for display only
Big Blue Interactive The Corner Forum  
Back to the Corner

Archived Thread

NFT: Dog acting weird after coming home from boarding -

DC Gmen Fan : 4/6/2021 2:02 pm
So we traveled this past weekend and boarded our beagle/foxhound at a very reputable pet "hotel" for 5 days. Picked him up yesterday and he just seems off. Wasn't excited to see me, sleeps all day, spilled his food this morning and didn't eat it, and just seems - grumpy and lethargic. We rescued him last year and he has adjusted well, but since picking him up yesterday he doesn't seem like the same dog.

Anyone deal with something similar?
I can tell you that I have a dog "Hotel"  
Chef : 4/6/2021 2:05 pm : link
right across the street from where I work. In short I can tell you that there is no way on earth that is a pleasure able experience for a dog.
I had Beagles all my life  
JohnG in Albany : 4/6/2021 2:05 pm : link
If they're not eating, it usually means something is wrong.

It's pretty easy for then to pick up "stuff" at boarding places, even very good ones.

Might want to have your vet take a look.
5 Days is a while  
Johnny5 : 4/6/2021 2:07 pm : link
I would think it's normal, for now. Just keep an eye on him (obviously). Especially for a rescue, the stress of being removed from you and placed in that scenario for a few days is pretty stressful for them in my experience. My thinking anyway.
Take him to your vet just to be safe  
steve in ky : 4/6/2021 2:08 pm : link
.
Is this the first time you've boarded him?  
Gatorade Dunk : 4/6/2021 2:18 pm : link
Putting aside some sort of aftereffect that he may have acquired while boarded, it's also possible that he's still bummed that you left him behind. I notice that with my dogs, especially the two that are rescues, for a day or two after we pick them up from the sitter. Both of my rescues got bounced around the foster world for a little bit before we adopted them, and I assume they feel like they're back in foster/shelter care when we have them boarded.

They may not have the same thoughtfulness of humans, but they are capable of thought and emotion - your dog may well have felt abandoned, fearful, and depressed while you were gone. Give him a day or two to see if his spirit comes back.

In the meantime, though, if you feel like something's off, definitely do take him to the vet. I never hesitate to take any of mine to our vet, and most of the time, the only thing I find out is that I owe them $60 for a visit. But I end up feeling a lot better knowing that there's nothing wrong with one of my dogs.
Beagles have serious issues  
Bricktop : 4/6/2021 2:54 pm : link
with separation anxiety so it may be that. But if he's not eating, that a sign that something more serious may be wrong. Is he drinking water at least? What about when you take him outside? Loose stool? Peeing ok? Have you noticed any change in his gait? Beagles are also notorious for hip problems and he could be in pain. We just lost our 15 year old Beagle and he was very vocal about not feeling well.
Did the boarding  
pjcas18 : 4/6/2021 2:56 pm : link
facility have ring or other cameras installed so you can check in on your dog?

Our facility does so on the rare times board her we regularly check in and see how/what she's doing.

I think it's a must for us on places we would board our dog.

If so, did you check on him and did he have a lot of time outside of a crate?

Either way, you should consult a vet.

But, I would call the vet first and see what they say, they might say to give it a day or so if he has no symptoms other than just not being himself.

Maybe this sounds cold, and I say it as a huge fan of dogs, but my experience with vets so far has been "we would like to keep him overnight for observation" and $1200 later, he seems fine, you can take him home. There isn't much I would not do for our pets, I feel like they are family, but I'd still rather not spend $1200 if the vet can tell me over the phone "keep an eye on him and if symptoms don't improve or if they get worse then we should see him", just not seeming like himself is probably not a lot to go in and seems like a "wait and see" situation.



He may be just completely exhausted  
DonQuixote : 4/6/2021 3:41 pm : link
My dog loves daycare and greets me at the end of the dayjust fine, but he has to sleep it off into the next day. 5 days is a lot and could exhausting.

Hope he’s ok!
Thanks guys  
DC Gmen Fan : 4/6/2021 4:09 pm : link
yeah we checked in on doggie cam a few times and he looked like he was having a great time playing. Maybe he's sad to be home? Maybe he's just exhausted. Maybe he misses the other dogs. Who knows?

We'll see how he is tomorrow.
RE: He may be just completely exhausted  
Peter from NH (formerly CT) : 4/6/2021 4:24 pm : link
In comment 15211575 DonQuixote said:
Quote:
My dog loves daycare and greets me at the end of the dayjust fine, but he has to sleep it off into the next day. 5 days is a lot and could exhausting.

Hope he’s ok!
This. He is probably exhausted from all the activity.
Similar reaction from our Lab\Beagle\Jack Russell mix  
NYG27 : 4/6/2021 4:39 pm : link
We took him to boarding "Doggie Daycare" on Friday morning and picked him up on Monday afternoon. Most times we checked up on him on webcam, he was very active and playing with other dogs.

The place we took him too, they only crate the dogs from 8pm to 6am. After the dog relieve themselves, they get crated for breakfast from 7am to 8am. After that, they're out and playing the whole day from 8am to 8pm.

