The right steps before your next trip could be a better vacation for your furry family members
A trip to the kennel can feel like a prison sentence for a dog — complete with bars, sketchy inmates and food that will sour even an iron stomach. But veterinarians say there are a few ways to make a pooch’s hard time a bit easier. Here are some tips from Holly Cogswell, the owner and medical director of Aurora Animal Hospital:
✒ Vaccinate early — Time to treat Fido like a pincushion. Some kennels will let you vaccinate on the spot, but just because they say you can doesn’t mean you should. Vaccines need time to work their way into the hound’s immune system. It’s sort of like taking a flu shot just seconds before hopping into the ball pit at Chuck E. Cheese’s — you can’t honestly expect it to work, can you? “That’s going to do absolutely no good,” Cogswell said. “It will cover the dog when they get home, but it’s not going to cover the dog while they are there.” And that time when the pooch is kenneled is when the vaccines are most needed — just ask a pet owner who has watched his hound cough like a Pall Mall enthusiast during a bout of the dreaded “kennel cough.”
✒ Take a tour — Any convict will tell you few things feel as nice as walking out of the gates. So make sure your pooch knows they have that feeling to look forward too once their stint in the kennel is up. To do that, owners need to take their pet for a visit before the lengthy stay. Maybe just for one night, or for an afternoon of doggie day care. Either way, Cogswell said it’s important the dog understands the kennel isn’t a permanent home.
✒ Bring a bit of home — A little reminder of home — and a loving owner — can make a dog’s kennel stay a bit more bearable. If the dog sleeps on a dog bed at home, bring it with. If they sleep on the bed with you, bring some sheets to remind them of home. Oddly, the stinkier the better, so feel free to dive into that dirty clothes pile for a shirt well-soaked in your essence. It gives the dog an unsavory but friendly little reminder of you.
✒ Don’t mix up the diet — Other than professional carpet cleaners, nobody likes the few days after a dog gets a new diet. And if it’s a bad idea to switch up food in ordinary times, it’s even worse when the pooch is already stressed by a few days locked up. Kennel staff will likely ask if you want your dog to eat the food the kennel provides, or if you will bring their regular food from home. Your answer should be: I’ll bring the regular food. “Dogs, when they get stressed out, take that stress into their stomach,” she said. Sometimes, a trip to the vet for a special “stress diet” that’s bland and high in fiber is a good idea, she said.
✒ Grab a remedy — Pet stores in recent years have added a sizeable stock of remedies aimed at making a kennel stay easier and Cogswell said some herbal remedies and pheromones can actually help a lot. Spray the pheromones on the kennel, on the dog’s bed or on their toys and they make your dog feel safe. Content dogs aren’t prone to freakouts.
In some extreme cases, Cogswell said she has prescribed the anti-anxiety drug Xanax for a pet that really struggles with kenneling. It might sound extreme, but Cogswell said it really works.
“It can make the difference between your dog coming home and feeling pretty normal,” she said, “or coming home with diarrhea.” n