The GF and I had to go out of town for the weekend so we had to board our lab and golden.  When we picked the dogs up last night, my lab began shitting right in the middle of the floor of the kennel (she has never shit inside, even as a puppy).  We took the dogs home and the golden and my lab shit again.  We brought the dogs inside, and they drank two full bowls of water.  They wined to go out and they shit again.  The nose of my golden was rubbed raw and he has a sore on his elbow.  Now, it is hard for me to say that they dogs were mistreated because these dogs are not used to being boarded.  They may have been freaked out all weekend, however this doesn't sound normal, and frankly I am pissed off.

Part of it could be that they fed them different food than you do.  That doesn't explain all of it, though.

I would be.  This is why I don't board my dogs, they either come with me, or I get a friend to stay at my house with them if the wife and I are out of town.  There's only one place I have ever seen that I would feel comfortable boarding them, and it's in League City, TX..which is not accessible to me from where I live.

They have webcams in the individual rooms that the dogs are in.  Yes, it's expensive.

I am sure they were stressed. That is the only bummer to having dogs --- vacations.

I feel for you, this same bullshit has happened to me. The first time I boarded my dogs one of their belly's was bright red and raw probably from laying in her own piss (this was a vet's office by the way). The last time I boarded my dogs one of them looked like it got in a fight with another dog. She had a few lacerations on her face.

I will never board my dogs again, ever.

This reaction is common with dog separated from their owners.

I used to have one that would not eat for the first 3 days we were gone.

I have one now we take on trips if we go somewhere she feels insecure she will not take a dump. Took her to Orlando a couple of years ago and she went 3 days without a crap… until we left Orlando?

Quoted: I would be.  This is why I don't board my dogs, they either come with me, or I get a friend to stay at my house with them if the wife and I are out of town.  There's only one place I have ever seen that I would feel comfortable boarding them, and it's in League City, TX..which is not accessible to me from where I live. They have webcams in the individual rooms that the dogs are in.  Yes, it's expensive.

Quietshootr,
Where in League City, Texas.  Small world, that's wher I live,lol

The thing is, I pay someone good money to watch my dogs, I should at the very least, expect them returned in the same condition as they were three days ago, not worse.

Quoted: This reaction is common with dog separated from their owners. I used to have one that would not eat for the first 3 days we were gone. I have one now we take on trips if we go somewhere she feels insecure she will not take a dump. Took her to Orlando a couple of years ago and she went 3 days without a crap… until we left Orlando?

That is interesting, my lab will only shit in the woods, not in an open area.

I took my dog with me on a long family vacation and she did not eat for a full 5 days. When she did decide to eat she ate very little. She barely drank any water either.

We were gone for 9 day's total and she ate MAYBE 2 days worth of food.

When we got home it still took her about a week to get back to normal. Her routine was broken and she had a tough time getting back into the swing of home life.

She's a wonderful dog, but is aparrently very easily stressed out. I can't imagine what she would have done if I left her in a kennel.

I refuse to board my Lab.  He either goes with us, or has a trusted person stay at the house with him.  I just don't trust kennels, and know many who have had bad experiences with them.

So far, I have boarded my dog twice and had good results.

One of the key points is that I bring the food that she is used to along with her to the kennel.  Changing foods will mess up (literally) a dog's digestion.

I also leave a familiar object, a heavy knotted rope she likes to chew on.

When I picked her up she was healthy, but seemed annoyed at me for leaving her there.  She got over it quickly after she was home.

I'm almost afraid to post this, as I'll be leaving Cooper at a Kennel quite a bit in the coming months.

I love the kennel I use now.  The women that work there no Cooper by sight.  She always comes back stressed, but she's like that.  They know she's a big chicken and they take special care of her.  They also know she has bad hips and put down a pad & blankets and stuff for her.

The first kennel I tried down here was a totally different story.  Cooper came back with a horrible rash.  The vet bill was about the same as the kennel bill, so I stopped payment on the kennel check.  Then I called them up and asked the girl how fast she could run.  she said "why?" and I told her she could run to the bank & cash it is she could beat the computer.  When the owner called back to ask what happened she wound up hanging up on me because of the reaming I gave her.

Quoted: Quoted: I would be.  This is why I don't board my dogs, they either come with me, or I get a friend to stay at my house with them if the wife and I are out of town.  There's only one place I have ever seen that I would feel comfortable boarding them, and it's in League City, TX..which is not accessible to me from where I live. They have webcams in the individual rooms that the dogs are in.  Yes, it's expensive. Quietshootr, Where in League City, Texas.  Small world, that's wher I live,lol

It's called The Barkington Inn.  I forget the road, my parents live there, not me...

Quoted: I'm almost afraid to post this, as I'll be leaving Cooper at a Kennel quite a bit in the coming months. I love the kennel I use now.  The women that work there no Cooper by sight.  She always comes back stressed, but she's like that.  They know she's a big chicken and they take special care of her.  They also know she has bad hips and put down a pad & blankets and stuff for her. The first kennel I tried down here was a totally different story.  Cooper came back with a horrible rash.  The vet bill was about the same as the kennel bill, so I stopped payment on the kennel check.  Then I called them up and asked the girl how fast she could run.  she said "why?" and I told her she could run to the bank & cash it is she could beat the computer.  When the owner called back to ask what happened she wound up hanging up on me because of the reaming I gave her.

One of my dogs is named Cooper too, after Jeff Cooper...

Be glad that you got your dog back.  We boarded our golden a few weeks ago when we went to Vegas.  When my wife and I got home her father told us the dog had died.  She was nine years old and we took here to this same vet all her life.  I think they treated her well, it was just her time.

A few years ago we took her to a different place to be groomed, not a good experience.  I dropped her off and they told me to come back in eight hours, like it takes that long to cut some hair.  I went to pick her up and I saw them pull up in a van with my dog in the front seat, they never told me that they would be taking my dog to another location.  I also had a long haired golden that now looked like a lab, they wanted $60 for the trim, hell I could of done the same job with the clippers.

When we go home she drank several bowls of water, and man was she pissed, she stayed on the porch and would not even come around any of us.  Later I had heard from several people that a few dogs have died at this place, not the best news.



Edited to add that now we have a new golden puppy that chews up most everything in our house.

Quoted: One of my dogs is named Cooper too, after Jeff Cooper...

Mine's namesake as well.  He's even seena picture of her .  Mine's a bulldog and from what I heard he found it quite fitting.

I think maybe your ole lady told me ya'lls was named after him too, maybe when the dog was sick?

Yep..he's doing okay, the condition is not really curable without surgery, and it's not bad enough yet that I want to subject him to that.