Tough thing about that, is if they're home, they can relax and sleep off any exertion. At Doggie Daycare/hotel/whatever you want to call it, they have to be 100% on all the time as most dogs want to play nonstop. So that gets them really tired and my dog usually takes a day or two to recover and act like himself. He slept most to Monday afternoon till this afternoon and then he finally got back to normal and wanted to go for a walk an hour ago.

If his behavior continues for another couple of days, I would take him to a vet. Although I wouldn't be worried about his behavior if it lasts only 1-2 days, he's exhausted from all the playing.
It's very likely  
Bricktop : 4/6/2021 9:44 pm : link
that he was under a ton of stress. Separated from you guys, back in a "shelter" and around tons of other unfamiliar dogs. Beagles are very sensitive and emotional pups. They're a nose on four legs, so the sensory overload was probably crazy for the little guy.

If he's not eating or drinking by tomorrow, call your vet.
RE: Similar reaction from our Lab\Beagle\Jack Russell mix  
DC Gmen Fan : 4/6/2021 9:49 pm : link
In comment 15211661 NYG27 said:
Quote:
We took him to boarding "Doggie Daycare" on Friday morning and picked him up on Monday afternoon. Most times we checked up on him on webcam, he was very active and playing with other dogs.

The place we took him too, they only crate the dogs from 8pm to 6am. After the dog relieve themselves, they get crated for breakfast from 7am to 8am. After that, they're out and playing the whole day from 8am to 8pm.

Tough thing about that, is if they're home, they can relax and sleep off any exertion. At Doggie Daycare/hotel/whatever you want to call it, they have to be 100% on all the time as most dogs want to play nonstop. So that gets them really tired and my dog usually takes a day or two to recover and act like himself. He slept most to Monday afternoon till this afternoon and then he finally got back to normal and wanted to go for a walk an hour ago.

If his behavior continues for another couple of days, I would take him to a vet. Although I wouldn't be worried about his behavior if it lasts only 1-2 days, he's exhausted from all the playing.


I think you nailed it here. He seems to be back to his old sniffing everything self again. Thanks guys.
I think the exhaustion suggestion is possible.  
bradshaw44 : 4/7/2021 6:30 am : link
But we left one of my dogs with a friend for 2 weeks when we got married and went on our honeymoon and she acted different for about five days too. We felt like she was cold shouldering us. But she snapped out of it and went back to her old self.

Dogs can hold grudges but at the end of the day they go back to being your best friend.
My dog (Tiki) acted like that  
Dr. D : 4/7/2021 9:38 am : link
after a stay at a place called "Pet Paradise". I believe he was basically in a cage most of the time and probably didn't get his normal activity or sleep. When I picked him up, his mood seemed to be - why did you leave me there, what did I do? (as if it was punishment)

I found a different place called "Cindy's Retreat". Cindy treated Tiki like he was her own. He got to play with other dogs in their yard for hours every day. Tiki was always excited when I dropped him off at Cindy's and was always happy when I picked him up.

I ended up believing Pet Paradise was more like a corporate Pet prison for him, whereas Cindy's was like a fun retreat.

You should try to find a place like Cindy's. As an added bonus, Cindy's was significantly less $.

RIP Tiki. I miss you.
Our dog did not eat right before he passed...  
Grey Pilgrim : 4/7/2021 10:55 am : link
it's a bad sign.

Wouldn't eat anything. We think he may have eaten some grass that had chemicals on it.


Baxter RIP! - ( New Window )
RE: RE: Similar reaction from our Lab\Beagle\Jack Russell mix  
Gatorade Dunk : 4/7/2021 12:36 pm : link
In comment 15212108 DC Gmen Fan said:
Quote:
In comment 15211661 NYG27 said:


Quote:


We took him to boarding "Doggie Daycare" on Friday morning and picked him up on Monday afternoon. Most times we checked up on him on webcam, he was very active and playing with other dogs.

The place we took him too, they only crate the dogs from 8pm to 6am. After the dog relieve themselves, they get crated for breakfast from 7am to 8am. After that, they're out and playing the whole day from 8am to 8pm.

Tough thing about that, is if they're home, they can relax and sleep off any exertion. At Doggie Daycare/hotel/whatever you want to call it, they have to be 100% on all the time as most dogs want to play nonstop. So that gets them really tired and my dog usually takes a day or two to recover and act like himself. He slept most to Monday afternoon till this afternoon and then he finally got back to normal and wanted to go for a walk an hour ago.

If his behavior continues for another couple of days, I would take him to a vet. Although I wouldn't be worried about his behavior if it lasts only 1-2 days, he's exhausted from all the playing.



I think you nailed it here. He seems to be back to his old sniffing everything self again. Thanks guys.

That's great to hear! It's so frustrating to see a dog struggling and they can't tell you why. Glad your pup got back to normal!
I would add  
Dr. D : 4/7/2021 1:44 pm : link
there's a difference between a dog being exhausted from all day playing vs. upset due to what I described above.

When I brought Tiki home from Cindy's Retreat he was tired and slept a lot for a day or two, but he was happy. When I got him from the other place, he was tired and also upset.
Back to the Corner