My dog is behaving strangely, why?

Question
I recently went out of town and left my puppy, a eight month old terrier mix, in the kennel. He has been acting very strange for the past three days. It is very difficult to get him to eat, even though I have tried several different kinds of food, it seems like he is scared to eat, he slinks away from his bowl like he did something wrong. He normal in every other respect, he is simply uneasy about eating. Do you think something happened at the kennel? How can I correct this strange behavior?

Answer
Hi Michael,

Thank you for writing to me about your 8 month old terrier mix.

Kennels are places I recommend against.  They are extremely stressful experiences for dogs.   Dog are pack animals and kennels separate dogs from one another, creating a sense of isolation, which leads to stress and depression.  It is much better to find a place that provides cageless boarding preferably in a home environment with someone experienced. There, your puppy is part of a pack and feels connected, secure and happy.

I do believe that your dog experienced a trauma while in the kennel.  Eating is a primal sensation for a dog and shying away from food naturally occurs when a canine is ill.  Rejecting food while healthy is a definite sign of emotional trauma.

My suggestion is to take your dog to your vet and have a full blood workup done, along with an examination in order to eliminate any medical problems.  It is imperative to start there.  If everything turns out well, then you will have to look at the emotional aspects of your dog's condition with the help of a canine behavorist.

You might arrange to speak with the owner of the kennel and ask pointed questions, looking carefully between the lines, as well as at facial expressions and voice inflections as your questions are being answered.

Try hand feeding your dog really delectable morsals of food.  Add high pitched but calm praise as he takes each piece.  Be patient.  This may help solve the problem, if it is emotionally based.  If it doesn't than you will need the assistance of a canine behavorist to get your dog past his trauma.

Best,
Shelley Davis
www.bednbiscuit.com