my dog and her kennel - need help

godblessourhome

my dog used to love her kennel. it was a safe place for her and she would retreat to it whenever she needed a break. she is normally kenneled to sleep at night and when we are gone.

recently, she was sick in it (poor baby), and i threw away her old bed, disinfected it and bought a new bed. now she hates it! she circles around it and cowers behind it when we tell her to 'kennel up'. she has also started to produce a smell, almost like a fear sweat smell, whenever she is in there. her kennel is in our bedroom and if we can't find a solution to make that go away, we will have to move the kennel from our bedroom. (it is making our room smell like a stale sweat doggy gym, ick!)

both her dislike and the smell are a problem. it makes me feel bad that she is unhappy, and i don't want to have to move her. i don't know what to do to make her happy with her kennel again. has anyone else had this happen to a sensitive dog? would a different bed help?

BIGJIMMYU

A different bed might help. Put a small expendable blanket down for her to lay on or wipe her vigorously with it so that her scent is on it. Even a towel may work. Dogs noses are stronger than ours by 1000 times. Lay the towel on her new bed after you get it good and stinky. The familiar smell of her old bed (which was her scent) may persuade her to accept it.

frosty73

Maybe the smell of the disinfectant in the kennel? Try washing it out with soap and water. Also, throw in a towel that she will sleep on, or a T-shirt of yours. Take the new bed out of the kennel to see if the bed is the issue.

krisrpaz

Try putting one of your old t-shirts in the kennel. Your familiar scent may can her down. My dogs always love to lay on any clothes I leave on the ground.

slrrese

Clean the kennel really well. I use simple green because it is supposed to non- toxic. Wipe down the wires if it is a wire kennel and all up the sides as well as the bottom. It could be that the dog still smells the throw up. If you already have a bed somewhere else in the house that the dog likes try putting that bed in the kennel. Good luck!

My dogs are kennel trained and I love it. I would not be happy if my dogs didn't like their kennel anymore. :-(

tam120

I'm betting it's the disinfectant. Her new bedding now smells like it too. Clean her kennel with something organic without fragrance, wash her bedding or buy new bedding and put in a blanket or sheet that is not new or something that has your scent.

ETA: I just read recently that dogs like their own scent on their bedding so if there's something else she sleeps/lays on around the house put that in her kennel after you get rid of the disinfectant scent.

macpatti

Poor baby. it could be a combination of the smell of whatever you used to clean it, plus the new bed. Do you have some blankets that you or the kids have used that you could put in there instead of the new bed? Is there anything else that soothes her that you could put in there with her?

PeaceLoveVeggies

Maybe the smell of the disinfectant in the kennel? Try washing it out with soap and water. Also, throw in a towel that she will sleep on, or a T-shirt of yours. Take the new bed out of the kennel to see if the bed is the issue.

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eillamarie

Put an old sweater or pair of jeans in her kennell. She's probably scared of the unfamilar smell of the new bed!

HotBodUnderConstruction

Just train her into liking her kennel again. Anytime she is near the kennel or sniffing it give her a treat. Do this as often as you can several times a day. Also, as others suggested put stuff in the kennel that smells like you and throw a bullystick or some other delicious treat that she can only get if she goes into her kennel willingly. The process might take awhile given her extreme reaction to it...but constant positive reinforcement should fix it.

godblessourhome

thanks. i will try a different disinfectant (the previous one was organic, but has an orange scent) and stick in one of my sweatshirts or towel to see if that helps.

Spinelli2288

It could be disinfectant, it could be the new bed, but I wouldn't doubt that she thinks that the kennel made her sick. The same thing happened with two of my dogs. Both of them got sick in there kennels and they refused to go back in no matter how much I scrubbed or how many fluffy dog beds I could find. I didn't even think about their thoughts on the kennel making them sick until I talked to my vet. She explained it's like a lot of cats with urinary tract problems, they stop going in there litter boxes because they think it's the box that makes it hurt, so they go around and poo and piddle on everything till it stops.