We had Tundra kenneled during our trip last week, and he always gets stressed, even though he loves the vet and the ladies. We guess it’s because there’s no one there at night. He paces and jumps on the fencing and tears up his feet, and he usually has some soft stool afterwards.
It lasts maybe a day… his feet take longer to recover.
But not this time.
Oh, no.
Our first sign he was sick was the whining all the way home.
And then he had liquid stool.
And then the farts began, growing progressively worse over the evening. I had to go to bed for work around seven, and he was in the living room with my husband.
Right around midnight the stench woke me up and drove me out of the bedroom. I immediately went to Doctor Google to see what it might be.
We are, of course, always worried it is bloat if he has stomach problems. It’s common in malamutes and very, very dangerous. Doctor Google thought it might be stress colitis. Either that or his kennel cough vaccine.
He’s never had problems with a vaccine, but he always has stress problems when he’s kenneled.
The next day, he refuses his breakfast… and treats.
So, off to the vet he goes! The ladies are very nice and he adores them. So they looked him over and listened to his gut and I forgot a stool sample. But they thought that A.) The nasal spray version of his vaccine usually only has side effects in the first 24 hours, and it had been six days or so. And B.) if it is stress colitis, they have a med that should correct it within a few days with a clear result within 12 hours.
We went with the med, and lo! By that afternoon his farts were subsiding. By the next day, they were infrequent and his stools were hardening nicely.
So, he’s better.
But for your amusement, I will tell you that this is the first time his farts have woken me up and driven me out of the bedroom.
Usually… my farts drive him out.
Just saying. *smile*
Do your dogs have problems with boarding? How do you reduce their stress? Inquiring minds want to know!
