The blanket serves as a dark, safe place, preventing the dog from directing a bite to the handler while being moved from one place to another. Ideally, personnel have time and care enough to work with patience with these dogs to reduce their fear and permit handling, if they must be handled. Unsocialized dogs will experience much more stress in a kennel situation than those that have been socialized around people and dogs of all kinds, varying floor surfaces and noises that go with a household and kennel. Even the use of a leash in dogs that have never had a leash on can be traumatic for an adult dog. Ongoing illness, injury, and age all effect stress levels in a dog in your kennel.
Epileptic dogs can sometimes have seizures triggered by stressful situations and events.
Estrous cycles and normal maternal behavior for whelping and nursing mothers can be effected negatively by stress. Some of these dogs can develop obsessive compulsive disorders that include circling and whirling, bouncing repetitively off walls of kennels, etc. I observed a pit bull, which after a period of confinement began attacking his own tail frantically. Over a period of a few days he had actually cannibalized his entire tail and was beginning to attack and chew on his rear quarters. It is very important to maintain normal light and dark cycles for the residing animals.