Okay I will try to keep this brief, some may remember me from the "Anatolian with Dog aggression issues thread".

Well...a senior Bluetick Coonhound showed up desperate and lost. I couldn't keep him here at the time (due to Anatolian Dog aggression issues) so I took him to my vet for all the routine work, then took him to my boarding kennel which is super nice, provides indoor/outdoor 20' runs and let's them play with other dogs 6 hours a day in specially moderated play groups.

I have boarded my six dogs there several times (in specially separated play groups) and they have loved it.

So long story short....Coonhound does well at kennel for 5 weeks. I call and check weekly, last week I hear he did not get along with a young alpha pitbull. Okay.

Today after paying a months worth of boarding in advance I get a call at 6 pm telling me coonhound "pushed past the girl opening the kennel door and attacked the same pitbull that was walking outside the kennel...and got a throat wound that is bleeding and needs emergency treatment and I need to pay for it in advance asap!!! It was the coonhounds fault!" (Yeah if the coonhound is responsible for safe kennel operations then perhaps they should be paying me, instead of me paying them, huh?)

But it gets better....3 hours later (e-vet bill was suspiciously low, less than $200 for flushing multiple throat puncture wounds, antibiotics, and pain meds) I get a call from a different girl saying elderly coonhound is a risk, because low and behold not only was HE at fault while "rushing" out the open kennel door to attack the pitbull, he ALSO threatened the kennel staff after his throat got chewed up! Funny thing, the e-vet said he is a friendly dog and they wouldn't need to put him under.

Needless to say I am more than a bit upset; I am seeing RED! Well sheesh if I wanted him to get bite wounds to the throat I could have kept him here and it wouldn't have cost me a dime in boarding fees! $450 a month is "discount" for them, regular is $660.

Any advice folks? I had actually booked his future submissive male housemates at the kennel so they could be introduced on neutral territory, but after this?

I am really really angry, anyone have similiar issues before with kennels?

 Quote: Sonya Anderson

I am really really angry, anyone have similiar issues before with kennels?

I don't blame you for being really really angry. And in this case I'm glad I have no experience of a similar situation; my dog has always been too alpha to be kenneled with other dogs; he has always needed to be separated.

I have 6 dogs (4 males), and an alpha male that won't tolerate other males, so I relied on this kennel (up until now). Pet sitters and such were out of the question due to the risk.

I am so very very disappointed in them. This was a frickin' older coonhound! A very soft dog!

Something does sound suspicious here. But, just pay the bill and remove him (and all future business) from this kennel. then either keep him at your place separated from your Anatolian or find a good coonhound rescue group that can take him.

I am an attorney for an insurance company and, since my office knows how much I love dogs, I usually end up defending any of the dog bite cases that get referred to our office. There are so many little possible legal issues going on here I wouldn't even know where to start. Unfortunately I'm only familiar with Illinois animal control law so unless you're here I probably can't even give you accurate advice. But, my sympathies, that sounds like a mess.

maybe you should go down there and let them show you exactly how it happened. With out the dogs of course. a run through. It will give you a clearer idea of what happened. Who was handling the dogs when this happened? Perhaps someone new was handling them? Who tried to touch your dog after it was bitten, how did they touch your dog?
They may hedge and not answer correctly, but you will get a feel for where they are lying. then take your pups somewhere else. All boarding is risky, you are not there, someone you know is handling your dogs or dogs and if you can't trust them, hurry and take him out before something worse happens.
I am sorry this happened to you and to your dog. It's traumatic for both of you.

 Quote: Sonya Anderson

This was a frickin' older coonhound! A very soft dog!

The "was" has me a little concerned. Is the dog ok? Did you find him a home? You mention potential submissive male housemates.....yours?

I don't know what is going on at this kennel but if they were in agreement that it would be a neutral introduction to board potential housemates and a good place to acclimate the dogs; they are completely out of their minds!!

I have worked with GSD rescue for 12 years and that plan was just plain crazy! I am sorry you have been misled.

By the way, lost dogs rarely show their true selves until they become acclimated and start to feel at home in a situation. He's been at the kennel about 6 weeks, sounds about right to start coming out of his shell.

