if i leave my dog at a boarder/kennel, will he come out insane on the other side?

vash · vash's Garage

11 year old dog. we just adopted him. he is borderline trouble. sep anxiety..to compound the issue, when he stresses out because he is left alone, he will pick a random spot and spray it down with piss!! today, the little bastard may have worn out his welcome at the MIL.

i am running out of patience. my wife is about to start nursing school, so the little dude wont have his full time playmate anymore. we have crate trained him for the most part. he loves his crate. but if we make him stay for extended periods, his love of the crate may not last..

we have to visit my sick dad soon. (he is going thru chemo). we will be gone for 5 days. with the love at the MIL gone, i think a kennel is our only option. i am worried that he will freak out there, and we end up with a more damaged dog..

advice? stories?

vash · vash's Garage

btw, i have read every friggen website about dog behavior problems. 100% of them will sugar coat the issue.

they cannot afford to put a monkey wrench of doubt into the minds of perspective dog adopters..

aigel · aigel's Garage

Sounds like you only have one option, so go ahead and take it and look for references for a decent kennel. The dog has some history already at 11 years old and it will adapt. You and your wife at least take care of it, be it in a kennel or not. Don't beat yourself up and look at the positive things you do for the creature.

George

H.G.P. · 07-03-2011, 11:19 PM

Any other relatives or trusted friends?

Can you take him with you?

If no other options, can you "test drive" a trusted referenced kennel, by dropping him off for a half day, then taking him back for another half day or less to see if he gets "the shakes" when approaching/entering the kennel the second time around?

Any ratings on kennels/boarders online?

mikester · 07-03-2011, 11:23 PM

I have considered kenneling with our dog as well but thankfully have been able to avoid it by having a huge network of friends (mostly via my wife - she's much more likeable than I am) who are willing to help out.

We have an involved neighborhood network, plus that following of friends of my wife's. My kid's friend's parents get involved too. Most times she doesn't spend the night at home alone. One of the neighbor kids is home schooled so he comes by to take her for a walk so she isn't in her crate all day.

She's a rescue, so I'm very sensitive to putting her into similar situations. I would need to see a well socialized kennel over just a bunch of cages. Apparently there are a few of those around here though (the socialized ones) and the dog actually has to interview before they can be taken in.

Find a good one - trust but verify.

One of my Dad's dogs had 'something' happen to her at the kennel and now the only person he trusts is my dad and his wife. If there are visitors - he hides and he's not a small dog. 60-70 pounds trying to hide under the couch...well...he doesn't hide well.

I'm worried about my kids ruffling his feathers too much but so far he hasn't gotten aggressive - just hides under the chair. Dad won't use a kennel ever again though which limits his travel options severely. He can get JJ and Pete taken care of for a few days through family and friends but any longer than that and the dogs go with them.

9dreizig · 07-04-2011, 03:07 AM

Vash I typically pay friends to house sit and watch my pooch. Don't you know anyone who could use a few extra bucks?

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

You are doing the best, so don't beat yourself up. My dogs have been in a kennel for a week or so several times and came out fine. Board him in the kennel and don't worry about it.

ODDJOB UNO · ODDJOB UNO's Garage

i'd make an appointment ASAP with a dawggie shrink(yeah right). i would knock off feeding him people food(especially the orange food groups), stop letting him in your liquor cabinet, keep him/her out of garbage and generally wean him/her off of all things "people".

i would prescribe only dawggie "uppers", in the form of "snausagez", every hour on the hour for a period of 6 months after doing "stoopid people stunts" repeatedly over and over. "sit" and "stay","NO!" , "STFU" are very important lessons. certain wives and most kids could pick up a few pointers here also.

then i would go down to the local grocery store, and pick up a 50# bag of whatever is on sale...............every week. "OL-ROY" comes to mind. has a nice picture of some overbred high strung moronic irish setter on the front. this will be his/her food for the rest of their life, along with "snausagez" for treats.

after all this i would find a nice lil pillow at a garage sale for maybe 50 cents, a cheap azz waterbowl, place the pillow out of the direct sun and rain, and have a basic man to mutt chat.

i would explain the following:

1) the ONLY reason you(the dawg) is here on this planet is to guard my "six" , entertain me when needed, listen to my woes, and STFU at all other times unless called upon.

2) you are to crap and pee in only (1) pre-ordained agreed upon area of the yard.

3) the backyard is the dawgs home. if the backyard is NOT secured by dawg, and bad guys get in house/garage...........dawg is so FIRED!

anymore rules gets kind of testy as most dawgs dont multi-task well, if at all.

simple huh? separation complex? WTF?

tabs · 07-04-2011, 04:10 AM

I have been happy with Pet Smart Doggie hotels when I leave town. There will be too much activity around ole pisser for him to have separation anxiety.

The pissing is his way of letting you know he is not pleased with being left alone, that it upsets him. It might be considered to be passive aggressive behavior. I have a little Jack that will leave either a yellow stain or a couple Tootsie Rolls in a particular spot if I don't talk to her before leaving or if it is raining and cold out. She also has started the habit of staining the carpet in my computer room if I am in here too long and she wants some attention. 98% of the time she uses the Doggie Door and goes outside. Otherwise I have no complaints about that dog, and think it is a cheap price to pay for the love and companionship I get from her. Beside I kind of like having a yellow polka dot colured carpet.

Laneco · 07-04-2011, 08:22 AM

Our daughter works at a boarding Kennel. It's actually more of a doggy spa than a boarding Kennel.

The dogs get exercise a couple of times a day. If they are not aggressive, they can get group play time. They are always in sight/next to or with other dogs, like a pack, which is the nature of dogs. You can even pay a little extra for "one-on-one" time where a handler will pet, play and entirely devote themselves to your dog exclusively.

Most dogs leave happier and more relaxed than when they arrived. Nearly all dogs are much more at peace in good social groups with something to do than by themselves. Dog's that have nothing to do and are isolated from a pack (either their human pack or other dogs), tend to get neurotic.

angela

Dottore · 07-04-2011, 08:31 AM

There are kennels and kennels. Please check them out carefully first. My brothers mutt died in a kennel under circumstances that were never adequately explained.

quicksix · quicksix's Garage

the die is cast,good on ya for tryin.

vash · vash's Garage

bums me out my dog doenst have a reset button. or control/alt/delete..

wife and i are going to drop him off at doggie daycare occasionally, so he gets some random unfamiliar stimulus. not so bad at $6 per hour, or $35 per day.

rcooled · 07-05-2011, 09:17 AM

I leave my dog at the kennel every now & then and never have any issues with it. In fact, my dog seems to really like going there. As soon as he's out of the car, he's heading for the door with his tail wagging at warp speed. Once inside, he's happily greeting the staff and then goes to sit by the door that leads to the boarding area. Jack goes to the same place every time...the staff is friendly and they all know him by name. The main thing is knowing that your dog will be in a safe environment while you're away. As mentioned in other posts, bringing your dog for short visits to a kennel that you're considering is a great idea. We "test drove" several before we settled on the one we use.

teenerted1 · 10:28 AM

got any doggy day cares in your area. the kind that they are outside during the day with they "pack".
several friends take their pups to some in the country and they are so happy they never want to come home.
something like this?
http://www.bone-a-fide.com/

my dog is lucky to have a old neighbor that will take in mine when i cant take him on longer trips out of town. so he gets to play with his three budies in their big yard.
but he has stayed at the vet for a week a couple of times. they walk him several times a day and he gets a big "run"all to himself. at the end of the week he gets a spa day so that i get a clean trimmed happy dog to take home.