't finish his food without question.

When we brought him home he immediately ate his ration plus some, along with a large amount of water.


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## Zekeland (Oct 6, 2005)

You would be surprised how dogs get in their routine at home. You may not even notice since you are around it every day. A major change like that can provoke less eating. It happens here at home when our lab needs to stay 'next door' for a night or two. Or when we travel with her, she is out of routine and is back when we get home.

It took an incident like this and we finally figured it out.


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## taddy1340 (Dec 10, 2004)

> I think in any situation he would eat anything you give him. He's a typical young dog in which he'll eat his daily ration in a minute or two. If we gave him 6 cups at a time he'd eat it all quickly. To answer your question, yes it was his first "extended" stay in a kennel, however I find it very hard to believe he wouldn't finish his food without question.
> 
> When we brought him home he immediately ate his ration plus some, along with a large amount of water.


Birdy,

I highly doubt the owner didn't do as you ask. I promise you this is much more common than you think, albeit unfortunate. I have known of MANY dogs that don't eat at extended stays in kennels...mine included. It's part of the separation anxiety, as well as a new environment. In short, the dog is under a lot of stress.

You need to talk to the guy and ask him how your dog ate...he will know.

Best of luck and don't jump to conclusions. You owe the truth to the owner, yourself, and the dog.

:beer:

Mike


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

I agree dogs get stressed out when a major change occurs.

When you get a rescue dog or adopt a dog from someone else, it can take 6 weeks for their bowel movements to normalize, with some not all dogs.


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## griffman (Jan 17, 2004)

taddy and bobm are dead on. It sounds like separation stress to me. I had the same thing happen last year. I ended up taking a trip to the vet, Kobe had upset his bowels. Vet said dogs actually make themselves sick. The overproduce a normal bacteria which leads to a bowel infection. This is all caused by stress. Some anitbiotics, dog pepto bismol, and a couple days of being back home solved the problem.

I don't kennel my dog anymore. If I need to go out of town without the dog, I have neighbors or family stop by the house and feed/excercise. It's a burden on them, but they understand. Besides..I'd do the same for thier pets!


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

Not at all unusual for a dog to go off it's feed for a few days when it's routine is changed liked this. It normally passes in a few days as they adjust...


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## Britman (Dec 18, 2002)

Gettinbirdy said:


> He gets a certain amount (about 2 1/2 cups twice per day). When we went to pick him up only half of his food was gone. This means he more than likely wasn't fed 2-3 meals over his 3 day stay.


This would cause me concern because if they tried to feed him according to your instructions, there shouldn't have been much food left over, as they should have thrown the food away that he didn't eat at the end of the day. Without this tidbit though it is not abnormal for some dogs to react this way, especially if they are a few dogs in the kennel that are giving off this type of energy.

griffman - is seperation anxiety common in Griff's? It seems like quite a few that I have seen have this issue. This is not a knock just wondering what your observations are.


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## griffman (Jan 17, 2004)

Britman said:


> there shouldn't have been much food left over, as they should have thrown the food away that he didn't eat at the end of the day.


Why do you say this? I don't throw my dog's food away at the end of the day, do you? I would expect them to NOT throw the food away :huh:



Britman said:


> griffman - is seperation anxiety common in Griff's? It seems like quite a few that I have seen have this issue. This is not a knock just wondering what your observations are.


Your dog has to like you in order to have a seperation issue! :lol: (just kidding!) Seriously though...I'd say it is fairly common in the griff breed. However, I'd say most cases are pretty mild and could be prevented with proper introduction.

In my case, I blame myself for not having kenneled my dog previously. He was about 3 yrs. old and had never spent time in an actual boarding business. He had spent time in familiar places away from home, but never 24hrs a day for 3 days and nights in a kennel.

Had I properly introduced him by having him spend a night in at a kennel here and there over the 3 year span, I think he'd have been fine.

Griffs are about as personable a dog you're gonna find. They really like being around people. To me this is generally a good thing, however, there can be downfalls such as the kennel issues.

I think there are distinct differences in the severity of seperation issues. In extreme anxiety cases, some dogs will literally go crazy! They will escape crates, yards, whatever it takes to find their owners. In mild cases, they may miss a meal or two, or come home "exhausted" after a kennel stay. In either case, I think most seperation issues can be curbed by gradually introducing the dogs into boarding situations, then increasing the duration of their stays. Start off by boarding the dog for say 4 hours during the day, then an overnight, etc...


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## Britman (Dec 18, 2002)

griffman said:


> Why do you say this? I don't throw my dog's food away at the end of the day, do you? I would expect them to NOT throw the food away :huh:


The people who run then kennel should as they don't know if the dog may have watered his food dish or what other micro-organisms have landed on the food. All kinds of garbage floating around those places.



griffman said:


> Griffs are about as personable a dog you're gonna find. They really like being around people. To me this is generally a good thing, however, there can be downfalls such as the kennel issues.


Next to a Shorthair, who always has to be in your lap :lol:


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