Dogs ill after kennel stay

[broccolicheese]

I had to put my dogs in boarding kennels for the first time, they were in for 5 nights. I picked them up today but they seem in such bad condition.

One of them has the runs quite badly and has a gunky eye and looks bedraggled. The other has just started coughing (despite being vaccinated for kennel cough). They both smell, are starving hungry and drinking loads of water.

If the one with the runs isn’t any better by tomorrow I’m going to take him to the vets but I’ve just given him a small amount of plain boiled chicken to eat to try and ease his stomach upset (which vets have advised me previously) and have cleaned his eyes.

Is this normal for them to come back in such a state? They seem tired but okay in themselves and were pleased to see me, the place I took them to was clean and had good reviews so I don’t really understand why they’ve come back in such bad condition and I’m not really sure what to do.

No.
My dog is sometimes a little thinner when I pick him up from kennels but that's it.
What you describe would have me asking around for recommendations for a different set of kennels.

Ultimately it's not about how the kennels is for the average dog, it's whether they suit your particular dogs. So if it doesn't work out - move them.

Our last dog used to come back smelling a bit more ‘doggy’ but she was never ill. I would look for a different kennels for next time and maybe book them in for a trial night if possible.
I hope they recover quickly. ProMax paste is good for mild stomach upsets but as you don’t know what they have picked up there it’s probably best to see your vet if no improvement tomorrow.

Did you send them with their own food? If the kennel supplied the food and it was different to what you feed then that could account for the upset stomach. The eye could be caused by being in a draft, an allergy to bedding or it could be an infection. I would expect the kennels to speak to you about those issues though and to have noticed that your other dog was coughing as well. I would look elsewhere next time. I hope your dogs are back to their normal selves very soon.

Many years ago my poor dog came back with kennel cough and had lost weight , she was a x GSD and lurcher so a bigish but slim build , she mopped about for days and wouldnt go near my DB ( her best friend ) we never found out what happened despite asking lots of questions .
It shut down about a year later .

I would say let your doggos settle for the night , dont fuss them to much but reassure them if they come to you for a stroke , keep the meals light and small .
and if there is no improvement by mid morning tomorrow get them checked over by the vets .

Sending waggy tails . . . . .

Thank god you were only away for 5 nights. That doesn't sound like a good place.

When one of mine came back from two weeks in a (well-regarded) kennels in the same state as yours, I decided no dog of mine would ever go to one again. He was subdued, he smelled, he hadn't been combed, despite my saying he was in the throes of a full summer moult, and two days later he was straining to pass huge bits of blue rubber from a toy (not ours). Bloody disgraceful. I worked in kennels as a holiday job at school and no dog ever left in such a poor state.

I have only put our 9 year old lab in kennels once for 2 nights as we needed someone to watch him immediately after a family bereavement. Highly recommended place. Never again.

For the funeral we found someone who home boarded and that was much better.

Definitely not normal in my experience. Mine loved their kennels and would come back nicely groomed, looking and smelling clean and fresh and really happy. They tended to gain a bit of weight too, as the lovely lady that owned the place was convinced they were too skinny (Lurchers). They were tired and tended to sleep a lot and be quite lazy for a couple of days (although hard to tell with Lurchers, admittedly) but that was from all the excitement and stimulation of having other dogs around them and having lots of walks and opportunities to play in the secure paddocks.

Sadly they had to close down when the owners retired due to ill health and I know from having visited several other kennels locally that there isn’t another one I would be happy to leave my dogs at. We now have a house/dog-sitter who is a family friend and looks after all the dogs in our family, although we rarely need her these days, as we have adult dc at home.

Re kennel cough, unfortunately it doesn’t protect against all the strains, it’s a bit like trying to vaccinate against the common cold and if they come across one of the strains that the vaccine doesn’t cover in a kennel environment they will most likely catch it.

I hope they are both feeling better soon.

More common than people think. Two dogs died round our way in different establishments and at different times but on both occasions the owners weren't told until they got home by which time the dogs had been cremated.

Kennels, even the good ones, really aren't good for dogs

Thanks for the well wishes. The second dog got the runs as well so it must have been some kind of bug they picked up, but luckily they seem pretty much back to their normal selves today. They’ve both lost a lot of weight though.

I’m just glad I wasn’t away for too long, we cut our holiday short and were meant to be back today but I dread to think how they would have been. I don’t know how I’ll be able to ever leave them again.

Not all dogs can cope in kennels and many become stressed and run down, even if the kennels are clean and well-run.

It’s not normal no. Two of mine go to kennels and they love it. When we drop them off they leg it inside, greet all the staff like long lost family, never look back, and they come back happy and healthy. It’s actually a god send for us because one of them is an extremely difficult dog and the kennels manage her perfectly. They have caught kennel cough once (despite being vaccinated) but that is unavoidable, not the kennels fault and cleared up with out any meds (they did see the vet).
Having said that, I have others that I would never kennel because it’s just not the right environment for them and they would hate it. We use at home sitters for them which they much prefer. Hope your doggos pick up soon xxxx

My dog came back from a home boarders after 5 days very matted - I had to cut loads of mats out. She was thinner as didn't eat much. She also smelt of other dogs and her bedding was covered in other dogs hair and stank - I expected this but as we have allergies to other dogs it meant bathing her and washing her bedding immediately! She will be going back again in July for 9 days as there is nowhere else local to have her and despite the matted fur she seemed to enjoy herself and make friends.

I think the smell is pretty normal, the dogs often get excited and they tend to sweat/ whatever their dog pheromones, but they shouldn’t be dirty.

We used to use a lovely kennel, until it changed hands, and the original owner took great pains to ensure the runs were secure and clean and medication/ dietary needs were met.

I have had horrible experience with home boarders, so now it’s either a trusted person in our home ( paid ) or we take them with us.

No its not normal. The last time my dogs were in my old kennels they came back and one had upset stomach and kennel cough. I left my own food and my cats were matted and eye infection. My dogs stank. I had to put them all straight in groomers. I changed my kennels they were in my new kennels and cattery i collected after two weeks and they came out as they went in. Change kennels.