and more pet owners are opting for alternatives to traditional kenneling. They are frequently turning to in-home based service providers such as Fetch! Pet Care. After reading the following story and summary of scientific research on problems with kennel housing, it should become apparent why so many pet owners are opting for kenneling alternatives.Many years ago, we left Taylor (our Basenji, who is pictured above and on the left) in a kennel. It was a rather nice, clean kennel with friendly staff. It was even owned and operated by local veterinarians. When we picked up Taylor after her kennel stay, she had diarrhea and behaved as if she had experienced something very traumatic. She was exceptionally clingy and even trembling. She also appeared to be extra sensitive to noises in the environment and seemed to sleep much more than usual. Presumably, she was clingy because she didn’t want us to leave her again and trembling either out of initial excitement to see us, which over time may have changed to fear of what would happen if we left. The heightened sensitivity to sound could have been a carry-over from a “24/7” vigilance brought on by the fear of unknown surroundings beyond the walls of her kennel pen and the perceived threat originating from the sounds and smells of other dogs in the proximity. Her “24/7” state of vigilance in the kennel probably produced a state of sleep deprivation resulting in lethargy at home. Regardless of the specific environmental conditions that overwhelmed Taylor’s natural survival instincts, resulting in her behavioral/emotional disturbances, it took weeks for her to return to an approximation of normal. Needless to say, we have never again left her or any of our other pets at a kennel nor do we ever plan to do so in the future.
Over the years, we have heard similar stories by many other pet owners of negative affects of kennels on their pets. Our personal observations and those of other pet owners are supported by scientific research. According to Dr. Rebecca Ledger (2004) from the Animal Welfare Program at the University of British Columbia, kennels do a good job attending to the biological needs of pets but neglect their emotional needs. Ledger believes that this biological centered perspective of many kennel operators may have arisen from the notion that emotions are not measurable in animals and that emotional health is not relevant to suffering in animals. This belief places an emphasis on biological insult as the singular avenue to suffering in animals and because emotions are foreign to animals, animals can not suffer emotional distress. Consequently, according to Ledger, emotional needs are often neglected in the kennel.
Although there probably are a number of kennel operators that believe that biological needs are the only needs that require their attention, it is the opinion of the authors of this article that a considerable number of kennel operators are aware of emotional needs of pets, however, they are limited in their ability to adequately address them because of the basic structural configuration of kennels. Face it, a kennel is a kennel no matter how well you disguise it to look like home.
Recently, animal welfare scientists and psychological researchers (Gosling, 2001; Gosling, et. al., 1999; 2002; 2003; Ledger, 2004) have turned to cross-species studies to better understand emotions. Many of them have recognized that emotions have survival value and because survival is paramount in all species, animals must therefore have the capacity to experience emotions. According to Ledger, anxiety, fear, frustration, and depression are the most common forms of emotional distress in kenneled animals. Behavioral indicators of anxiety are cessation of normal behaviors including eating, drinking, and socializing along with corresponding attempts to attract attention through barking or avoidance of attention by maintaining an on-guard vigilant stance (a hypersensitivity to environmental stimuli characterized by dilated pupils, pricked ears, and frozen stance) in which the surrounding environment is continually evaluated. Fear is characterized by defensive posturing, attempts to escape, hiding, huddling, and trembling. As a result of lack of access to engaging stimuli, many animals may become frustrated and display displacement behaviors such pacing, circling, and jumping the walls. After unsuccessful attempts to cope with environmental conditions, many animals may display behavior consistent with depression such as listlessness and unresponsiveness.
Ledger (2004) reports that in the first 2 weeks of kenneling that almost two thirds of the dogs that she studied exhibited at least one of the behavioral indicators of emotional distress described above. In addition to these behavioral signs of distress, kenneling has been found to produce relatively long-term physiological changes associated stress. Specifically, cortisol (a hormone released during stress) was found to be elevated thirty days after kennel admittance in almost all dogs tested (Ledger, 2004). Apparently, thirty days was the longest period tested and it is likely that elevated cortisol levels persisted well beyond thirty days in many of the dogs. When one considers the emotional stress imposed by kennels and the traumatic effects on behavioral and physiological systems, it is not surprising that many pet owners are opting for in-home based services such as those provide by Fetch! Pet Care.
Pet owners are also choosing in-home based services such as Fetch! over kennels because of “hidden” costs. Many kennels charge extra for dog walks, exercise, etc., and extra day charges are frequently incurred when a pet owner returns from a trip after hours (most kennels are closed on Sunday (some are closed on Saturdays or have limited hours) and on the days that they are open, they typically do not allow customers to pick up their pets after 4:30 or 5:00 pm). Kennel customers that return on a weekend or after hours frequently end up paying for an extra day. Some even cut their vacations short by a day or two to avoid problems associated with weekend pickups.
A comprehensive selection of services and large staff of trained sitters allows Fetch! Pet Care to accommodate client needs, even if they are after normal business hours or on the weekend. A free in-home consultation allows the clients, pets and sitters to get pre-acquainted and to address each pet's unique needs. Selecting just the right pet sitter for the care of one’s pets and home is an extremely important decision. At Fetch! Pet Care, the goal is to make sure that pets, clients, and sitters are appropriately matched and that sitters provide the client’s pets and home with the absolute best possible care and loving attention. For more information, goto: http://www.fetchpetcare.com/
References
Gosling, S. D. (2001). From mice to men: What can we learn about personality from animal research? Psychological Bulletin, 127, 45-86.
Gosling, S. D., & John, O. P. (1999). Personality dimensions in non-human animals: A cross-species review. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8, 69-75.
Gosling, S. D., & Vazire, S. (2002). Are we barking up the right tree? Evaluating a comparative approach to personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 36, 607-614.
Gosling, S. D., Kwan, V. S. Y., & John, O. P. (2003). A dog’s got personality: A cross-species comparative approach to evaluating personality judgments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 1161-1169.
Ledger, R. (2004). Assessing the welfare of kenneled dogs: Biological functioning, natural living and affective states. Talk presented to the University of Texas Psychology Department. Retrieved 6/18/2007 from the web: http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/group/animpersinst/RLNov2Talk.html
