Upsetting Kennel Experience

Shazanne

I have just had my two dogs in kennels for two weeks - collected them last Sunday. Kennels came very highly recommended. I visited them initially to check them out and liked what I saw. Then I left my dogs there for two nights to make sure they'd be ok, and they were. So I was happy to leave them for two weeks.
However, I am not as happy now. I spent yesterday at the vets with both dogs:( My 11kg female now weighs 9.5kgs, has diarrhea and is completely subdued and miserable. She started antibiotics yesterday and today she barked for the first time and her bark sounds different - almost hollow or like she's hoarse. I know its not my imagination as my OH has noticed it as well and he remarked on it before me. She is not herself at all and I feel so guilty for leaving her. She has spent a couple of weeks in different kennels before and was fine. But the new kennels seemed so much better and I really liked the owner.
My male dog is also unwell. He has diarrhea with blood in it and is now also on antibiotics. He doesn't seem to be in bad form though, just seems more tired than usual.
The two dogs have only been together a couple of months and were getting on fine with each other. They shared a pen in the kennels - could this have been a problem?
I am stunned and upset by all this. Leaving your beloved dogs in kennels is not easy but I thought I had done everything to make sure they were going to the best place. I supplied their own food, which seems to have been used as the bag came back almost empty, so it can't be a change of diet that causing the problem.
Should I contact the kennels or leave well enough alone? How do you know for sure that you dogs will be properly looked after if you leave them in kennels?

yukiyuki

That sounds bad. I would def mention it to the kennell owners. there maybe something underlying there and you may save some other people leaving there dogs there the same problems by reporting it.

Cherry Blossom

You should make them aware of the problems as it may be a bug etc. that could affect other dogs. Relay all information your vet gave you and ask if they can offer you any explanation as to what happened/ or as to what the cause might be.

It sounds a lot like a mysterious bug that was going round a while ago that no-one seemed to be able to diagnose/pinpoint.

tk123

I'd want an explanation? Surely they would have known the dogs had diarrhoea so should have mentioned it imo? Did they send any texts etc during the stay or say how they got on? Don't feel guilty - it sounds like you did everything right - checking the place out, leaving them in for a short stay to see how they got on.

Outkast_IRE

its worth passing on the information to the kennels that the vet leaves you with.

But people sometimes forget the problem may not be the kennel , leaving your dog/s at the kennel can be extremely stressful for them , just imagine what they must be thinking, they could be stressing themselves to the extreme and barking like mad etc which would explain the hoarseness in the bark.
Also blood in stools can be a stress related symptom.
Diarhoea can also be stress related.

As you said she has been in Kennels before but sometimes the dog might have a problem settling in a kennel for whatever reason.

Im not saying the problem isnt related to the kennel im just laying out the possibility its stress related.

Sigma Force

Yeh leaving a dog in kennels can be stressfull for them but they have lost weight and already have the runs so the kennel should of noticed that and at least mentioned it to you. If a dog is stressed so much in kennels that they become ill then I'd wonder about how the place is run, most dogs will be fine after a day or two they come round once they know there's food and walkies my lot are anxious in kennels but once they've settled in they are fine (until they hear me come back) they usually are the same weight, sometimes a bit podgier and walk fine for the kennel owner etc.

I'd deffo at least contact the kennels sometimes like with people viruses do do the rounds so contacting them to let them know how sick your dogs are is important so they can check other dogs in their care. But tbh I'd certainly notice even if a dog wasn't mine if they were ill when it comes to tummy bugs. They should always check the dogs poop, it's one of the easiest ways to see how a dog truly is feeling. Anytime I've minded or fostered a dog and even with my own lot I'm always on poop patrol so a kennel should know better.

biancab

Hi hope all returns to normality soon, it can be a real worry, I collected my 7 month old rottie on sat eve after a 2 night stay at a kennel, she is a bit traumatised probably because it was her first time away from home, has been licking her paws constantly and sleeping round the clock with no interest in excercise, hopefully, she will be ok in a few days

L0ui5e

Did your dogs get vaccinated before they went in?
It should be the policy of the kennels to check the dog's vaccination record. if this is not so, you could question their negligence.
I left my 2 dogs in the same kennel years ago and when I came back one had sadly died and the other had mysterious diahorrea and was so traumatised.
The vet carried out an autopsy on the dead little one and it was inconclusive.
I had them vaccinated for parvo etc. before they went in but I was later told that I may have left it too late to be effective- I got them done the week they went in.
I never left a dog in a kennel since, always left them at home and had neighbours feed them- although I know this is not always practical.

Shazanne

Just so anyone one here thinks I have neglected to update this thread (being the OP) that is not the case. I am still monitoring my female dog as she is not completely better yet. My male dog is fine again.
I have been back to the kennels and had a lenghty chat with them to try an establish what happened. At the moment I am not entirely certain that the problems lies with them, but equally, I am not 100% sure that it doesn't either.
If my female does not improve in next couple of days the vets wants to carry out tests on her. Only then will I know if perhaps there is something else going on and her time in kennels is purely coincidental.
In the meantime, what I have established is that there is no bug in the kennels that they are aware of (ie, no other dogs are sick) and her weight loss is most likely down to increased level of exercise.
But I am monitoring her all the time and will keep people posted.:)

Cherry Blossom

Shazanne wrote: »

In the meantime, what I have established is that there is no bug in the kennels that they are aware of (ie, no other dogs are sick) and her weight loss is most likely down to increased level of exercise.
But I am monitoring her all the time and will keep people posted.:)

I'm not sure if you arrived at this conclusion on your own or not, but if your dog is as sick as the impression this thread gives then I would be certain you can put her weight loss down to that and not increased exercise.

boxerly

Hope your doggies are ok :(Sounds awful ,the fact that they both came home sick and alot of weight was lost Id deffo be asking questions.Hope they bounce back soon xxx

Shazanne

Hi.
I had a long reply typed and ready to go when something went wrong and I lost it:eek:
Anyway, the much abbreviated version is that I went back to the kennels and spoke to them at length. No other dogs were sick at all so a bug seems very unlikely. I also saw the exercise area and the fact that my dogs could be allowed run off lead (which they can never do at home) and my lady went wild for it and ran herself ragged several times a day, so that could account for the weight loss? Bascially, I am not as quick to blame the kennels as I was, but am still unsure.
My female dog never had tummy problems (she's 5) until just after Christmas when she had what was diagnosed as pancreatitis. It was a total mystery as to how she had this as she had eaten nothing she shouldn't have. A night on IV fluids and a course of tablets put thing right.
The this incident occured on her return from kennels and my vet said that if it didn't settle he wanted to do further tests. But she seemed to bounce back again last week, until yesterday morning when she completely refused her breakfast and immediately began vomiting white foam - I got a terrible fright. She had little or no interest in anything yesterday and was passing the most foul smelling gas imaginable - really, really bad smelling.
She also ate alot of grass the day before and had passed a poo that was almost entirely grass.
But today she's bright as a button again, eating normally, went for a walk and showed no desire to eat grass at all and smells as sweet as always!
This is why I'm monitoring her very closely at the moment and am reluctant to point any finger at the kennels in case she has a problem developing with her tummy. I am at a bit of a loss with her at the moment, and if anyone has any suggestions I'd really appreciate them.