For the amount of money you are paying, you can do much better! A foster situation in a home as either an only dog or seperated from other dogs is a much better solution. I have a petsitter who boards dogs in her home. She has her own dog and will only take one other dog in. This is the perfect solution for my strong male and I pay about what you are paying.

Geesh, sorry to hear about the pup’s wounds.

It's always difficult to figure out exactly what happened in these he said, she said kind of things.

 Quote: Sheila Buckley

By the way, lost dogs rarely show their true selves until they become acclimated and start to feel at home in a situation. He's been at the kennel about 6 weeks, sounds about right to start coming out of his shell.

I have to second this accurate statement. Do you know for a fact that this coonhound doesn't have dog aggression issues? And it may even be a situational instigation issue with this particular pit bull, for whatever reason.

Injured dogs can also easily come off as aggressive, especially right after an altercation. By the time he got to the vet he may have settled down into his more normal, human social state.

The open gate and access to flee under their management would be an issue for me.

Thank you for all the advice. The dog is technically okay but something dawned on me today and i am very concerned.

 Quote: Sharon Empson

maybe you should go down there and let them show you exactly how it happened. With out the dogs of course. a run through. It will give you a clearer idea of what happened.

Oh I think I know exactly how it REALLY happened! This kennel puts ALL of the dogs out in huge play areas at certain times of the day (they are all out, then all in).

They RARELY use leashes! When they move a group of dogs (like in my case my dogs stay with their housemates) they let that group out of the play area and let them run loose into the big kennel area, then they put them in their runs (unless the owner insists that the dog be leashed, like I do with my Anatolian).

Thing is, when the dogs are in that area they could be behind the building running loose and you can't see them! So if the NEXT play group gets let in, now you can have two dogs that already had problems before (like this pit and the coonhound, they had a previous altercation) and they are loose together in an area that is at least a half acre.

This is a picture that will give you an idea, only shows half that big kennel area though, there are other kennels on the other side, all in one big fence.

http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac295/Sonya610/kennel.jpg

What burns me up is when this happened they said it was the Coonhounds fault and then said they had to take him into the emergency clinic but they wouldn't go until I called and arranged payment!

Neither the manager or the owner has contacted me, I asked to speak with the manager early on and the girl said "I am handling this". I am suspecting they didn't want to tell management that this happened, which is why they pushed me into paying the e-vet bill before they would treat him. FYI I prepaid a month of boarding fees 2 days before this happened.

Thing is, if the dog is still at the kennel all chewed up and on meds people WILL ask questions, eh? If the dog is too ill to go out into the play runs someone is going to notice! And that is why I suspect they said he couldn't stay there, that he was "dangerous" to them and I needed to get him out of there. Sadly this thought just dawned on me tonight and now I am worried. This kennel prides itself on spoiling the dogs so the fact I have not heard a word since the incident makes me think management doesn't know.

And yes the dog has apparently taken a dislike to two different alpha males, not a big deal in my mind, dogs do that. He has been exposed to probably at least 50 dogs in play groups since he was there. 2 out of 50 ain't a serious dog aggression problem. If there is a known problem they are SEPARATED! And there was a KNOWN problem!

Here is a photo of him (upper right). And yes I do realize there are risks when mixing dogs. That is why I never allow my own dogs to mix in those playgroups, thing is this dog may have not been socialized with other canines and if he has to come here then he NEEDS those social skills. The fact he got hurt upset me, but when they said it was HIS FAULT that made me furious!


http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac295/Sonya610/cid_7DD232FA2F0942698238C67F173F62CBSonyaPC.jpg

Oh and the new plan is this -- I was planning to bring him here in 3 weeks (was preparing an extra dog room). Now I hope to bring him here Wed/Thur. Someone suggested that I get a chain link kennel set up so he can spend time with the future male housemates with safe separation. He will be a house dog but I want to be careful with acclimating him to the other submissive males (especially after this incident!). Chain link run going up tomorrow.

He is listed on the national coonhound rescue site and petfinder, I live in Georgia where the dog overpopulation problem is very very bad. I originally was hoping to find him a foster home in a state up north but that didn't happen.