I left my female Basenji, Rita, 6 years old, at a dog-kennel for the first time.
I tried to put her in a cage-free place, but she had a fight with other dogs and I thought being in her own cage might be less stressful for her. (She is crate-trained, although most of the time, she is free inside the house.)

Since my husband and I often have to be out of the country (minimum twice a year, mainly due to our business and my family in home country), I thought she has to be used to the kennel environment.

Until recently, we left Rita to a dog-walker, who took Rita to her home to take care of her. But since last time, the dog walker’s husband no longer wants Rita because she made a mess.

I’m thinking of having Rita getting used to the environment of the kennel by regularly having her stay there, like once a week. Last night and tonight, for the second time, I left Rita to the kennel, but the attendant told me on my follow-up inquiry on the phone that she is totally freaked out.

Also tonight, I heard a horror story from one of my friends whose dog died recently after staying at a kennel for 10 days. When he came back, he could hardly walk (he was 11 years old lab with arthritis) and the blood test results showed that his blood turned out to be as thick as petroleum.

I want Rita to be reasonably strong with any kinds of environment, but exposing her to stressful situation to shorten her life is a different story,

I appreciate any advice on this.

RitaMom (mom of 6 years old female Basenji)