puppy behavior after kennel

Question
Bella is a 6 month old cockapoo/ terrier mix.  She has been a wonderful pet and has been very quick to learn.  From the very beginning we crate trained her and up until last week she was completely housebroken and responded well to our commands.  Two weeks ago we went on vacation and left her for a week at a kennel that was highly recommended.  Since then her behavior has been terrible.  She cries and claws at her crate, pees in her crate even when in it for very short periods of time, and randomly pees in the house.  We are having to completely start over with the training.  It is very frustrating.  Any suggestions on how to best go about this?  Also, what should we look for in choosing a "good" kennel the next time we need to board her?   Thank you.

Answer
That kennel ruined your dog's training.  I suggest you bring a small claims action against them in district court.  The cost is minimal (about $15) and they will have to bring an attorney into court to answer your charges, thereby teaching them an expensive lesson.

Throw out the crate.  This dog was confined, day and night, with (possibly) little or NO available outdoor exercise.  She was forced to urinate/defecate in her crate and is no longer a candidate for crate experience UNLESS you leave the crate WITH THE DOOR OPEN  at all times and see if she can re-habituate to using it for sleeping (with very soft bed).

Go back to square one: re-train the dog as if she were a ten week old puppy.  TAKE HER OUT every two hours (at first) and reward (with praise followed by tidbit of special treat) EVERY urination and defecation outdoors.  Confine her to kitchen area with soft bed, water, safe toy(s) when you are not at home and expect SOME "mistakes" until she falls back into the pattern of eliminating outdoors ALWAYS for reward (for the first weeks, then stagger food reward until you can eliminate it).  While you are at home, observe her closely (keep her in the room with you); if you see her circling to pee, clap your hands, whistle, sing a song, do anything to interrupt without alarming her, then take her outdoors and WAIT until she is relaxed enough to complete her urination.  Since she was solidly house trained, this will most likely not take more than a few weeks.  If necessary, you can use doggy diapers; these are not punishing and any dog soon learns (after the first couple of tries) that urination while wearing one is not rewarding (since the urine is not actually eliminated but remains in the diaper).  Doggy diapers keep a dog from successfully eliminating indoors and can quickly facilitate house training, especially in an intelligent dog that was basically considered house trained.

In future, when looking for a boarding kennel, you must visit randomly (without appointment), ask to see where the dogs are kept, talk to all the employees, and get multiple references.  Most "good" kennels are booked for many months in advance.  Abuse and neglect in these places is COMMON.  CHECK the references (and ask for many, not just two or three), be sure these people have routinely used this facility with the same dog and have seen NO bad results.  People don't recognize emotional/psychological trauma in their dogs, they simply don't know what to look for.  A household with cage-free boarding is the best choice, even though far more expensive, providing the facilities are spotless, the owner experienced in temperament evaluation (so dogs don't mix it up while there) and ALL DOGS need to be fully vaccinated (with physical veterinary evidence).