Hi all,

was wondering if you could help. MIL has asked me to post to see if anyone can help her. She put her spaniel into kennels for 3 days over new year as they were away. When they got him back tonight he was matted & wet ( they claimed it had been raining today). After being in the car for about 5 mins with him they realised the mats & damp were caused by him being covered in urine. Apart from complaining to the kennels is there anything else they can do?
Many thanks
Sharon
Forgot to add- he ate as if he hadn't been fed for a couple of days when they got to the house & has spent the whole night "crying"

Hi

The local enviromental health department issue the kennels with licences so if you have any concerns you should contact them. They can do a spot check and if they do find anythng amiss they can take the licence away.

I worked in kennels for a long time and there is no reason a dog should go home  covered in urine, sometimes another dog will pee through the wire fence and some poor dog will get in the way but it is up to the kennels to make sure the dog is clean before it goes home. Alternativly the dog could of wet in its kennel and sat in it. Some dogs do behave odd in kennels but again they should of checked the dog over before it left.

Even if it has been raining I wouldnt expect my dog to stand out in it. They dont at home and I would not like to think they did at the kennels

As for the eating that doesnt mean it hasnt been fed, some will go home and stuff there faces regardless to how much they have eaten. It is not a good idea to let them do it as they can get upset tums and then the kennels are blamed again.

Have a word with the enviromental health. You never know they may already be compliling a file on this kennels,

Wendy

I agree with Wendy, some dogs do get absolutely filthy even during a short stay, but not to the point of being matted and covered in urine.  IMO I would think the kennel had never been cleaned out - something which should be done at least once a day, really.  I've just done a christmas stint at a kennels and there were two springers in, and they were rarely clean - they peed a lot and paddled it everywhere - but they never, never got covered in it, because their kennel was hosed and squeegeed twice a day and they were walked twice as well.

Did your MIL not look around the kennels first before leaving her girl there? If she was happy with the smell and cleanliness then perhaps.............

For her coat to be matted after a 3 day stint, with the rain I would think it rather mud and wet from her walks that has matted her coat, most kennels will not brush or clean up your dog in this bad weather, (or even good weather) unless you pay to have them groomed at the end of the stint. Which is why a lot of our dogs do smell after being in the kennels.

Kennell cages should be hosed down twice a day and I expect that they were, but I know that the one time my previous dog stayed in a kennel quite a few years ago when I went to collect him at 9am I found that all the dogs cages were full of poo's and pee's with no food yet, as my dog was always fed with his first walk by 7am I was horrified, but the kennel maid assured me this was normal practise and that feeding, cleaning and walks were generally not started in some parts of the kennels until later with so many dogs to care for.

Possibly this is why your MIL's dog smelt of urine, if she had been sitting in it throughout the night or early morning and then had no grooming afterwards.

I don't use kennels now and my family and I always take care of each others dogs when out or away I much prefer it. 

It doesn't mean that your mums dog was neglected, just living kennel life perhaps.

Some kennels are better than others though, which is why it is important to look around and ask a lot of questions.

Thanks all,
It was a last minute booking as her preferred kennels were full. Have told her in that position again I'm sure I could squeeze him in here with us rather that accept something that she hasn't had time to check fully.

Sometimes you just can't tell in advance.  We boarded our recently acquired rescue ESS at a kennel our Vet recommended, one he had used himself and had good reports on.  She came back just like your MIL's dog.  Next time we boarded her at a different place, where Eng. Setters were bred and all dogs were housed mostly outside with only rough shelter.  She was happy as a lark there, clean and sweet smelling when we picked her up.  Our Vet was mystified as he had received unhappy reports on the place that worked best for our dog.  We think it might have to do with her being a rescue and not receptive to the warm, caring attention administered at the first place by the woman's husband, as she was afraid of men.   I think we picked her up earlier than we were supposed to so if they had been inclined to bath her they did not have a chance.   She was more used to being outside.