Dog boarding: what cortisol measures from the moment they arrive at the kennel
Published by Planète Pets · managing editor: Clément Lacaille · how our guides are written
Boarding a dog for a holiday usually worries the owner more than the dog lets on. A study combining urinary hormones and behaviour observation lets us move past guesswork and look at what actually changes on arrival at a kennel. Our bedding and habitat guidance is gathered in the dog bedding and habitat section.
Cortisol rises in every dog, but not equally
Nicola Rooney, Sarah Gaines and John Bradshaw published, in 2007 in Physiology & Behavior, a study following 31 one-year-old Labrador Retrievers, taken from their home environment and transferred to a training kennel. The urinary cortisol/creatinine ratio, measured each morning, rose in every single dog upon arrival. Half of the dogs had previously been habituated to short periods of confinement before the transfer.
The decisive result: the rise was significantly higher in the non-habituated dogs, and their cortisol/creatinine ratio remained above baseline a full twelve weeks later — while the habituated dogs returned to baseline faster.
Observed behaviour does not always track the hormone
The researchers also filmed the dogs remotely. Some visible signs — less barking, less time spent at the front of the kennel — declined over the days without correlating clearly with cortisol. The authors offer an explanation that cuts against a common assumption: that apparent calm can reflect dogs learning the most effective way to attract staff attention just as much as genuine relief.
What this study does not show
The sample is limited to one-year-old male Labradors selected for a guide-dog training centre: nothing guarantees the same gap would appear in a senior dog, a small breed, or an already anxious individual. The study compares short prior habituation, not the quality of the boarding facility itself (kennel size, human presence, other dogs), so it says nothing about what makes one establishment more or less stressful than another.
What it changes before a trip
- Book one or two short trial stays several weeks before a real departure, rather than a first boarding stay on the day of the trip itself.
- Start confinement habituation early, as a puppy, following the principles in our guide to crate training a puppy without forcing it.
- Do not rely on apparent calm alone on pickup day: a quiet dog at the kennel is not necessarily a relaxed one.
- For an already anxious dog, a pet sitter at home avoids the change of environment entirely; both options are compared in our article on boarding kennel or pet sitter for the holidays.
Frequently asked questions
Is the stress the same on every stay?
The study does not measure that directly, but the habituation effect seen over twelve weeks suggests that repeated, well-prepared stays weigh less than one abrupt first stay.
Is a quiet dog at the kennel necessarily a relaxed one?
Not necessarily: the authors note that a decline in some visible behaviours did not consistently correlate with cortisol, which remained the more reliable marker in this study.
From what age should confinement habituation start?
From the moment the puppy joins the household, in very short, positive sessions. Find all our guides on the dog hub.
This guide is part of Planète Pets’s Dogs universe. Our advice is general in nature: for any health concern, your veterinarian remains the only reference.