Dog not doing well in kennels

[butterfliesinmytummy]

We have a year old staffy x ridgeback. She is super kind and a gorgeous, loving family dog. We are currently 2.5 weeks into a 4.5 week trip back to the UK (we live in Texas). We haven't had much choice about our trip this year and had to leave our dog for this amount of time due to various factors.

Our dog goes to daycare every week and our daycare has kennels. She has stayed there before, twice for a week or so each time. They take excellent care of dogs and are very highly rated, runs are double sized etc. Our dog has a half day of dog care every day and regular visits from staff (including bedtime stories etc..) However the kennel contacted me today saying that our dog has become food aggressive and leash aggressive with the kennels staff. She lunges at staff when they take her bowl away and the same when they leash her to go outside (but not when the daycare staff leash her to take her to daycare). She is eating very well and is her usual self with the daycare team, loves her time with the other dogs and socialises well. I guess it's a territory issue but don't know what to suggest to them.

The kennels are going to speak to their dog trainers and behaviourist to see how they can help her and I would appreciate any advice from this forum before I change all my flights, lose thousands on accommodation and fly back to collect my third child dog from kennels.

[SpicyPear]

It's not possible to diagnose over the internet but it's fair to say that a family dog is likely to be really quite stressed by an extended stay in kennels away from its family. I wouldn't necessarily assume it's territorial.

Do you know their trainers and behaviourists and their methods? Do not authorise their involvement unless they are force free and positive. Any kind of dominance pack leadery stuff might suppress the behaviour but will have a detrimental impact on her emotional health and well being.

[daisydotandgertie]

Has she had a vet check over? I'd insist they do that. It's possible she's not feeling 100% and is reacting badly to the situation she is least comfortable in.

[butterfliesinmytummy]

Thanks both, I'm speaking to them again later today. I'm sure she's fine as she's playing loads during daycare and eating well but I'll have them call in a vet just to rule out anything else (good idea). Also find out what type of trainers they are .... although the pack leader type training is the norm in the USA. I'll be careful.

She only shows aggression when they remove her empty food bowl and leash her. Not when they feed her, not when she's leashed at the end of daycare etc. it's not a reaction to one person as lots of people have tried. I'm wondering if they can distract her by offering her a treat as they remove her bowl etc (I left loads of her favourite treats).....

[PeanutPatty]

Can't they leave the empty bowl in her kennel and remove it when they next feed her?

[butterfliesinmytummy]

Thanks peanut, I suggested this when I spoke to them just now. Apparently she was fine and not at all aggressive last night and today. They did give her a favourite biscuit when they went to take her bowl and she didn't even blink at them. They said that when staff go in to pet her, she's fine, it's just the bowl and leash and somehow that's not been an issue today.

Apparently their training techniques are based on positive reinforcement and the trainer was visiting her today. She (trainer not dog) will email me with some suggestions if we want her to do some training while she is in kennels. We normally train a couple of times a day (5 mins each time) and I wonder if she's missing this mental stimulation.

Fingers crossed that she'll be ok but I did say to the kennels that I will drop everything and return home if they thought our dog needed us to.