Dog Lost His Voice?!

Sammy_Girl

My dog was in kennels whilst we were on our holidays and we picked him up about 12 days ago. He is a bit of a barker and we've noticed that when he barks, it's much more sedate and "scratchier" than normal. It does sound like he's lost his voice - but I wanted to check if this can happen to dogs?!

He had his kennel cough vaccine and the kennels haven't advised of any kennel cough cases (which they have done in the past if there has been any).

Does this sound normal as I'm so used to him having a deep, loud bark?

Artytarty

Poor fella has probably barked himself hoarse at the kennels!
Not nice for him or for you to know he wasnt entirely happy. But I think it will soon pass.
happened to one of ours years ago.

hethmar

One of ours used to come home hoarse.:( We only left them in kennels a few times in our lives and I cant bring myself to do it ever again. We take holidays separately or only go where we can take the boys with us.

If he carries on being hoarse and starts coughing or sounding like he has something stuck in his throat, contact your vet , it could be kennel cough

chris_n_tj

Poor thing a lost bark after kennels isnt nice. Try giving your boy a teaspoon of honey with a bit of lemon juice in warm boiled water. This tip was given to us by our Vet and breeder, it does work.
Lol I sometimes think TJ tries it on with his cough just so he gets some.
Chris n tJ

Sammy_Girl

Thanks for the replies

He doesn't have a cough or any other ailments - just a quiet bark - never thought I would miss it

I will pick up some honey tomorrow and try that - it sounds nice.

Padstow

Sammy_Girl wrote: »

My dog was in kennels whilst we were on our holidays and we picked him up about 12 days ago. He is a bit of a barker and we've noticed that when he barks, it's much more sedate and "scratchier" than normal. It does sound like he's lost his voice - but I wanted to check if this can happen to dogs?!

He had his kennel cough vaccine and the kennels haven't advised of any kennel cough cases (which they have done in the past if there has been any).

Does this sound normal as I'm so used to him having a deep, loud bark?

Mine came from kennels. Reluctant to say "rescue". I had never known a dog unable to bark before.
These poor doggies.
At least yours was going home to mum .

hethmar

When I went to pick up our Diggs from a rescue kennel (which also did boarding), it was near a big zoo, well about 1 and half miles away and in the countryside. We were sitting there chatting and sorting out the paperwork and all the poor dogs were barking their heads off when suddenly the whole place went silent. The silence was deafening as we had been straining to hear the conversation up to then. When suddenly all the dogs began to howl, like wolves. It was very eerie. The lady who ran the rescue said it happened every day when the wolves were fed at the zoo! The dogs could pick up their howls and would join in.

DogsBody

Is this your normal kennels, or was your lad a 'first-timer'? Have seen dogs 'lose their voice' somewhat if they are very barky in kennels.

Apparently, it's a sign of a good kennels, if the boarders bark when you first arrive to have a look round, but then quickly settle down. A dog that has been well exercised, had plenty of human contact, and is not forced to 'face off' with a reactive neighbour across the corridor all day, will generally not bark excessively. I don't like to see dogs losing their voice in kennels, as it generally indicates that the dog is being exposed to too much 'excitement', or is bored off his head and barking for something to do:(

Frugalista

DogsBody wrote: »

Apparently, it's a sign of a good kennels, if the boarders bark when you first arrive to have a look round, but then quickly settle down. A dog that has been well exercised, had plenty of human contact, and is not forced to 'face off' with a reactive neighbour across the corridor all day, will generally not bark excessively. I don't like to see dogs losing their voice in kennels, as it generally indicates that the dog is being exposed to too much 'excitement', or is bored off his head and barking for something to do:(

LOL!! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: - you want to hear some of the noisy sods we get in - they bark non-stop just because they can!!

We have one dog who comes in for day boarding a couple of times a week who doesn't let up at all - he barks if you go in with him, he shrieks and cries when you walk him, he stands and barks if you take him in the exercise area, etc, etc - he is a total nightmare - and, of course, he sets all the others off :mad:. We dread him coming in for a weekend as he pretty much barks 24/7 - bet his owner enjoys the break from him though!

Our kennels are usually pretty quiet (all things considered) but you only need one or two noisy ones to have the whole place in an uproar .

ETA - he lost his voice last time he came in - YAY!!!

DogsBody

Hehehe, I've got one of those asleep in front of the fire just now

He's not a collie is he?;)

Barking when there is a reason for it is something you can't really avoid, I agree. But I'd worry about the mental state of the dog if he just barked all the time for no apparent reason:eek: - eg if my barky monkey came back from kennels with no voice, I'd wonder why she was having to bark all the time IYSWIM? My other 2 are not barky at all, so I'd worry even more if they lost their voices!

We find we have to carefully manage the 'reactive' ones so they don't feel the need to shout their heads off all day, which isn't so bad. The ones I really hate having in (and feel bad for) are the clever ones who need something to occupy them, and if they don't get it, off they go with the stereotypic behaviours - we have a regular barker/shadow chaser (collie) and a regular pacer (husky), the husky tends to be ignored and the collie gets shouted at, because not everyone here is very clued up on behaviour etc:(

Frugalista

No, he's a Weimaraner - currently number 2 on my list of breeds to avoid at all costs .