Our 1 yr old lab has stayed at a kennel a few times. Initially for 2 nights and more recently for 6 nights. Each time she has come home she has either been sick or had upset stomach (or both) for the first 24 hrs, although she has not seemed poorly. Kennel staff have never mentioned any problem. She came home from kennels this time and was immediately sick. Then had upset tummy for first 12 hours. Also, kennel staff pointed out to me that she appears to have been gnawing on her ankle as it is sore and weepy. They noticed this on the last morning she was with them when they were grooming her. They applied antiseptic. When I have looked more closely I think she has been chewing the other ankle as well, as this also looks a little red. Help! is this kind of thing normal? or should I be looking at other kennels?  (By the way, there is a lot of free play at the kennels so I had wondered if she had been stealing other dogs food and that was upsetting her.) Advise please! 

It could be due to stress maybe ?

What do they feed at the kennels?
is it the same as her normal diet? If not the change in food could be upsetting her. Free play sounds good, but there shouldn't be dogs mixing when there is food around, some dogs can be protective over their food & with the noise & excitement of a kennel enviromnent it's not the best place to be having free-for-alls with food around.
The licking of her legs sounds like lick granuloma's which are caused by dogs nibbling at themselves usually through boredom / stress. Nothing to be too concerned about - although I'd be more concerned about why she's doing it.  :)

Hi Guest,

I kennel more dogs frequently and do not have any problems.  When a dog goes into a kennel it can be a bit nerving for them but kennel staff are normally good at settling your dog in and getting them into a routine.  Most dogs get a little sick or even have diarrhoea within the first 24-48 hours because of apprehension etc.  On the other hand this can also be reversed on their day of departure, apprehension, excitement etc.  What you have come across seems normal to what I have experienced with mine, but it's up to you to put your mind at rest a seek a vets's advice.  With regards to the chewing of the ankles this sounds like it's due to boredom, are they excersied or walked.  Maybe you need to check this with the kennel staff.  Hope this helps :-)

Best of luck!

Henny 

Hi Guest

I ensure my dogs get fed the same diet in kennels that I feed at home - I'm always prepared to provide the food if need be.  It can also be stress related as some of the other posters have suggested.
The chewing could also be caused by irritation due to the kennels using certain disinfectants to clean the housing/runs or not rinsing it off properly.  I've changed kennels before because I was pretty disgusted with the cleanliness of one in particular.
It's worth shopping around and having a look at other kennels in your area to ensure you are happy with the standard of the one you are using :)